Explore how "big ideas" form the centerpiece for early childhood curriculum approaches that are responsive to and respectful of children's natural curiosity! To help you engage in constructivist practices with your preschool and primary grade students, Constructivism across the Curriculum in Early Childhood Classrooms bridges the gap between theory and practice by carefully outlining seven Big Ideas-light, balance, cause and effect, transformation, sound, zooming in and out, and upside down-that provide springboard to developing an effective interdisciplinary, child-centered curriculum. Filled with a goldmine of activities to spark student learning, children's literature references that extend student engagement, and classroom scenarios that demonstrate how real teachers have put constructivist theory into practice, Christine Chaille's book is the perfect professional development resource for early childhood teachers. Meet classroom goals and implement a fresh curriculum: * Learn the foundational theory and practice of constructivism and early childhood approaches inspired by Reggio Emilia. * Implement ideas and strategies applicable to your class's immediate needs. * Meet the realities of the classroom with practical resources and concrete examples depicting how to foster learning in young children. The big ideas teachers can't stop talking about! "[Christine] uses many examples of excellent activities and goes into great detailed explanation about how [the activities] are beneficial for students' learning and why. Her explanations are a wonderful way of getting down to the brass tacks for new teachers...It is refreshing to see such honesty and step-by-step instructions that new teachers need." --Nancy B. Stewart, Early Childhood Specialist, Norfolk Public Schools, VA "The author's writing style is extremely engaging and effective...and I loved the idea of utilizing a curricular starting point, and demonstrating how the teacher branches off from that point. Having this personal example of a teacher's journey engages the reader, and facilitates connections to [our] own work." --Johnna Darragh, Heartland Community College, IL