The Whole Child : Developmental Education for the Early Years

The Whole Child, 10/e , written in a warm and engaging style by Patricia Weissman and Joanne Hendrick, is a complete, practical, and hands-on book that uses a developmental domain approach to educate readers about young children from infancy through age 8. The authors believe that physical and emotional health are fundamental to the well-being of children and provide practical methods and materials that address the entire individual, not just curriculum topics. This text focuses on the "whole child" and what he/she needs from the learning environment in order to thrive. It pictures the child as being made up of "selves" - emotional, social, physical, creative, and cognitive...examines each of those selves in turn in separate chapters...and recommends methods and materials for enhancing growth in each area. This popular text is unique in that it combines a practical, realistic approach with a firm foundation in pertinent research topics. With an emphasis on emergent curriculum, intentional teaching, and the Reggio approach, students learn about quality teaching in a way that is accessible and encouraging to the novice teacher and presented to the reader in such a way that encourages linkage between theory and practice.