Creative Resources for the Early Childhood Classroom

I spent months looking through Preschool/Kindergarten curriculum and found this to be the best by far. I bought the 4th edition and this is what is new in this edition - according to the book.1 - "New themes and activities - Over 100 activities with 3 new themes: feet, frogs, amd worms. Each thematic unit begins with a curriculum web. This webbing is designed to inform teachers of the major subconcepts that can be included under each theme."An example of this for the unit of ants would be -Ants:Colors - black, brown, rust, gray, redKinds - carpenter, weaver, leaf cutter, fire, cornfield, thief, armyHomes - underground, earthen mounds, inside trees or hollow plantsFoods - insects, fruits, plantsGrowth stages - egg, larvae, pupae, adultRoles - queen, soldier, worker, maleImportance - eat large number of insects, food source for birds, frogs and other animalsBody Parts - Head, antennas, eyes, mouth parts, trunk, 6 legs, wings (males and queens)I really liked this breakdown b/c it gave me the ability to teach in a well rounded method to ensure the kids were learning more than just the color and what they ate. We did all of this and bought an ant farm (Ant Hill - Living Ant Habitat) and my 2 and 4 year olds can tell you all about ants and are now so intrigued by them b/c they understand them! This ant hill was great. It is made for preschoolers and it doesn't tip.2 - Revised and additional bulletin boards.3 - New and Expanded reference materials - books and multimedia.Each unit is broken down into different activities. They are as follows -Arts and CraftsCookingDramatic PlayField Trip/Resource PeopleFingerplaysGroup TimeLarge MuscleMathMusicScienceSensorySocial StudiesBooks to readMulitmedia to listen to or watchThis book is amazing and full of wonderful information that is straight forward to teach and easy for little ones to learn. The price did seem a little high but considering how well rounded it is...I didn't need to purchase anything else.

This is by far the best resource book for an Early Chilhood classroom. Each chapter is a different theme you can use in your classroom with activities for all subject areas for each theme: Science, Math, Gross Motor, Art, Music, Fingerplays and more. Some even incude snack ideas for that theme. Some books only cover music and art or math and science but this covers it all in a very organized way that makes your Theme plannimg very easy.It's also perfect for any Early Childhood students. We had three of these books on hand when I was in school but I bought my own copy because they were always being used by other students.

I have returned to school to take more preschool classes and purchased this book to help with assignments. If you order only one resource book, then this should be it. I can't say enough about how great this book is. It includes information on curriculum planning, how to select a theme and then plan for it, webs for all themes, family communication, ideas for bulletin boards, selecting appropriate literature, and documentation boards. Each theme section also includes the goals and concepts that can be shared along with activities for all domains and academic disciplines. It also includes a CD with more information and patterns. Whether you are a student, a new teacher, or an experienced preschool teacher, you will definitely get great ideas from this resource book.

I bought so many expensive books for my early childhood education classes but this was definitely worth the money! It's a great resources book for ANY teacher or homeschooled children. Lots of fun activities for kids of any age! They separate ideas based on holidays, genres, it's very well organized. Some ideas are not on Pinterest!

This book is way more then I ever expected. This is perfect if you homeschool children between the ages of 3-6. Everything is set up to make out lesson plans. Lots of ideas to use when teaching. My only true complant is they don't seem to go into any types of alphabet learning but that is what Letter of the week curriculum books/websites are for I am guessing. This book offers alot in the way of learning and it would be useful for any early education teacher, homeschooling Mom or in my case a Mom that wants to suppliment what the regular school is already teaching since my Son only attends preschool for 12 hours a week. Great investment.

Came as described and in GREAT condition!

My current center has this book for staff to use in the library and I loved it so much I ordered one for myself. It has a wide range of early childhood themes and includes planning webs for some ideas of how you can extend the theme and ideas for planting the theme into centers. It has some cute art/small group activities and songs/finger plays, but some topics have more than others or they may not be appropriate for your group and you'll need to find more elsewhere. However, the book and multimedia lists have been excellent and overall it has proven to be an excellent investment.

I really like the activities and organisation of Judy Herrs Creatve resources books. It's wonderful to have on hand as an easy reference for activities, exploration and songs for children.I was disappointed with the quality of the paper used for this printing. The pages feel like catalogue paper. As it is a text which I plan to refer to with great frequency, and the cost I was r ally hoping for better.