This book makes the case for young children as both keenly materially aware of and highly dependent on sets of interrelated material-discursive circumstances. It argues that long-term engagement with children around the topic of meaning-matter relations upends many taken-for-granted notions of consumption, self-regulation, knowledge production, and what constitutes quality of life within a school setting. The book provides complex accounts of agency on multiple scales - the capability of children to shape and share research, the force of objects, stuff, and things to impact the "social" workings of a classroom, and the impact of nonhuman animals on the trajectory of the ways in which children relate to each other. This work makes a significant contribution to both theoretical conceptions and practical enactments of childhoods, productively addressing the many contradictions inherent in a posthuman and participatory approach to researching with young children. It also offers insights into how the everyday materialities of children's classrooms (and their complex representations) are capable of disrupting the common-sense order of things.

Despite vast possible differences across geographic locations, cultural practices, community values, and curricular priorities, there are everyday events that are intimately familiar in the context of early childhood care and education centres. By attending to the daily events that are often overlooked and considerably under-theorized, this insightful text highlights the complexity of the everyday in early childhood settings. Contributions to this edited collection are organized to follow the chronology of a school day; each chapter draws upon post-foundational theories and empirical qualitative data in order to (re)examine a familiar routine within an early years centre, such as walking down the hallway, eating a snack, napping, or changing one’s clothing. The authors argue for a mundane early childhood praxis that attends to the pedagogical possibilities within the seemingly unremarkable and highlights its importance, especially during what are understood to be unprecedented times. This book will be of interest to advanced practitioners, graduate students, and scholars, and for use in courses in early childhood education, childhood studies, and educational foundations.

Despite vast possible differences across geographic locations, cultural practices, community values, and curricular priorities, there are everyday events that are intimately familiar in the context of early childhood care and education centres. By attending to the daily events that are often overlooked and considerably under-theorized, this insightful text highlights the complexity of the everyday in early childhood settings. Contributions to this edited collection are organized to follow the chronology of a school day; each chapter draws upon post-foundational theories and empirical qualitative data in order to (re)examine a familiar routine within an early years centre, such as walking down the hallway, eating a snack, napping, or changing one’s clothing. The authors argue for a mundane early childhood praxis that attends to the pedagogical possibilities within the seemingly unremarkable and highlights its importance, especially during what are understood to be unprecedented times. This book will be of interest to advanced practitioners, graduate students, and scholars, and for use in courses in early childhood education, childhood studies, and educational foundations.

This book, at the intersection of early childhood and reconceptualizing practice, looks at how practitioners, theorists, and teachers are supporting young children to care about the environment differently. Despite the current popularity of post-human perspectives, in social science more broadly and in early childhood studies more specifically, this is one of few to make visible international practices and perspectives that emerge at the intersection of early childhood education, environmental justice, sustainability, and intergenerational/interspecies communities. The book provides an innovative exploration of the links between children, elders, and nature. With contributions from established scholars, practitioners, and newcomers this book reframes educating for social justice within an ecological landscape; one in which young children and their elders are mobilized to understand, reconceptualize and even undo negative environmental impact, whilst grappling with the ways in which the earthly forces are acting upon them. Specific theoretical chapters (spirituality, nature, critical and post-human/materiality, pragmatics, and constructivism approaches) are blended with applications of pedagogic strategies from across the globe. This book responds to a growing interest among early childhood professionals and scholars for sustainably focused and ethically reimagined programs. This collection rewards the reader with opportunities to critically reflect on their own practice, delves into new terrestrial collectives, and explores new pedagogical pathways. It will be essential reading for practitioners and scholars alike.

This book, at the intersection of early childhood and reconceptualizing practice, looks at how practitioners, theorists, and teachers are supporting young children to care about the environment differently. Despite the current popularity of post-human perspectives, in social science more broadly and in early childhood studies more specifically, this is one of few to make visible international practices and perspectives that emerge at the intersection of early childhood education, environmental justice, sustainability, and intergenerational/interspecies communities. The book provides an innovative exploration of the links between children, elders, and nature. With contributions from established scholars, practitioners, and newcomers this book reframes educating for social justice within an ecological landscape; one in which young children and their elders are mobilized to understand, reconceptualize and even undo negative environmental impact, whilst grappling with the ways in which the earthly forces are acting upon them. Specific theoretical chapters (spirituality, nature, critical and post-human/materiality, pragmatics, and constructivism approaches) are blended with applications of pedagogic strategies from across the globe. This book responds to a growing interest among early childhood professionals and scholars for sustainably focused and ethically reimagined programs. This collection rewards the reader with opportunities to critically reflect on their own practice, delves into new terrestrial collectives, and explores new pedagogical pathways. It will be essential reading for practitioners and scholars alike.

This book makes the case for young children as both keenly materially aware of and highly dependent on sets of interrelated material-discursive circumstances. It argues that long-term engagement with children around the topic of meaning-matter relations upends many taken-for-granted notions of consumption, self-regulation, knowledge production, and what constitutes quality of life within a school setting. The book provides complex accounts of agency on multiple scales - the capability of children to shape and share research, the force of objects, stuff, and things to impact the "social" workings of a classroom, and the impact of nonhuman animals on the trajectory of the ways in which children relate to each other. This work makes a significant contribution to both theoretical conceptions and practical enactments of childhoods, productively addressing the many contradictions inherent in a posthuman and participatory approach to researching with young children. It also offers insights into how the everyday materialities of children's classrooms (and their complex representations) are capable of disrupting the common-sense order of things.