Infants and Toddlers at Work

Now in a second edition, this popular resource shows teachers and childcare providers how to work with young children based on current neuroscience research. Revised and expanded, it contains a wealth of practical and specific activities and materials to use with infants and toddlers to enhance growth and development. For each activity presented, the text examines its relation to the rapid brain growth that characterizes the 0 to 3 years, including major developments in sensory reception, movement, language, cognition, memory, vision, and motivation. Featured materials, with guidance for their use and where to find them, include paint, mark-makers, man-made found objects, natural objects, clay, paper, and light and shadow. This edition features many full color images and two new chapters on using electronic technology with infants and toddlers written by outstanding early educators. This is an essential guide for trainers and professionals who work with very young children, as well as parents and other caregivers.

Book Features:

• The interpretation of current neuroscience as a supplement to the wisdom of excellent early childhood educators.
• Numerous vignettes of teachers at work with young children inspired by the experiences of lifelong early educator Ann Lewin-Benham.
• New ideas regarding the responsible introduction of electronic technology to young children.
• Original color photos of children learning with traditional materials such as paint, clay, and fabric, as well as with electronic devices such as cameras and computers.
• Insights and practices of renowned cognitive psychologists, including Stanislas Dehaene.

Ann Lewin-Benham founded and for 20 years directed the Capital Children’s Museum in Washington, DC, where she also founded and directed the Model Early Learning Center. She is the author of Possible Schools: The Reggio Approach to Urban Education and Powerful Children: Understanding How to Teach and Learn Using the Reggio Approach.

“In this well-researched and aptly illustrated book, master educator Ann Lewin-Benham surveys authorities (like Piaget), exemplary programs (like Reggio Emilia), materials (like paper and clay), as well as current research on the brain and on technology—and skillfully integrates them.”
—Howard Gardner, Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Praise for the First Edition

“A wealth of information and specific suggestions for creating learning environments that capitalize on current knowledge make this an invaluable guide for practitioners and teacher educators.”
—Young Children

“Ann Lewin-Benham’s book represents an extraordinarily comprehensive yet usable guide to the neuroscientific state-of-the-art in infant and toddler cognitive development. Full of practical recommendations for engaging young children’s brains with the physical world around them, this volume will connect strongly with educators and caregivers alike.”
—Mariale Hardiman, interim dean, School of Education, Johns Hopkins University

“As we learn more and more from neuroscience about the development of the infant brain, two things have become clear: how competent babies are, and how much they depend on relationships to frame their early development. In her new book Ann Lewin-Benham helps us to understand how to respectfully relate to the developing brain.”
—J. Ronald Lally, co-director, Center for Child & Family Studies, WestEd

Contents

Foreword to the First Edition Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi  xi

Acknowledgments  xiii

Introduction  1
Impetus for the Book  1
Research  4
Teaching Techniques  5
Materials  6
Learning Exemplars: The Reggio Schools  7
Chapter Overviews  7
Four Big Ideas in This Book  10

1.  Why Use Materials?  13
Infants and Toddlers in Flow  14
Attention and Materials  16
Humans: Unique Learners  16
Sensitive Periods and Brain Plasticity  19
Structuring the Use of Materials  27
Conclusion: Materials’ Meaning  31

2.  Framing Experiences  32
The Brain’s Attention Systems  33
Facing Complexity  36
Challenges: Glue, Scissors, Clay, Sewing  40
Conclusion: Accumulating Skills  48

3.  Infants and Materials  49
Infants’ Predispositions  49
Adults’ Intentionality  52
Food, Paper, Fabric, Sound  54
Day by Day in Provocative Infant Spaces  59
Conclusion: Natural Learners  65

4.  Man-Made Materials  66
Cultural Contrasts: 10,000 Years Ago and Now  67
Reggio and Neuroscience Resonances  69
The Design and Development of Materials  73
One Huge and Many Small Events  78
Conclusion: Meaning-Full Materials  83

5.  Painting With Tempera  84
Stumbling, Reflecting, Learning  85
A Theory of How We Learn  87
Teaching With Intention  90
A Culture of Relationships  91
Beginning Use of Tempera  96
Conclusion: The Joy of Painting  101

6.  Clay  102
6-Month- and 2-Year-Old Reactions  102
Molding the Brain  110
Joyful Tactile Experiences  116
Conclusion: Clay, Creativity, and Competence  118

7.  Mark-Making  119
A Natural Language  120
An Innate Drive  123
A Story from Reggio  125
Complex Intersections: Drawing and Decisions  129
Small Choices, Large Impacts  130
Self-Portraits Plus  133
Conclusion: Drawing, An Imperative  135

8.  Exploring Paper  136
Paper, Brain, and Hand  137
New Ways With Paper: Eight Months of Activities  139
Paper, Infants, and Toddlers: Reggio Stories  145
Conclusion: New Perspectives  150

9.  Natural Materials  153
Learning to See  154
Infant and Toddler Investigations of Nature  157
The Bounty of Natural Materials  161
Research, Nature, and the Classroom  165
Conclusion: The Power and Pleasure of Nature  168

10.  Light and Shadow  170
How We Know What We See  170
Discovering Light and Shadow  175
Conclusion: Enticing the Infant/Toddler Brain  184

11.  Using Technology with Infants and Toddlers  186
Alex Morgan
Learning the Language of Technology  187
Exploring Digital Humanity  188
Building Community Through Technology  190
Conclusion  193

12.  Making Meaning With Technology  194
Ryan Kurada
Coding and Robotics  194
Augmented and Virtual Reality  195
Digital Photography  195
Digital Landscapes  195
Spectrogram  196
Conclusion  197

Appendix A: List of Materials  199

Appendix B: Art Supplies  203

Appendix C: Tools  205

Glossary  207

References  211

Index  215

About the Author and Contributors  224