In the short span of three years, infants learn to move with confidence and grace, to converse with ease, to investigate and solve problems, and to help others in need-building an exquisite foundation for all learning that follows. Maguire-Fong has updated her groundbreaking book designed to assist pre- and inservice professionals working with infants and their families. Each chapter draws from research and real-life infant care settings to provide valuable insights into how to design an infant care program, plan curriculum, assess learning, and work with families. This popular resource is inspired by the philosophy of early childhood education developed in the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy; from the work of Magda Gerber and Emmi Pikler; and from the many dedicated researchers intent on figuring out how infants make meaning.Book Features: Explicit examples that illustrate how to teach in ways that respect how infants learn. A new in-depth section describing how to plan curriculum by observing, documenting, and interpreting infants' play and interactions. A newly illustrated section that describes how play spaces, daily care routines, and everyday conversations and interactions can be transformed into contexts for learning that fully support infants' amazing capacity to learn. Examples of curriculum planning and assessment that align well with state and national performance standards and curriculum frameworks.

This book invites those caring for infants to join as companions on an incredible journey. Each chapter taps a distinct area of research to shed light on babies' biological expectations for care and their amazing competence as active participants in that care. The guide includes ways to help infants and families recover from trauma.