This best seller is used by early childhood educators across the world. A theme based curriculum, this book is presented in Alpha order and contains 70 different themes ranging from Ants to Zoo Animals. Each theme contains a variation of the following content depending upon that theme: Curriculum, Web, Theme Goals, Concepts for the Children to Learn, Vocabulary, Bulletin Board, Parent Letter, Music, Fingerplay, Science, Math, Dramatic Play, Arts and Crafts, Sensory, Large Muscle (Gross), Small Muscle (Fine), Field Trips, Social Studies, Group Time, Cooking, Transitions, Books, Multimedia, Recordings and Song Titles. The book sections at the end of each theme have been updated with hundreds of new activities. In addition, an accompanying back-of-book CD-ROM contains important assessment tools, lesson plan forms, evaluation forms for documentation boards, and more.

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~Resources
every source is documented, giving unending
possibilities to pursue

~Books!
at the end of each unit is a list of books
relevant to the topic

~Webbing
each unit begins with a flowchart, listing
many aspects or branches of the main theme.
(This is a tremendous help in beginning to
think through how to personalize the units)

~INTERACTIVE Bulletin Boards
while the bulletin boards are a bit repetitive
(similar concepts for all the boards, but the
objects involved change with the themes), kids
tend to pay more attention to these
Interactive boards than to traditional ones.

29 of 29 found the following review helpful:

The Absolute Best Out ThereSep 25, 2005
By Jacqueline J. Maxfield "Jacqui"
I spent months looking through Preschool/Kindergarten curriculum and found this to be the best by far. I bought the 4th edition and this is what is new in this edition - according to the book.

1 - "New themes and activities - Over 100 activities with 3 new themes: feet, frogs, amd worms. Each thematic unit begins with a curriculum web. This webbing is designed to inform teachers of the major subconcepts that can be included under each theme."
An example of this for the unit of ants would be -
Ants:
Colors - black, brown, rust, gray, red
Kinds - carpenter, weaver, leaf cutter, fire, cornfield, thief, army
Homes - underground, earthen mounds, inside trees or hollow plants
Foods - insects, fruits, plants
Growth stages - egg, larvae, pupae, adult
Roles - queen, soldier, worker, male
Importance - eat large number of insects, food source for birds, frogs and other animals
Body Parts - Head, antennas, eyes, mouth parts, trunk, 6 legs, wings (males and queens)

I really liked this breakdown b/c it gave me the ability to teach in a well rounded method to ensure the kids were learning more than just the color and what they ate. We did all of this and bought an ant farm (Ant Hill - Living Ant Habitat) and my 2 and 4 year olds can tell you all about ants and are now so intrigued by them b/c they understand them! This ant hill was great. It is made for preschoolers and it doesn't tip.

2 - Revised and additional bulletin boards.
3 - New and Expanded reference materials - books and multimedia.

Each unit is broken down into different activities. They are as follows -
Arts and Crafts
Cooking
Dramatic Play
Field Trip/Resource People
Fingerplays
Group Time
Large Muscle
Math
Music
Science
Sensory
Social Studies
Books to read
Mulitmedia to listen to or watch

This book is amazing and full of wonderful information that is straight forward to teach and easy for little ones to learn. The price did seem a little high but considering how well rounded it is...I didn't need to purchase anything else.

23 of 23 found the following review helpful:

Great activities to cure the winter bluesNov 10, 2002
By Wendy Somerlot Bittel
This book provides tons of great ideas for activities for your preschooler. I am a stay at home mom using these ideas to keep my kids busy. The book is organized by themes. Each theme has songs, fingerplays, arts/crafts, play ideas, science subjects, etc. to tie into that subject. You can do as little or as much of it as you want. It also provides a list of story books to accompany each theme. It's well thought out and organized.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Its Influence Saturates My ClassroomDec 18, 2004
By Reginald Williams
I used this book in student teaching. I pulled many ideas from it to create my long/range plan. I use it everyday for starter ideas. Herr/Libby-Larson represent my biggest influences (other than my student teaching teacher) on my current practice.

From the wonderful, interactive bulletin boards to the tons of hands-on activities to the graphic organizers, this book will meet all of your needs if you just needed one book.

Along with Bredekamp/Copple's DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD and Steffen Saifer's THE EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER'S MANUAL: PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO PRACTICALLY EVERY PROBLEM, this book should represent your first three members of your professional teaching library.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

CR is #1 lesson plan source for Jr K curriculuFeb 14, 1999

Creative Resources provides activities and ideas to support high quality ECE curriculum. CR helps you set up engaging learning centers such as math, science, art, drama, puzzles and games, and "creative" writing.

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