Jennifer Mata-McMahon is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Director of the Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA.Patricia Escarfuller holds a certification as an AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher and as a K-12 Art Teacher. She currently teaches second-grade Social Studies and Science in Spanish and in English at Lakeland Elementary Middle School, USA.

• List of Figures Acknowledgments Forward by John Hochheimer Preface Introduction Section I – What is Children’s Spirituality? Chapter 1 - Defining Spirituality and Differentiating it from Religion Chapter 2 - Understanding Children’s Spirituality in the Literature and Research Section II – Spirituality in the Classroom - What do the Teachers say? Chapter 3 - Looking into Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of Nurturing Spirituality Chapter 4 - How Ms. Escarfuller’s Spirituality Informs Her Pedagogy Chapter 5 - Spiritual Vignettes from Ms. Escarfuller’s Classroom Section III – Tying it All Together Chapter 6 - How can we nurture children’s spirituality in secular settings? Chapter 7 - Spirituality as the North Star for Early Childhood Education: Where do we go from here?

Jennifer Mata-McMahon is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Director of the Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA.Patricia Escarfuller holds a certification as an AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher and as a K-12 Art Teacher. She currently teaches second-grade Social Studies and Science in Spanish and in English at Lakeland Elementary Middle School, USA.

• List of Figures Acknowledgments Forward by John Hochheimer Preface Introduction Section I – What is Children’s Spirituality? Chapter 1 - Defining Spirituality and Differentiating it from Religion Chapter 2 - Understanding Children’s Spirituality in the Literature and Research Section II – Spirituality in the Classroom - What do the Teachers say? Chapter 3 - Looking into Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of Nurturing Spirituality Chapter 4 - How Ms. Escarfuller’s Spirituality Informs Her Pedagogy Chapter 5 - Spiritual Vignettes from Ms. Escarfuller’s Classroom Section III – Tying it All Together Chapter 6 - How can we nurture children’s spirituality in secular settings? Chapter 7 - Spirituality as the North Star for Early Childhood Education: Where do we go from here?

Jennifer Mata-McMahon is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Director of the Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA.Patricia Escarfuller holds a certification as an AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher and as a K-12 Art Teacher. She currently teaches second-grade Social Studies and Science in Spanish and in English at Lakeland Elementary Middle School, USA.

• List of Figures Acknowledgments Forward by John Hochheimer Preface Introduction Section I – What is Children’s Spirituality? Chapter 1 - Defining Spirituality and Differentiating it from Religion Chapter 2 - Understanding Children’s Spirituality in the Literature and Research Section II – Spirituality in the Classroom - What do the Teachers say? Chapter 3 - Looking into Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions of Nurturing Spirituality Chapter 4 - How Ms. Escarfuller’s Spirituality Informs Her Pedagogy Chapter 5 - Spiritual Vignettes from Ms. Escarfuller’s Classroom Section III – Tying it All Together Chapter 6 - How can we nurture children’s spirituality in secular settings? Chapter 7 - Spirituality as the North Star for Early Childhood Education: Where do we go from here?