Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8

Early childhood practitioners and students will find a wealth of information .. like overviews of children’s development and learning in four periods of life: the infant and toddler years, the preschool years, the kindergarten year, and the primary grades. Pages of specific examples for each age period describing key practices seen in high-quality early childhood settings (centers and school classrooms as well as family child care)―and, by contrast, practices that are less likely to serve children well

This 2009 version comes with a supplementary CD containing readings on key topics, plus video examples showing developmentally appropriate practice in action. Based on what the research says about development, learning, and effective practices, as well as what experience tells us about teaching intentionally, DAP articulates the principles that should guide our decision making.