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

by Ben Mardell (Author) "Never in my wildest imagination did I consider that my preschool class' study of squirrels would lead me to the Mammalian Department at Harvard University's..." (more)
Key Phrases: squirrel scientists, squirrel unit, playdough party, South Africa, Uncle Booky, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“[This] book does not leave us awestruck by the brilliance of a single teacher. It draws us in.”–Eleanor Duckworth

Product Description
This entertaining and informative guide provides both the big picture about work in early childhood classroomsthe theory of teaching young childrenand the details of developing and implementing preschool curriculum.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann (October 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0325001944
• ISBN-13: 978-0325001944
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #784,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Having fun with ideas, December 4, 2000

By	Jessica (Brownsville, Texas) - See all my reviews

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!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this before your kids can!, June 22, 2001

By	D. Kass "DK" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent example of good practice in ECE!, May 31, 2009

By	C. Nepstad "Assistant Professor" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!