DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET Acknowledgments Writing a book is not something that happens without the support and assistance of many people. When the Promethean board of directors challenged us to create a guide for teaching positive character development, it seemed at first an impossible task. The journey from research to results took years. This project would never have happened without philanthropists Robert and Jenny Kirkland and their generous Kirkland Foundation. We are also deeply grateful for the guidance of the Union City Rotary Club and governing board, the Promethean board of directors, and early childhood teachers, directors, support personnel, and community leaders. The Kirkland Foundation charged us with the task of developing a program to teach positive character traits to children beginning at birth. We approached the task with hope and a belief in the positive outcome of our endeavors. Many people helped us in our efforts to identify and develop effective and engaging ac- tivities for infants and toddlers. As we developed ideas, we asked teachers to test them in child care centers, and we followed the children in those centers to see if the character education made a difference. We appreciate the assistance of the staff and faculty of Union City School System and Obion County School System as they continue to cooperate with us every year to collect information that helps us understand and evaluate our effectiveness. The individual teachers in the school systems we contacted were always helpful and professional in their responses. The Tennessee Department of Education offered cooperation and a listening ear. The University of Tennessee at Martin provided expertise and assistance in data analysis and volunteers for various activities. To all of you, we are thankful you were willing to participate in this manner. We are also grateful to the staff, volunteers, and interns who worked in our office through the years helping us with data collection, data entry, daily office operation, and numerous other tasks. We appreciated your servant attitude more than you can ever know. It was a constant reminder of the good character virtues we aim to teach young children. We want to specifically recognize some very special individual teachers for their assistance in developing activities for young children. These teachers pro- vided valuable insights into the activities included in the book by testing them in their classrooms and contributing additional ideas. We thank them for this contribution. They include Beth Payne, teacher at Children’s Corner, 2009; Joni Southerland, teacher at Kare Bear, 2009; Teena Lairy Jarmon, teacher at Pumpkin Patch, 2009; Zula Massengill, teacher at Small World, 2009; and Karen Vise, teacher at Small World, 2010. ix COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL