Magic Capes Amazing Powers

Heroes, villains and saving the day! Magic Capes, Amazing Powers explores why children are so strongly attracted to superhero and weapons play, and addresses the resulting concerns of parents and teachers. Unique in its approach to this wildly popular type of play, Magic Capes describes how teachers can use redirection, story-telling, dramatic play materials, anti-bias curriculum and clear limit-setting to guide superhero play in a positive direction that allows children to play and satisfies the concerns of adults. Eric Hoffman is the program coordinator for the Cabrillo College Children’s Center in Aptos, CA. He has worked with preschool-age children since 1970 and cofounded the CRADLE Project, which assists teachers and parents who do conflict resolution with children.

Help children participate in purposeful play to promote the development of a number of important skills.

Intentional teaching begins with focused observations and systematic documentation of children's learning and development. This book is filled with tools and techniques designed to help early childhood educators purposefully observe children, create portfolios with rich documentation, and plan curriculum that supports every child. Discussion questions, observation practice exercises, and reflection assignments are included, as well as DVD with classroom vignettes showcasing observation techniques. Gaye Gronlund is an early childhood education consultant who trains early childhood educators across the country. Marlyn James is an education and early childhood professor.

Learn how to reach children who need special help. Almost anyone who works with 3- to 6-year-olds knows what it feels like to spend time with youngsters who are particularly puzzling or hard to help. When Young Children Need Help examines how early childhood educators can make sense of what is going on for such children and then use that understanding to help promote growth and mastery. Written for child care center staff, family child care providers, preschool teachers, and pre-service teachers, this book can be useful to any adult who wants to learn more about reaching the most troubling children in his or her care. When Young Children Need Help provides a framework for understanding a range of emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges. It explores a process through which early childhood teachers and providers can translate their growing understanding of a child’s difficulties into sensible goals for intervention. The author lays out practical strategies that help kids connect and communicate with ease, focus their attention, manage their bodies and their feelings, engage in constructive problem-solving, and experience themselves as successful friends and learners. The book suggests approaches for collaborating with parents and other caregivers and emphasizes that even when a child needs outside services and supports, what goes on in school or care remains central to making progress. Ranging from the classroom to the playground and back again, When Young Children Need Help offers its perspectives and strategies through highly engaging stories that bring challenging kids alive in all their quirky uniqueness.

Ever since the first appearances of Superman and Batman in comic books of the late 1930s, superheroes have been a staple of the popular culture landscape. Though initially created for younger audiences, superhero characters have evolved over the years, becoming complex figures that appeal to more sophisticated readers. While superhero stories have grown ever more popular within broader society, however, comics and graphic novels have been largely ignored by the world of academia. In Enter the Superheroes:American Values, Culture, and the Canon of Superhero Literature, Alex S. Romagnoli and Gian S. Pagnucci arguethat superheroes merit serious study, both within the academy and beyond. By examining the kinds of graphic novels that are embraced by the academy, this book explains how superhero stories are just as significant. Structured around key themes within superhero literature, the book delves into the features that make superhero stories a unique genre. The book also draws upon examples in comics and other media to illustrate the sociohistorical importance of superheroes—from the interplay of fans and creators to unique narrative elements that are brought to their richest fulfillment within the world of superheroes. A list of noteworthy superhero texts that readers can look to for future study is also provided. In addition to exploring the important roles that superheroes play in children’s learning, the book also offers an excellent starting point for discussions of how literature is evolving and why it is necessary to expand the traditional realms of literary study. Enter the Superheroes will be of particular interest to English and composition teachers but also to scholars of popular culture and fans of superhero and comic book literature.

As violence in the media and media-linked toys increases, parents and teachers are also seeing an increase in children's war play. The authors have revised this popular text to provide more practical guidance for working with children to promote creative play, and for positively influencing the lessons about violence children are learning. Using a developmental and sociopolitical viewpoint, the authors examine five possible strategies for resolving the war play dilemma and show which best satisfy both points of view: banning war play; taking a laissez-faire approach; allowing war play with specified limits; actively facilitating war play; and limiting war play while providing alternative ways to work on the issues. New for the Second Edition are: more anecdotal material about adults'' and children's experiences with war play, including examples from both home and school settings; greater emphasis on the impact of media and commercialization on children's war play, including recent trends in media, programming, marketing, and war toys; expanded discussion about the importance of the distinction between imitative and creative war play; and summary boxes of key points directed at teachers or parents. * New information about violent video games, media cross feeding, and gender development and sex-role stereotyping.

In this updated edition, two distinguished early childhood educators tackle the crucial topic of what White children need and gain from anti-bias and multicultural education. The authors propose seven learning themes to help young White children resist messages of racism and build identity and skills for thriving in a country and world filled with diverse ways of being. This compelling text includes teaching strategies for early childhood settings, activities for families and staff, reflection questions, a record of 20th- and 21st-century White anti-racism activists, and organizational and website resources. Bringing this bestselling guide completely up to date, the authors: Address the current state of racism and anti-racism in the United States, including the election of the first African American president and the rise of hate groups. Review child development research with a particular emphasis on recent observational studies that show how White children enact racial power codes. Discuss implementation of the core learning themes in racially diverse early childhood education settings, state standards for preschools and pre-K classrooms, and NCLB pressures on early childhood teaching. Update all resources and appendices, including reading lists and websites for finding resources and organizations engaged in anti-racism work. Louise Derman-Sparksis a past faculty member at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California and the co-author ofTeaching/Learning Anti-Racism. Louise presents conference keynotes, conducts workshops, and consults throughout the United States and internationally.Patricia G. Ramseyis Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts and author ofTeaching and Learning in a Diverse World. Praise for the First Edition— “Derman-Sparks and Ramsey offer an ‘alternative vision’ for white identity that breaks the mold….The current status of our anti-bias work demands we read [this book] and use it well” —From the Foreword byCarol Brunson Day “A dynamic blend of child development theory, social history, and the best pedagogical practice from two distinguished social justice educators—every teacher of young children should read it!” —Beverly Daniel Tatum, President, Spelman College “An accessible, practical, and essential tool for every teacher of young white children. I especially appreciated the concrete suggestions and abundance of resources from two of early childhood education’s most experienced teachers.” —Paul Kivel, educator and author ofUprooting RacismandI Can Make My World a Safer Place “By starting with a strong sense of identity that is not race-based, children can move forward to cultivate an anti-racist culture. This book offers caregivers excellent frameworks and tools to make this happen.” —TC Record

Healthy Children, Healthy Lives helps improve the wellness of children, families, and early childhood professionals in early childhood programs. This series of checklists covers six components of wellness—nutrition and healthy eating habits; physical activity and fitness; emotional health and resilience; healthy care practices; safety and risk management; and leadership, management, and administration. Each research-based checklist provides built-in guidance for improvement, complements any high-quality curriculum, and aims to contribute to children's ability to thrive and experience joy in life and learning.