Child Goes Forth A Curriculum Guide for Preschool Children

9780130481160

0130481165

There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. -- Wait Whitman From "Autumn Rivulets" inLeaves of Grass As I finish the tenth edition ofA Child Goes Forth,I look back over my years of schooling and my years of teaching. I had completed two years of my university education when I was married. We moved to Inglewood, California, we had one son, and my husband completed his architecture degree at University of Southern California. We moved back to Utah, where my husband was employed by a local architect. I had begun working as a secretary for one of the university presidents when we decided that it was possible for me to go back to school and finish my degree. I enrolled in child development classes, which was a wonderful choice. Not only was my line of study useful in my life, but I enjoyed the classes very much. I finished my bachelor's degree and was offered a graduate assistantship. The years flew by as I taught undergraduate students and was a head teacher in the preschool. Then the pressure began--either get a doctorate or move on. I found much joy and satisfaction in working with young children and university students. What to do!!! By now my husband had his own architectural firm, we had a second child, and further education seemed out of the question--BUT in a family council, we decided that I could go on with my schooling (which the university insisted be out-of-state and at a notable university). Again, a family council! Our oldest son was in the third grade, our youngest son was a preschooler, and my husband's firm was growing. We looked at several universities that were "tops" in early childhood education and child development. We decided upon Florida State in Tallahassee. I was already acquainted with many faculty members, and I held their program in high regard. We packed up and off we went! My husband flew to Tallahassee as often as his business permitted, our oldest son was in the third grade, and our youngest son was cared for by loving and qualified people. I finished my necessary course work at Florida State, and we moved back to Utah. I returned to teaching and finishing courses such as statistics, languages, and more. Time marches on--I was ready to complete my dissertation, take my exams, teach classes, and finish my degree. Everything fell into place and it was time for graduation!! What a welcome day! But how doesA Child Goes Forthfit into this? One semester I was teaching my usual child development courses and gave the students a reading list. One brave student raised her hand and said, "Can't you give us some articles to read so that we don't have to spend all that time at the library looking them up and reading them there?" It was a worthy idea--and my reply was, "I can't for this semester, but I will for the students next semester." I am not sure how well that satisfied my present students, but it was a great help to the later ones. I did put together a reading packet--and that was the beginning of my writing career! The first edition ofA Child Goes Forthwas a spiral book of readings with a cover designed by my husband. That edition in 1964 was published by the Brigham Young University Press, and it was followed by subsequent editions in 1966, 1972, and 1975, also by the BYU Press. By some means (unknown to me) the BYU Press sold the rights to Burgess Publishing Company, who published the fifth edition in 1980. Then it was sold to Macmillan College Publishing Company, who printed editions in 1985,1991, 1995, and 1999. Here it is 2003, and this is thetenthedition! It takes a lot of time to revise a text. I have tried to bring attention to early educators and theor