Play, projects, and preschool standards : nurturing children's sense of wonder and joy in learning / Gera Jacobs, Kathy Crowley ; foreword by Marilou Hyson.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-156) and index.

Addressing early learning guidelines in developmentally appropriate ways -- Defining the standards -- Meeting the needs of all children -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- The project approach -- Assessing progress toward meeting the standards -- Involving families -- Designing the environment with the child in mind -- Creating a welcoming environment -- Building relationships -- The power of choice -- Arranging the room for exploration and learning -- Materials for engaging interest areas -- Scheduling the day for play and learning -- Developing positive approaches to learning and social-emotional development : developing curiosity and eagerness; initiative and persistence; problem solving; invention and imagination; self-concept; respecting others; and participating cooperatively as members of a group -- Developing positive approaches to learning and -- Social-emotional development through projects -- Designing the environment -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- Supporting children who are bilingual learners -- Working with children with individual needs -- Exploring the world through science -- Investigating; physical science; life science; earth and space; and science and technology -- Exploring the world and science through the projects -- Designing the environment -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- Supporting children who are bilingual learners -- Working with children with individual needs -- Learning about our community through social studies -- Families/cultures; community/civics; history/time; geography/places/people/environment; and economics -- Learning about our community and social studies -- Through projects -- Designing the environment -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- Supporting children who are bilingual learners -- Working with children with individual needs -- Engaging children in meaningful literacy -- Reading; writing; phonological awareness and listening; oral language development/speaking/communicating; and learning new languages -- Engaging children in meaningful literacy through projects -- Designing the environment -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- Supporting children who are bilingual learners -- Working with children with individual needs -- Making mathematics inviting -- Number sense and operations; shapes/geometry; measurement; making sense of data/statistics; and patterns/algebra -- Making mathematics meaningful through projects -- Designing the environment -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- Supporting children who are bilingual learners -- Working with children with individual needs -- Fostering creativity through the arts -- Visual arts; music; creative movement; and drama -- Fostering creativity in the arts through projects -- Designing the environment -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- Supporting children who are bilingual learners -- Working with children with individual needs -- Promoting physical development and healthy lifestyles -- Gross motor; fine motor; and health -- Promoting physical development and healthy lifestyles through projects -- Designing the environment -- Addressing standards through engaging experiences and activities -- Supporting children who are bilingual learners -- Working with children with individual needs -- Putting it all together -- Addressing standards and benchmarks through projects -- Studies, and themes -- Supporting the transition to kindergarten -- Final thoughts.