YESTERDAY'S WRITING . . . FOR TODAY
Each of these articles is a conversation about an aspect of quality for early care and education programs that are as important today as they were 30 plus years ago when my first article was published. I hope you find them useful in your own practice today whether with children, families or colleagues.
A Question
(Day Care and Early Education, 1989).
Only by asking questions, by assuming the stance of learner, can we keep ourselves on our toes and provide young children and families with the quality they need and deserve.
Our Room Is Its People
(Day Care and Early Education, 1980).
My first “real” article describes how we applied the wisdom of Lucy Sprague Mitchell, a founder of Bank Street College, by creating a safe, secure environment for babies and toddlers that reflected their “here and now”.
The Wonder of Everyday
(Child Care Information Exchange, 1993).
From the perspective of babies and toddlers, the best thing about everyday activities is that they occur often enough to give children a sense of predictability and mastery, yet with enough variation to hold children’s interest and to extend their learning. For this reason, everyday routines were at heart of our curriculum at the Family Center.
Sharing the Care: What Every Provider and Parent Needs to Know
(Children Today, 1992).
Based on Sharing the Caring, this article was written for a dual audience of providers and family members with the goal of promoting conversations about working together as partners on behalf of the children in their lives.
Child Care on Top of the World
(Young Children, January, 2004).
Written with Pernille Weis-Fogh, a colleague in Svalbard, Norway, this piece is a reminder that sometimes each of us has to step away from our everyday to see practice more clearly. Whether visiting a program down the hall or one above the Arctic Circle chances are that stepping out of the action will lead to seeing what works and to new questions. And the cycle continues….