Early Childhood Education Resources

Materials for PreK-2 Educators

These Early Childhood Education Resources are broken into the following categories: Articles, Booklets & Books, General Resources, Web Sites, and Research.

Articles

From the Start: A Ready to Learn Resource for PreK-2 Educators
Best practices in the classroom, both general and by subject area; research and standards; and online resources. From PBS TeacherSource.
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/prek2/issues/issuearchive.shtm 

Articles from Kidsource.com
Activities, suggestions and background information to help children learn during these formative years and to help them develop a life long love of learning.
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/pages/ed.early.html

Booklets & Books

Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers
Early childhood pedagogy, standards, individual and cultural variations, assessments, and findings, conclusions, and recommendations. From the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. National Academies Press, 2000. 443pp.
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309068363/html/

Full-Day Kindergarten:  Exploring an Option for Extended Learning
Important considerations for educators, policymakers, and parents assessing their kindergarten options. The final section of the booklet profiles several full-day kindergartens already in place in schools. From Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
http://www.nwrel.org/request/dec2002/incontext.html

Transition into Kindergarten
The effectiveness of commonly used transition practices.From Early Childhood Research & Policy Briefs. Winter 2002. U.S. Department of Education. 4pp. (pdf 696KB)
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncedl/PDFs/TranBrief.pdf  

General Resources

Early Childhood Education | NEA
Information on the issue, the research, and resources in early childhood education. From National Education Association.
http://www.nea.org/earlychildhood/index.html  

Early Childhood Center | Educationworld.com
Resources for teachers, parents, aides, and administrators and discussion areas to share ideas for working with young children.
http://www.educationworld.com/early_childhood/

Games Kids Play
Instructions and rules for traditional children's games such
as tag, jump rope, rhymes, and marbles.
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/

Web Sites

Child Trends Web Site
Research and science-based information to improve the decisions, programs, and policies that affect children and their families. 
http://www.childtrends.org/_catdisp_page.cfm?LID=124

Earlychildhood.com
Resources for teachers and parents of young children, age-appropriate activities and curriculum, and a newsletter.
http://www.earlychildhood.com/

Foundation for Child Development 
National, private philanthropy dedicated to the principle that all families should have the social and material resources to raise their children to be healthy, educated and productive members of their communities.
http://www.fcd-us.org/index.html

National Association for the Education of Young Children
Information on accreditation, conferences, early childhood issues, public policy, and publications on the education of young children.
http://www.naeyc.org

NIEER Web Site
News, publications, facts and figures, events, and policy briefs on early education. The National Institute for Early Education Research Web site is supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
http://nieer.org/

Teacher QuickSource
Curriculum activities and learning materials for Head Start child outcomes. Materials include legislatively mandated domain elements and indicators for language, literacy, and mathematics. From Excelligence Learning Corporation.
http://www.teacherquicksource.com/  

Children's Literature Web Guide
Internet resources related to books for children and young adults.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html

Kidsource.com
Information about newborns, toddlers, preschoolers, K-12, education, health, recreation, parenting, discussion forums, organizations, and products as well as a list of rated articles.
http://www.kidsource.com/ 

Research

Para Nuestros Niños: Expanding & Improving Early Education for Hispanics (2007)
The authors say "The most promising opportunities for raising Hispanic achievement are in the early-childhood years." National Task Force on Early-Childhood Education for Hispanics. Entire publication (PDF, 4632 KB, 76pp).
http://www.ecehispanic.org/work/expand_MainReport.pdf 

Pre-Kindergarten Study (2005)
Includes Pre-K education in the States; who goes to Pre-K and how are they doing; who are the Pre-K teachers; what are Pre-K Classrooms like; how is the Pre-K day spent. From National Center for Early Development and Learning (http://www.fpg.unc.edu/ncedl/index.cfm) publications. Spring 2005, vol. 9, no. 1. (PDF, 1.5MB for entire publication)
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/ncedl/PDFs/ED9_1.pdf

Preschool Policy Matters (2002)
High quality preschool: Why we need it and what it looks like. By Linda M. Espinosa. From the National Institute for Early Education Research.
http://nieer.org/resources/policybriefs/1.pdf

Quality Counts 2002: Building Blocks for Success (2002)
Examines what states are doing to provide early-learning experiences for young children; to ensure that those experiences are of high quality; to prepare and pay early-childhood educators adequately; and to measure the results of early-childhood programs. From Education Week on the Web. www.teachermagazine.com/sreports/qc02/ templates/article.cfm?slug=17exec.h21

Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers (2000)
Educating children ages 2 to 5, focusing on programs provided outside the home, such as preschool, Head Start, and child care centers. From the Department of Education.
http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/educators_early_sum.html

School Involvement in Early Childhood (2000)
Insights about public school involvement in early childhood. Examples of how states and communities are designing programs to expand and improve preschool care and education. Raises questions about the role of public schools with preschool children and the effects of public pre-Kindergarten on children and on Head Start and private preschool care and education programs. From U.S. Department of Education, July 2000.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/schoolinvolvement/index.html

Is Full-Day Kindergarten More Stressful on Children? (1997)
Summarized findings a 1997 study by James Elicker of Purdue: a full-day developmentally appropriate kindergarten reduces stress on children compared to half-day programs. Also produces greater parent satisfaction.
www.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/9711.Elicker.kindergarten.html