Janice J. Beaty's best-selling Observing Development of the Young Child teaches its audience how to observe, record, and interpret the development of children ages three through five by utilizing a unique checklist to document each aspect of development. This proven resource discusses what these young children are like, and how to support them in their early development with exciting hands-on activities. Even though the new edition has undergone quite an extensive revision, long-time adoptees and fans of the book in its previous editions can rest assured that the author has preserved many of the original features while adapting them to new circumstances of today's early childhood education environment, the key issues, and new research. Streamlined from previous editions, with 12 chapters instead of 14, this practical, easy-to-use system is based on a progression of children's skill development in six major areas: emotional, social, physical, cognitive, language, and creative. Used successfully in early childhood programs all over the country since its inception, this unique and mainstay text looks at child development versus child behaviors, preparing its readers to become avid observers, recording what he/she sees, mastering how to interpret the data, and becoming adept at how to use the observations to plan for the young individuals they will encounter.