Play, Projects, and Preschool Standards: Nurturing Children?s Sense of Wonder and Joy in Learning

"The ideas in this book will seem familiar and nonthreatening―yes, teachers can indeed use what they already know and what their children love, but they can also enhance and expand favorite activities, enriching the educational benefits of everyday experiences."
―From the Foreword by Marilou Hyson

Stimulate children′s love of learning while meeting standards and benchmarks!

Teachers today are often challenged by and concerned about the expectations in states′ early learning standards. They have questions about their appropriateness, implementation, and tendency to overlook the needs of the growing number of children who are second language learners or who have disabilities and developmental delays. In Play, Projects, and Preschool Standards, authors Gera Jacobs and Kathy Crowley tackle these questions (and more!) head-on, providing teachers with plenty of lively, creative ideas to develop children′s genuine curiosity while building the skills they′ll need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

In inviting, informal language, the authors walk readers through the creation of well-planned projects and activities that both capture children′s interest and enhance social and pre-academic development. Each chapter offers:

• "What Research and the Experts Say" snapshots, and applications of the research in practice
• "Try This" activity ideas that engage children and meet standards
• Suggestions for tailoring activities to meet the needs of bilingual children and children with special needs

This timely book is sure to give teachers the confidence and competence they need to connect the experiences that make preschool so enjoyable with the skill development that makes preschool so necessary.

Gera Jacobs is a professor of early childhood education and taught kindergarten, preschool, and the elementary grades for many years. She has published articles in a number of national and regional journals and produced a CD-ROM on inclusion for young children with special needs. She has presented at numerous state, regional, and national conferences, and has conducted many inservice presentations for teachers. She is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Governing Board and served on the NAEYC Affiliate Council. The Carnegie Corporation named her the South Dakota Professor of the Year in 2002. She was chairperson of the South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines Panel, responsible for writing the preschool standards for South Dakota.

Jacobs and her coauthor Kathy Crowley have helped to organize an annual statewide kindergarten academy for many years in South Dakota and have presented at kindergarten institutes in other states. They are the coauthors of Play, Projects, and Preschool Standards: Nurturing Children’s Sense of Wonder and Joy in Learning, published by Corwin Press and winner of a 2008 Teachers’ Choice Award, sponsored by Learning Magazine, and a 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. Their collaboration began many years ago as team-teachers in a kindergarten classroom.

Kathy Crowley is a kindergarten teacher and has taught kindergarten, preschool, and the elementary grades for many years. She was director of an afterschool program and a member of the South Dakota Early Learning Guidelines Panel. Serving as a teacher leader for a statewide mathematics initiative, she provides training to other teachers on innovative math strategies. An active member of several professional organizations, she has presented at numerous state, regional, and national conferences. Crowley served as vice president of the South Dakota Association for the Education of Young Children and received the SDAEYC state service award in 2006. Her community named her the Teacher of the Year in 2007.

Crowley and her coauthor Gera Jacobs have helped to organize an annual statewide kindergarten academy for many years in South Dakota and have presented at kindergarten institutes in other states. They are the coauthors of Play, Projects, and Preschool Standards: Nurturing Children’s Sense of Wonder and Joy in Learning, published by Corwin Press and winner of a 2008 Teachers’ Choice Award, sponsored by Learning Magazine and a 2007 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. Their collaboration began many years ago as team-teachers in a kindergarten classroom.