Customer Reviews

From Basketball to the Beatles: In Search of Compelling Early Childhood Curriculum

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I thought this was a great book from the beginning to the ending. I like the way the author/teacher takes the reader through the year, with an introduction to the children and some of the problems they may be having at home. As a reader you become closely aquainted with each child and the themes he uses throughout the year. Getting to the main purpose of his book, Ben Mardell goes into detail with each of his themes. He dedicated an entire chapter for each theme and what kind of activities he uses with his children. As he goes through these themes and activities, he also remembers to incorporate the children with problems at home to the theme at hand, and what sort of reactions they have to their new environments. The themes he uses are so original and fun. He makes sure to use themes that not only the children will enjoy, but that he himself will enjoy presenting and working with. There are some things that he decides to do that some of the parents as well as some of the teachers disagree with(the dissecting of a frozen dead squirrel)that he does anyway, and in which the children learn a lot from. I personally enjoyed this book a lot, and found all of his ideas wonderful and so original!

Though this book is about creating meaningful pre-school curricula, readers should not think its creativity and thoughtfulness is limited to classroom prescriptions. It's a carefully crafted philosophy on how children learn and interact with each other and adults. I often think about the chapter on teaching kids about the Beatles, or about preparing kids for group activity as I interact with my child outside of a daycare setting. I gave copies of this book to my child's daycare center, and will evaluate future early childhood education efforts against the standard set by Mardell.

This book is perfect for teachers just entering the field. It gives different curriculum ideas, and how Mardell carried them out. What's interesting about the book is that Mardell includes the issue he faced while carrying out the curriculum and how he handled them. The book is mostly based on curriculum but there is a chapter about dealing with children that goes against the rules of the classroom. Mardell seems to speak really fast, so you just have to keep up with him saying a lot of things just on one page. I love this book, I think its a great book to keep in your library if you plan to continue teaching.

I borrowed this book from the library at first and fell in love with it! I have my own copy now and I regularly recommend it to colleagues and students. I teach Child Development to people who are either in the classroom with preschoolers or plan to be in the classroom with preschoolers. Most of my students have very little reference to working on long-term projects with young children. Their experiences tend to be more play-based with traditional one-shot art activities in the curriculum. This book gives them a beautiful example of long-term projects in the early childhood classroom and best practices with young children.

Ben Mardell writes from the preschool teacher's perspective. Each chapter describes a long-term project that he explores with his preschoolers. He does not plug a particular curriculum like the Project Approach or the Reggio Emilia Approach, although he is clearly influenced by them. He talks about the planning and reflects on how the children respond to what he has provided for him. When you read the book, it is as if you are listening to a close friend and colleague about his work. It is unfortunately rare in this field to find such a detailed description of the process of working with young children and Mardell does this beautifully. I have recommended this book to all of my colleagues and this year I decided to give a copy to each of my Practicum students as a graduation present. If you are interested in young children and how they learn best, be sure to read this book - you won't regret it!

I had the distinct privilege of working with Ben as his teaching assistant a few years ago, and I can say that he created pure magic in the classroom!! The way he works with children and their ideas is very respectful and provocative at the same time. Children are encouraged to try things, to make mistakes, and to learn. It was one of my favourite teaching experiences to date, and I looked forward to all that we did in the classroom every day. I read this book while working with him, and found that the real life experience of working with Ben was very memorable and amazing, as he showed his enthusiasm and dedication in all he did. And the children love him!! I would highly recommend this book to all who are interested in early childhood education, and to all who want to encourage children to do their best learning in the classroom and at home.

I am a kingergarten teacher, and I learned so much from this book. It was amazing cover to cover. Every teacher should read this book, this man has the teaching motivation and philosphy that all teachers should have! Teach what you love, create excitement and sucess in your students. Also if you want to learn more about project approach, this is it. I love this book.

This is an excellent book about reaching very young children by teaching what one loves.

It is only natural that the Beatle reference and title would draw the attention of many. Including the Beatles in the curriculum is a wonderful way of sharing culture; it is a form of cultural enrichment.

I know someone in the Midwest who teaches preschool students and has included a unit on the Beatles. Some of the Beatle themed projects have been to make a Yellow Submarine bulletin board; point out which pupils have Beatle haircuts; having the children identify each Beatle and learning Beatle songs. As a major Beatle fan, it is only natural that I would love this and delight in seeing Beatles 101 included in the curriculum.

I am a early childhood major so I decided to read this book to come up with new ideas on how to make teaching interesting to young students. Ben Mardell does a great job in writing this book and letting us experience the type of curriculum he, along with his students, discovered. Before reading this book, I was not sure on how to go about teaching young children lessons in life that will stick with them for a long time. I was also afraid seeming boring to them and not getting their attention. Mardell showed me that by incorporating in my curriculum the subjects that I love and the things they love at that age, the school year will benefit them not only at school, but at home. He also has them doing activities that relate to that part of the subject. He not only has them reading and listening, he has them role-playing, singing, dancing, and doing project both in school and on fieldtrips. He seems not only to be their teacher but most importantly, their friend.

I am a early childhood major so I decided to read this book to come up with new ideas on how to make teaching interesting to young students. Ben Mardell does a great job in writing this book and letting us experience the type of curriculum he, along with his students, discovered. Before reading this book, I was not sure on how to go about teaching young children lessons in life that will stick with them for a long time. I was also afraid seeming boring to them and not getting their attention. Mardell showed me that by incorporating in my curriculum the subjects that I love and the things they love at that age, the school year will benefit them not only at school, but at home. He also has them doing activities that relate to that part of the subject. He not only has them reading and listening, he has them role-playing, singing, dancing, and doing project both in school and on fieldtrips. He seems not only to be their teacher but most importantly, their friend.

I thought this was a great book from the beginning to the ending. I like the way the author/teacher takes the reader through the year, with an introduction to the children and some of the problems they may be having at home. As a reader you become closely aquainted with each child and the themes he uses throughout the year. Getting to the main purpose of his book, Ben Mardell goes into detail with each of his themes. He dedicated an entire chapter for each theme and what kind of activities he uses with his children. As he goes through these themes and activities, he also remembers to incorporate the children with problems at home to the theme at hand, and what sort of reactions they have to their new environments. The themes he uses are so original and fun. He makes sure to use themes that not only the children will enjoy, but that he himself will enjoy presenting and working with. There are some things that he decides to do that some of the parents as well as some of the teachers disagree with(the dissecting of a frozen dead squirrel)that he does anyway, and in which the children learn a lot from. I personally enjoyed this book a lot, and found all of his ideas wonderful and so original!