This best-selling text has been thoroughly updated to include standards coverage and address all aspects of classroom life, including the roles of children and adults, the physical and social environments, and teaching and learning within multiple domains for children age three to eight. It provides a comprehensive, cohesive approach to curriculum development which results in greater continuity for children and practitioners in such formal group settings as childcare, pre-school, and the early elementary grades. Concentrating as much on the "how" of curriculum development as on the "what and why," the authors present numerous examples and practical, research-based guidelines-organized by developmental domain-for translating theory into best practice that accommodates age-appropriateness, individual differences, and social and cultural diversity. Readers learn how to conceptualize, plan, implement, and evaluate curriculum through detailed application opportunities in each chapter.