Establishing a successful classroom requires that you have knowledge of children and early childhood curricula. Essential for every preschool, kindergarten, and primary teacher's personal library, this book serves as a comprehensive guide to creating a play-based curriculum for young children. You'll find specific information about infant and toddler classrooms, preschool classrooms, kindergarten classrooms, and primary and middle childhood. Each chapter presents the benefits of play, suggests materials that children can use, and includes parent letters and checklists as well as practical tips for teachers. Information about how to set up an inclusive classroom appears throughout the book and is addressed in a separate chapter. You'll also save time with the detailed sample lesson plans that appear in the appendix.

Establishing a successful classroom requires that you have knowledge of children and early childhood curricula. Essential for every preschool, kindergarten, and primary teacher's personal library, this book serves as a comprehensive guide to creating a play-based curriculum for young children. You'll find specific information about infant and toddler classrooms, preschool classrooms, kindergarten classrooms, and primary and middle childhood. Each chapter presents the benefits of play, suggests materials that children can use, and includes parent letters and checklists as well as practical tips for teachers. Information about how to set up an inclusive classroom appears throughout the book and is addressed in a separate chapter. You'll also save time with the detailed sample lesson plans that appear in the appendix. Sample lesson plans: Available in the appendix, plans for specific activities for each age and grade level serve as a guide for beginning teachers to implement a high quality play experience for young children. These models of lesson plans enable students to focus on delivery instead of creation. The samples also can serve as templates to guide teachers as they develop and deliver their own plans. Information on outdoor learning communities: Updated information on this topic is included throughout the textbook. In addition, Chapter 10 focuses on outdoor learning and recess activities, reflecting the current focus on outdoor classrooms for kindergarten and preschool children. The author discusses advantages and disadvantages of the model and offers recommendations for those who are interested in the approach. Information on STEM activities: Updated information is highlighted in two chapters, enabling teachers to develop play-based activities that meet the STEM/STEAM criteria. Project Based Learning (PBL): This edition discusses how to use a PBL approach to create a play-based classroom for preschoolers and third graders. Chapter objectives and a chapter summary provide a preview and review of the information to be covered. Objectives align with professional guidelines; symbols throughout the narrative show the alignment of the material with NAEYC and CEC/DEC standards for teacher preparation for the purpose of professional accreditation. This comprehensive guide to establishing a play-based classroom includes specific information about infant and toddler classrooms, preschool classrooms, kindergarten classrooms, and primary and middle childhood. The content is divided into age-appropriate sections for ease and accessibility. Information on play for children who have special needs is integrated throughout the book and is also the focus of one chapter. Instruction on assessing a child's learning through play enables teachers to make play a more viable teaching mechanism. Various activities in each chapter -- InClass Lab, Research and Inquiry, Service Learning, Family Connections, and Play Advocacy -- offer teachers a variety of options beyond the text and the classroom.