Teaching Young Children: An Introduction, Fourth Edition, is one of the most accessible introduction to early childhood education texts with a curriculum focus in the market. In this thoroughly updated edition, students are easily able to read and understand the essentials of early childhood education. Easy-to-read and engagingly interactive, the text is full-color throughout. The author weaves five essential elements of effective early childhood education throughout the book: understanding development, play, guidance, working with families, and diversity. The book provides an overview of the planning, preparation, and delivery of a curriculum for young children, one that's built around six content areas (physical development, emotional and social development, language and literacy, math/science/social studies, creative arts, and technology), each explored in its own chapter. The author stresses the importance of play and the need to nurture each child's natural affinity for learning through experimentation and exploration.