J. Ronald Lally

In the short span of three years, infants learn to move with confidence and grace, to converse with ease, to investigate and solve problems, and to help others in need—building an exquisite foundation for all learning that follows. Maguire-Fong has updated her groundbreaking book designed to assist pre- and inservice professionals working with infants and their families. Each chapter draws from research and real-life infant care settings to provide valuable insights into how to design an infant care program, plan curriculum, assess learning, and work with families. This popular resource is inspired by the philosophy of early childhood education developed in the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy; from the work of Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler; and from the many dedicated researchers intent on figuring out how infants make meaning. Book Features: Explicit examples that illustrate how to teach in ways that respect how infants learn. A new in-depth section describing how to plan curriculum by observing, documenting, and interpreting infants' play and interactions. A newly illustrated section that describes how play spaces, daily care routines, and everyday conversations and interactions can be transformed into contexts for learning that fully support infants' amazing capacity to learn. Examples of curriculum planning and assessment that align well with state and national performance standards and curriculum frameworks.

In the short span of three years, infants learn to move with confidence and grace, to converse with ease, to investigate and solve problems, and to help others in need—building an exquisite foundation for all learning that follows. Maguire-Fong has updated her groundbreaking book designed to assist pre- and inservice professionals working with infants and their families. Each chapter draws from research and real-life infant care settings to provide valuable insights into how to design an infant care program, plan curriculum, assess learning, and work with families. This popular resource is inspired by the philosophy of early childhood education developed in the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy; from the work of Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler; and from the many dedicated researchers intent on figuring out how infants make meaning. Book Features: Explicit examples that illustrate how to teach in ways that respect how infants learn. A new in-depth section describing how to plan curriculum by observing, documenting, and interpreting infants' play and interactions. A newly illustrated section that describes how play spaces, daily care routines, and everyday conversations and interactions can be transformed into contexts for learning that fully support infants' amazing capacity to learn. Examples of curriculum planning and assessment that align well with state and national performance standards and curriculum frameworks.

For the last forty years, J. Ronald Lally has worked with state and federal agencies to improve services for infants and toddlers in the United States and abroad. In this new book, Lally paints a stark picture of how our babies have been forced to shoulder the fallout of massive societal changes over the past 60 years, changes that have resulted in less access to their parents, longer time spent in child care, and substandard child care services. For Our Babies features the resonant voices of American parents speaking of their hopes, worries, and frustrations living in a country with too few parental and child supports. It describes American parents' general lack of awareness about how little they receive from their state and federal governments compared to parents living in other countries. This important book includes crucial testimony from developmental psychologists, child care providers, health and mental health professionals, economists, specialists in brain development, and early learning educators about how policy and practices must change in the U. S. if parents are to raise children who will become healthy, productive members of society.