Professional Learning & Resources

Preschool is a time of wonder when curiosity, development, and learning intersect. While the new sights, routines, and experiences can make preschool exhilarating, what about children who struggle? Perhaps they exhibit odd behaviors: chewing on clothing, covering their ears, avoiding certain textures, refusing to sit with peers, screaming when frustrated, hitting, kicking, or biting. "Wired Differently" will help you to decode what may seem like every day challenging behaviors. It's possible… More »

Over 40 activities that focus on controlling teasing and bullying with friendship, community, and expressing feelings. Use these activities, the classroom environment, and family involvement to create a climate of mutual respect in the classroom. 128 pages.

"Teaching Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder" is a straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to working with children who have autism. It explains the major characteristics associated with autism and helps teachers understand the ways children with autism relate to the world. Each chapter offers specific strategies for teachers to use, including setting up a proactive preschool environment, helping children learn life skills, managing behavior, helping children with autism communicate,… More »

Every day, 250 children are suspended from school. Many are children of color, deprived of opportunities to experience learning at the same rate and quality as white children. Many families don't feel heard or respected in their child's schools. Don't Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms leads early childhood professionals to explore and address issues of bias, equity, low expectations, and family engagement to ensure culturally responsive experiences. Importantly, this book will challenge… More »

This helpful teacher resource will guide you through creating an equitable environment for children ages 3 - 5. This book features a variety of topics that will help support conversations about identity, bias and preschool environment. Paperback. 160 pages.

Because their vocabularies haven't yet caught up with their thoughts and emotions, young children often struggle to communicate. Sign language can help them express themselves effectively to adults and peers--without the emotional outbursts caused by frustration! This book features the latest research to equip educators and caregivers with the tools and resources to teach young learners how to effectively communicate. Paperback. 208 pages.

This book has been written for all teachers and directors who work with infants, toddlers, and twos, including special educators and educators working with typically developing children. It specifically addresses the needs of children with developmental delays, as well as those children at risk for developing special needs. Each chapter includes experiences and activities that are common to settings where infants and toddlers learn. The strategies provided are easy to use and apply to all children.… More »

Over 450 rhymes, songs, stories, and fingerplays with Spanish and English on each page to help build vocabulary and language skills. Organized by theme. 384 pages.

This resource book offers simple easy-to-use solutions to support sensory needs of preschool children in your classroom. Adaptations and activities are included for Sensory Processing Disorder. Chapters cover concepts such as: Explaining Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing Disorder, Defining sensory avoiders, seekers, and under-responders, Designing the environment to support the sensory development of all children, Helping preschoolers with sensory processing problems, Providing practical… More »

Learn what makes boys tick (and run and jump and yell), and discover how to actively engage the boys in your early childhood classroom with simple effective strategies that support boys' learning. Using the latest brain research to explore and explain the differences in how boys and girls learn, 'Wired to Move' provides early childhood educators with facts and strategies to actively engage boys in an early childhood setting. It addresses the unique needs of African-American and Hispanic or Latino… More »

Emphasizes the importance of play in the inclusive classroom. Provides teachers with experiences that will enhance all children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. © 2006

The prevalence of ASD is growing tremendously in early childhood classrooms. This book showcases the diverse capabilities of students with ASD and prepares early childhood educators to work effectively with students ages 3-5 with pervasive developmental disorders. Descriptive examples and interactive activities guide teachers to understand how these disorders affect student progress and how educators can tap into student potential. Each chapter offers several strategies to address specific academic,… More »

The Power of Presence: A Guide to Mindfulness Practices in Early Childhood offers insight and information to help you transform your teaching by learning how to pause, notice your surroundings, and simply be. Learn ways to spark joy, elevate well-being, and promote a deeper sense of inquiry, both personally and with others-young and old. Learn ways to consciously plant seeds of mindfulness at home, in the classroom, and around the world. Paperback. 112 pages.

Describes practical ways to adjust centers and classroom routines for children with special needs. Suggestions enable all children to learn by keeping them involved in developmentally appropriate routines and center based activities. Each chapter focuses on either a learning center, such as art or science, or a time of the day, such as snack time or dismissal, with particular attention to the needs of children who are developmentally delayed, orthopedically impaired, have autism/Pervasive Development… More »

Young children with special needs often face physical, emotional, or social barriers to deep engagement with the natural world. These challenges need not prevent them from enjoying the many benefits nature has to offer. Nature is a necessity. Research tells us that we are happier, healthier, more socially engaged, and more creative when it is part of our daily lives. These benefits apply to people of all ages and abilities. In this inspiring book, Dr. Ruth Wilson explores the great potential of… More »

Every child belongs. Every child is unique. Every child has strengths. Every child has the potential to fly. Inclusion benefits all children! Inclusion--perhaps you believe it is complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. Not true! Jani Kozlowski, experienced trainer and technical-assistance provider on inclusion and disability services, dispels the myths and shows that implementing high-quality inclusive practices in your program is easier than you think! Throughout "Every Child Can Fly,"… More »

Best-selling, award-winning authors Pam Schiller and Clarissa Willis have teamed up to create this collection of 100 literacy lessons, designed to introduce children ages 3-6 to a variety of literacy concepts and build important literacy skills. Each of these simple, fun lessons offers adaptations for children with special needs, including: visual and hearing impairments, cognitive challenges, motor delays, speech/language delays, and emotional/behavior issues. The first page of each two-page lesson… More »

All infants and toddlers need experiences that nurture, support, and teach their home language and culture. Language is a vital component of early experiences well before a child can say his first word. Infants and toddlers whose families come from diverse backgrounds and speak different languages are appearing in all kinds of early care and learning settings in growing numbers. Even the most experienced caregiver can feel a bit unsure about meeting the unique needs of infants and toddlers from… More »

Children need a broad view of the world to better work with others and achieve academic success. That means being able to see many perspectives, listen to others, and share their own ideas and perceptions. This book contains simple activities that start with identifying different perspectives and then challenge them to notice what they perceive. The themes are meant to ask children to notice relationships, investigate same and different, use perceptions to develop inductive and deductive reasoning,… More »

Connecting with dual language learners (DLLs) is a growing reality among early childhood educators, who need to learn practical, proven strategies to reach these students. Grounded in research and strengthened by the author's personal experience as a student learning English, Connecting Right from the Start helps teachers understand the culturally and linguistically diverse children in their classroom, as well as those with disabilities. Some of the skills teachers will learn: ways to make DLLs… More »

In this resource book teachers will be able to evaluate bias within the classroom, learn how to have navigate different conversations with children and their families, and learn how to implement new policies to create a fair and equal environment. This book will help teachers, new and experienced, commit to making their classroom a more inclusive place for all children. Teachers will also be able to strengthen their teaching strategies, expand their curriculum and evaluate their classroom environment… More »

Mary Jalongo, PhD, offers 65 strategies to support literacy learning with children from preschool through the third grade. With specific suggestions for ELL students, Jalongo includes recommendations for hundreds of great children's books, websites, and apps to make teaching easier. Each strategy is designed to be simple to use with all of the children in your classroom-from the not-yet-readers to the fluent readers-and each strategy is tied to the Common Core State Standards for kindergarten through… More »

Challenging behaviors can derail an early childhood classroom, and punishment and exclusion aren't the answer. Young children need support and instruction to help them learn how to cooperate, listen, share, interact positively with their peers and with adults. Where to start? Effective Discipline Policies will be your go-to resource. Craft a developmentally appropriate, consistent, effective behavioral guidance policy. Create a system that supports young children's social-emotional competence. Provide… More »

In the United States, the number of children who come from homes where they speak languages other than English is rising. Despite the common misperception that dual language learners are slower learners or have special needs, research shows that they have better executive function and cognitive skills. Their brains are doing double duty! "Strength in Diversity: A Positive Approach to Teaching Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood" offers teachers context, practical advice, and strategies… More »