Connecting: Friendship in the Lives of Young Children and Their Teachers

Connecting looks at friendship as it develops in the context of early childhood programs, where people come together in unlimited combinations of age, experience, sex, culture, and background. This thought-provoking collection of articles offers practical tools and ideas for facilitating relationships among children and adults with contributions by experts including Ashely Montagu, Judith Leipzig, Kay Albrecht, Lella Gandini, Margie Carter, Diane Levin, and a host of others.

Table of Contents

Preface
Friendship: More Than Social Skills by Dennie Palmer Wolf

Introduction
Friendship-Loving: What Early Childhood Education Is All About by Ashley Montagu

Part 1 — The Nature and Stages of Children's Friendships
Friendship Among Infants? Yes, indeed! interview with Annette Axtmann and Carla Bluhm
Supporting Social Interaction Between Toddlers by Nancy Lauter
Fostering Prosocial Development in Infants and Toddlers by Judith Leipzig
"Are You My Friend?" Learning to Use the Language of Friendship by Joyce Huth Munro
Thinking About Friendship: Fostering and Extending Young Children's Understanding by Carolyn Pope Edwards
On the Rocky Road to Friendship: Emerging Peer Relationships in School-Agers by Kay Albrecht
Being Teachers, Being Friends: Adult Relationships in the Classroom ideas and comments from the field

Part 2 — Facilitating Friendships
Approaching the Slow-to-Approach Child by Mary Beth Lakin
Alice: A Blind Child Looks for Friendship by Marguerita Rudolph
No Girls Alout: Gender Differences and Early Play by Dennie Palmer Wolf
A Place for Learning Social Skills: Making Classrooms Support the Development of Friendships - an interview with Linda Leblanc Tschantz
Co-Playing: Teachers as Models for Friendships by W. George Scarlett
Facilitating Collaborations Among Children by Susan Stacey
Parenting for Friendship by Virginia Haugen

Part 3 — Reflecting on Friendship
What Are Friends For? Reflections of a Millenial Parent by Jim Greenman
Cultures, Empathy, and Friendship an interview with Lella Gandini
Children's Friendships in Contemporary Society a conversation between Nancy Carlsson-Paige and Diane Levin
Building a Community Culture Among Teachers by Margie Carter

ISBN: 0-942702-29-8