Redleaf Press – serie

Teaching sign language can enhance education for all children. Sign with Me the ABCs gives early childhood professionals and families simple directions on how to use signs and benefits of using modified American Sign Language (ASL) with preschoolers. Teaching young children modified ASL can help develop emerging literacy skills, enhance story times, support young children learning English as a second language, and ease frustrations for nonverbal communicators. The front of each card includes a colorful illustration and a short description of how to make the sign. The back of each card explains when to use the sign and how doing so will help children develop.

Children thrive in spaces designed for living and learning. 

Dream big for your early childhood environment, beyond rating scales, regulations, and room arrangements. Designs for Living and Learning has been a favorite resource among educators and caregivers for more than two decades, and this new edition is packed with even more ideas that can be used as you create captivating environments that nurture children, families, and staff while supporting children's learning. With hundreds of colorful photographs of real early learning settings and a multitude of simple and practical concepts for creative indoor and outdoor spaces and learning materials, this book truly is a source of inspiration as you learn how to shape welcoming spaces where children can learn and grow.

Capture beautiful and intentional photographs for documenting young children’s lives. 

In this book, author Ron Grady invites teachers to reflect on their own practice as educators using what is one of the most accessible but perhaps least deeply considered practices of documentation: photography. Photography is an accessible and powerful tool for reflection and documentation, and children’s day-to-day experiences in settings of care and education deserve to be captured with intense attention. The book is arranged as a series of artistic workshops that invites early childhood educators through a course in photography, considering its practice, its documentational potential, its aesthetic and logistical challenges, and its creative possibilities.

Build a more just and loving early childhood program. Based on the latest research on race and early education, Teaching for Love and Justice: Learning About Race and Racism Alongside of Young Children lays out a roadmap for educators who are striving to integrate anti-racist teaching into their programs. The book explores the critical role that early childhood educators play in supporting children's healthy racial identity development and in addressing issues of racial justice. Drawing on interviews with twenty-seven early childhood teachers based in New York City and working in a variety of settings, including Head Start Programs, independent preschools, and public schools, the book offers vignettes from the teachers’ classrooms as well as their perspectives on the joys, challenges, and necessity in addressing these topics. Their insights provide readers with a framework and strategies for doing this vital and complex work well.

Build a high-quality ECE program with intention. 

The Intentional Director empowers early childhood program directors to excel in their roles and positively impact the families they serve. Drawing on extensive years of experience in the field, coupled with research and firsthand knowledge, authors Angel Stoddard and Pam Boulton know that the director is the key to a high-quality program. With interwoven videos and online content, the authors offer a framework of practical strategies and insights for early childhood directors and administrators to enhance their leadership and management skills and create thriving learning environments. An ideal resource for directors at all stages of their careers as well as directors in training, this book offers: 

A comprehensive framework of the essential elements of a thriving early childhood program. A distinction between management and leadership and an understanding of why both are necessary. A self-assessment tool for intentional directors. Techniques for building a solid business. Strategies for ensuring quality programming for young children and their families. Vignettes and reflective exercises to deepen understanding and facilitate application of concepts. Interactivity through videos and QR links to online content.

Bring transformative change to early childhood education. 

We Are Who We’re Waiting For bridges rigorous research with actionable tools for change, delving into child development theories that go beyond the basics, centering on humanity, children’s rights, and intersectionality. Widely respected author Kisa Marx calls for a transformative approach to dismantle systemic barriers and advocates for practices that genuinely center each child’s identity, culture, and potential, turning personal resolve into a broader call for systemic change in early childhood education. 

Through personal narratives and heart-centered storytelling, each chapter guides readers through deconstructing, reconsidering, redefining, and reimagining early childhood education practices. The book provides a rich source of case studies, theoretical insights, and practical applications that promote equity and inclusion in early childhood education, making it an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners alike.