Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Volume editorsEva C. Phillips, EdD, is dedicated to teaching and advocating for young children and early childhood educators. Throughout her almost 40 years of service to North Carolina, she served as a kindergarten teacher, a state‑level Title I preschool and kindergarten consultant, an assistant professor and Birth‑Kindergarten Education Program Coordinator, and a district‑level program manager for early learning. She has collaborated on numerous projects supporting developmentally appropriate practices and was cocreator and cofacilitator of North Carolina’s Power of K Teacher Leader Initiative while at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Dr. Phillips also served as president of the North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children from 2009 to 2013. After retiring from the state in 2017, she began a consulting business to support early learning educators through professional development, consulting, and coaching. She is coauthor of the book Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Kindergartners and the white paper Children Come First: Ensuring School Policies, Practices, and Strategies Lead to Positive 3rd Grade Outcomes. She is dedicated to working with educators in their pursuits to provide the most authentic, appropriate, engaging, and challenging experiences for all young children.Amy Scrinzi,EdD, is an accomplished educator with extensive experience in the field of education spanning more than 30 years. She is an assistant professor of child development at Meredith College in North Carolina. In addition, she serves as the coordinator of the birth‑to‑kindergarten licensure program, overseeing and guiding aspiring educators in their journey to become licensed educators. Dr. Scrinzi is a former classroom teacher of pre‑K through third grade, having taught in several public school districts in North Carolina. She later worked at the state’s Department of Public Instruction as a state‑level early childhood education consultant, developing and facilitating projects that included coleading the state’s Power of K three‑year kindergarten teacher leadership initiative. She also served as a state‑level K–2 math consultant, state lead for the North Carolina Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA), and state‑level mentor for nonpublic pre‑K teachers seeking a birth‑to‑kindergarten teaching license. She is coauthor of the bookBasics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Kindergartners. Her experience as a classroom teacher, consultant, mentor, and author has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of early childhood education, and she remains dedicated to supporting teachers’ use of effective practices that align with the developmental needs of young learners.Series editorSusan Friedman is senior director of publishing and content development at NAEYC. In this role, she leads the content development work of NAEYC’s books and periodicals teams. Ms. Friedman is coeditor of Each and Every Child: Teaching Preschool with an Equity Lens. She has extensive prior experience creating content on play, developmentally appropriate uses of media, and other topics for educators and families. She has presented at numerous educational conferences, including NAEYC’s Professional Learning Institute and Annual Conference, the South by Southwest Education (SXSW EDU) Conference & Festival, and the School Superintendents Association’s Early Learning Cohort. She began her career as a preschool teacher at City and Country School in New York City. She holds degrees from Vassar College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

• About the EditorsFocus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning Book SeriesDevelopmentally Appropriate Practice: An IntroductionDevelopmentally Appropriate Practice in KindergartenPart 1: Creating a Caring, Equitable Community of LearnersChapter 1: Successful Transitions to and out of Kindergarten: Supporting Children and Families | Eva Phillips and Amy ScrinziChapter 2: Routines, Rituals, and Mantras for Building a Joyful Classroom in Kindergarten: Reflections from Our Small Mountain Community Classrooms | Lee Messer and Marylee SeaseChapter 3: Supporting SelfRegulation and Autonomy in Kindergarten: One Teacher’s Journey | Amy D. BlessingChapter 4: How Do I See Myself? How Do Others See Me? Exploring Identity in Kindergarten | Doriet Berkowitz Chapter 5: Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning About Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families | Kirsten Cole and Diandra VerwaynePart 2: Engaging in Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and Fostering Community Connections;Chapter 6: Developing Culturally Responsive Family Partnerships in Kindergarten: Communicating About the Value of Play and Honoring Families’ Funds of Knowledge | Iris Chin Ponte and Yvonne LiuConstantChapter 7: Family Math Stories: Math for CrossCultural Connections and Community | Hannah KyeChapter 8: Exploring Families’ Language Practices Through a Social Studies Inquiry in Kindergarten | Ivana Espinet, Maite T. Sánchez, Sabrina Poms, and Elizabeth MenendezChapter 9: Being the Bridge: Supporting the Families of Kindergartners Whose Primary Language Is Not English | Laura C. RodríguezPérezPart 3: Observing, Documenting, and Assessing Children’s Development and LearningChapter 10: Authentic Assessment and Playful Learning: Purposeful Assessment of Children’s Understanding | Kimberly T. Nesbitt, Elias Blinkoff, and Kathy HirshPasekChapter 11: Observing, Planning, Guiding: How an Intentional Teacher Meets Standards Through Play | Patricia McDonald/li>Chapter 12: Assessment in Kindergarten: Meeting Children Where They Are | Amy D. BlessingChapter 13: Assessing Young Children in the Inclusive Classroom: Using Data to Create Equitable and Joyful Learning Experiences for All | Christan Coogle and Heather WalterChapter 14: Adding Play and HandsOn Learning into the Kindergarten Classroom: Balancing Mandated Curricula and Assessments with Developmentally Appropriate Practice | Kacey Edgington and Amy Prosser Part 4: Teaching to Enhance Each Child’s Development and LearningChapter 15: Centers in Kindergarten: When Do You Have Time for That? | Juliana HarrisChapter 16: The Fine Art of Scaffolding Kindergarten Learners | Elena Bodrova, Barbara WilderSmith, and Deborah LeongChapter 17: Joyful Learning Through Science Inquiry Projects: Snails and Letter Learning | Melissa Fine;Chapter 18: “There’s a Story in My Picture!” Connecting Art, Literacy, and Drama Through Storytelling | Bonnie RipsteinChapter 19: Teaching Writing with Mentor Texts in Kindergarten | Katie Schrodt, Erin FitzPatrick, Bonnie A. Barksdale, Brandi Nunnery, and Michelle Medlin HastyChapter 20: The Healing Power of Play | Laura J. Colker and Sarah ErdmanPart 5: Planning and Implementing an Engaging Curriculum to Achieve Meaningful GoalsChapter 21: Engaging and Enriching: The Key to Developmentally Appropriate Academic Rigor | Shannon RileyAyers and Alexandra FiguerasDanielChapter 22: Incorporating PlayBased Learning into the Kindergarten Classroom | Margi Bhansali, Alli Bizon, and Erean Mei Chapter 23: Finding Joy in Kindergarten Mathematics | Lauren SolarskiChapter 24: Joyful and Equity in Literacy: The Intersection of Access and Opportunity | Ryan LeeJames and Stacey WallenChapter 25: Adapting the Curriculum to Incorporate Student Inquiry Through Teachable Moments | Sabrina BurroughsPart 6: Demonstrating Professionalism as an Early Childhood EducatorChapter 26: Portraits of Teacher Leadership | Jessica Jackson, Samantha Mehrlich, Yolanda A. Sawyer, and Susan ChoplinChapter 27: Agency and Power in Young Children’s Lives: Five Ways to Advocate for Social Justice as an Early Childhood Educator | Jennifer Keys Adair and Shubhi SachdevaIndex

As an early childhood educator of 30 years, I found this book to provide great examples of how a developmentally appropriate kindergarten classroom functions. It covers current topics, provides personal examples from educators, and offers research-based insights and ideas for immediate implementation. It supports laughter and play as important aspects of learning. This user-friendly book will serve as a valuable resource for teachers at all experience levels.—Connie L. Hall, Kindergarten Teacher, 2023 Nevada Teacher of the YearKindergarten can be a challenging new environment for both children and adults. Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning in Kindergarten gives practical guidelines for teachers and administrators to ensure that kindergarten is just that—joyful, engaging, and most important, high-quality for all children. As a former kindergarten teacher and now primary school principal, I can attest that this book will be invaluable for both new and veteran educators striving to provide developmentally appropriate practices in kindergarten.–Jason Sims, Principal, Laurel Hill Primary SchoolBuilding on the collective wisdom of veteran kindergarten teachers, this book articulates a wealth of practices, mindsets, and reflections that will help readers understand and thoughtfully apply DAP in their classrooms. Anchored in both research and lived experiences, this book offers teachers compelling approaches they can try out immediately, while simultaneously prompting much-needed reflection about their specific context, past practices, and professional identities. The vignettes of real-world teacher-student interactions are vivid, relatable, and inspiring–bringing each chapter’s key principles to life. This resource is exactly what it needs to be for teachers who wish to enact DAP in their kindergarten classrooms.—Maleka Donaldson, Associate Professor, Department of Education and Child Study, Smith CollegeAs kindergarten has shifted over the past 30 years, this book emerges as a critical resource for teachers, empowering them to navigate academic and assessment pressures while ensuring joyful, developmentally appropriate experiences that support the whole child’s success . . . for every child. —Karyn Allee, Assistant Professor of Education, Mercer UniversityThe information in this resource—which is both practical and theoretical—clearly describes academic and social-emotional skills that children will need for their ongoing success in school, as well as the specific ways that children learn best at kindergarten age. The format of collected pieces makes this a resource teachers will use often. This work is outstanding!—Monica O’Gara, Founding Faculty, City Neighbors Charter School