Day to Day the Relationship Way: Creating Responsive Programs for Infants and Toddlers

Loving, Consistent Relationships Foster Learning 

From their earliest moments, young children rely on their families and early childhood educators for the protection, affection, and emotional connections they need to thrive. This book discusses ways teachers can support children’s development in all domains through daily relationship-based interactions and highlights the awe-inspiring capabilities of infants and toddlers to learn and love when nurtured through meaningful relationships.

Features include:

• A focus on emotional and social development as the foundation for learning
• Research that ties to everyday practice
• Engaging vignettes and examples that bring relationship-based program elements to life
• Links with NAEYC’s Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators

With this practical, easy-to-read handbook, marvel at the wonder of infants’ and toddlers’ development and discover how to provide engaging learning experiences within the context of satisfying interactions.

Donna S. Wittmer received her PhD from Syracuse University. She taught behavioral pediatrics at Upstate Medical Center and also provided early intervention assessment and intervention services on the Onondaga Indian Nation. She was a professor of early childhood/early childhood special education at the University of Colorado Denver for 17 years. Donna is a fellow of Zero to Three.

Donna coauthored Infant and Toddler Development and Responsive Program Planning (4th ed.), Endless Possibilities (2nd ed.), and The Young Child from Birth to 8 (7th ed.). Her most recent books include From Biting to Hugging—Understanding Social Development in Infants and Toddlers and Crying and Laughing—Understanding the Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers. She is the author of numerous articles on early childhood education and has presented at many NAEYC and Zero to Three conferences.

Alice Sterling Honig, PhD, is professor emerita of child development at Syracuse University, where for 36 years she directed the annual National Quality Infant/Toddler Caregiving Workshop. She received the university’s highest honor, the Chancellor’s Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement.

Dr. Honig has published 600 articles and book chapters, more than two dozen books, and several videos for parents and caregivers. She served as Research in Review editor for NAEYC’s peer-reviewed journal, Young Children, for six years and has lectured widely in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Honig was program director of the Children’s Center, a pioneer enrichment project serving infants and young children and their families in Syracuse. As a volunteer she led sessions for the Onondaga County Mental Health Association to help parents with difficult divorce and custody issues. In 2013 she presented the first Dr. Alice Honig award in China to a prominent Beijing pediatrician. In 2015 Dr. Bettye Caldwell endowed an undergraduate Falk College scholarship in Dr. Honig’s name.