Observing Development of the Young Child

Observing Development of the Young Child, Seventh Edition

Janice J. Beaty, Professor Emerita, Elmira College 

Focuses on child development using a unique checklist to document each aspect of development.

This book teaches readers how to observe, record, and interpret development of children ages 3 through 5.  It also discusses what these children are like and how to support them in their development with exciting hands on activities. 

The text focuses on the six major aspects of child development: 

• Emotional

• Social

• Physical

• Cognitive

• Language

• Creative 

Teachers can use the author’s unique system of observation, The Child Development Checklist, to determine children’s levels of development.  This simple, self-teaching device is also used as an outline for chapters and their content. 

Strategies to support development

If You Have Not Checked This Item: Some Helpful Ideas-This expanded feature in each chapter gives students specific suggestions for activities that will help children developmentally in areas not checked on the checklist.

Includes coverage of all stages of development–Includes background research and practical activities to enhance development of each stage throughout the text.

Provides a separate chapter on sharing observational data with parents (Chapter 14)—Provides a unique approach to involving parents in their children's development through child observations at home and developing collaborative portfolios with teachers and children in the classroom.

Booknews

Designed as a companion volume to the author's text published by Merrill/Prentice Hall in 1996. This update (previous edition, 1994) discusses observation methods and tools for assessing young children, with a revised chapter on spoken language and new information on emergent literacy and involving parents in their children's development. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Janice J. Beaty is a professor emerita, Elmira College, Elmira, New York.  She is a full-time writer of early childhood college textbooks and a consultant in early childhood education from her home in Cape Coral, Florida.  Her textbooks include Skills for Preschool Teachers, Eighth Edition, 50 Early Childhood Literacy Strategies, Second Edition, 50 Early Childhood Guidance Strategies, Early Literacy in Preschool and Kindergarten, Second Edition with Linda Pratt, Building Bridges with Multicultural Picture Books, Safety in Preschool Programs, and Prosocial Guidance for the Preschool Child.  She is also engaged in a literacy mentoring program with the Foster Grandparents Program in Columbia, Missouri.