The latest edition of this widely accepted text shows how to foster learning and growth by integrating children's creativity and play into the curriculum. It provides novice and experienced early childhood teachers and caregivers with the roles, responsibilities, and strategies that lead to a more child-centered, play-based curriculum that nurtures children's creative expression in all of its forms. The authors treat play and creative expression as the cornerstones of a child-centered classroom through foundational chapters on creativity, play, and the arts. Unique to this text are three chapters on the traditional treatment of creativity and play—assessment, guidance, and families.