Infants and Toddlers at Work: Using Reggio-Inspired Materials to Support Brain Development

Early Childhood Education

by Ann Lewin-Benham, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (Foreword)

This book contains a wealth of practical and specific activities and materials to use with infants and toddlers to enhance growth and development. Writing in the accessible style that her readers appreciate, Ann Lewin-Benham looks at current research from the neurosciences to show what teachers and childcare providers can do with very young children. For each material or activity presented, the text examines its relation to the rapid brain growth that characterizes the zero to three years, including sensory reception, movement, language, cognition, memory, vision, and motivation. Materials, with guidance for their use and where to find them, paint, mark-makers, man-made found objects, natural objects, clay, paper, and light and shadow. This is the definitive guide for trainers and professionals who work with young children. For information about Ann’s teacher workshops visit her AnnLewin-Benham.com.

Genres: Education, Parenting

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[sparklemaia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some useful information but overall didn't really cohere. It was a jumble of brain research, teacher diaries, the author's anecdotes about her grandchildren, and poetic musings about various topics related to teaching and learning. I found the teacher diaries most useful since they provided good ideas for how to introduce materials and scaffold learning. The book also did quite a bit of talking around Reggio Emilia practices, from a "Reggio is the best" perspective and a "we don't really know how Reggio works and what Reggio teachers do" perspective, which was confusing and annoying.

[Jean Schram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas. However, the author mentions that the teachers don't do these things with oral little ones. I read it as a parent, and my one-year-old sticks everything in his mouth, so I would have liked a chapter on what to do if your toddler is not ready for the materials described in this book. (He would eat the clay, the tempera, the various kinds of paper, etc.)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite poor and confusing organization of ideas and an over emphasis on preparing little ones for the future (rather than meeting their right to pursue intellectually stimulating work now), this is by far the most useful book I've read yet concerning Reggio inspired practice with babies.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring to those in the field of child development who want to provide the best early experiences for infants and toddlers. I would highly recommend this.

[Angie]

I read this book for a college class. I really liked the ideas and insight to the different materials and supplies that can be used with early childhood education. I gained new ideas on what to integrate into my classroom. I will be referring back to this text in the future.