Honoring the Moment in Young Children’s Lives:
Observation, Documentation, and Reflection
This book is a loving meditation on the things that I hold most dear about children and childhood. It is, in a way, the manifesto of my teaching and research practices so far. It strives to celebrate, simply put, every single one of the moments that we spend with young children in the course of our days. Across seven chapters, I present ideas and stories that form the very core of the way I think about children and childhood and my work within and adjacent to the spaces and communities that serve them. I hope that these stories and invitations to further observation, documentation, and reflection resonate with and inspire you!
Some big questions in the book.
• Reflections on educators’ roles as chroniclers of meaningful moments in children’s daily lives.
• How are educators uniquely positioned to offer new, valuable insights into children’s lives?
• How can educators use their documentation and reflection as a tool for advocacy?
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Chapter 1. Discerning and Reforming: Imagery of Children and Childhood
Chapter 2. The Inexhaustible Richness of the Day
Chapter 3. Uniquely Proximate Positioning
Chapter 4. Lens and Frame: Documentation as Ethnography
Chapter 5: Advocating for Children's Lives
Chapter 6: Learning from Ethnographies
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Deftly weaving anthropology, sociology, psychology, and theories of education, Honoring the Moment in Young Children’s Lives invites us to remake our image of the child and truly appreciate children for who they are at this time.
Honor the moments you spend with young children with a deeper understanding of their perspective and whole selves and use the unique position of educator to translate children’s moments, both ordinary and extraordinary, for their families and communities. Take the next step in observing and documenting young children and embrace the role of researcher, an ethnographer with unique and privileged proximity to children who takes a close-up look and uses that deep knowledge to advocate for children’s needs and their right to live their lives engaged in deep inquiry and self-directed, meaningful play.
Some kind words on for Honoring the Moment from Margie Carter, Susan Stacey, and Alison Clark:
