Describes one educator's research journey to Friedrich Froebel's homeland of Germany to study the beginnings of the early childhood profession and to celebrate Froebel's important contributions. Offers descriptions of early Froebel schools and Froebel artifacts to illustrate his educational philosophy and practice. (KB)

Studied the playground games of children in their first year of schooling. Findings for 77 urban first graders show that facility with games forecast the social competence of boys and the adjustment to first grade of both boys and girls. (SLD)

Defines work built around a systems view of consumers and producers to characterize work as seen through different cultures as a mingling of enjoyment. Shows how emerging agricultural settlements and cities resulted in families assuming inherited work or labor specialties to be passed to the next generation. Discusses generational concepts of work…

This study examined how children's play varied as function of child's sex, play partner's sex, and whether they played in dyads or groups. Observation data revealed that boys' same-sex play was more active-forceful, farther from presence of adults, and more stereotyped than girls', a pattern exaggerated in groups. Mixed-sex play was more likely…

Presents brief annotations of 25 recently published children's books that lend themselves to language play in the classroom. Organizes the items into books that celebrate the sounds, images, movement, and feelings of language. (SR)

Demonstrates an alternative method (nondirective child-centered therapy) in treating enuresis and encopresis resulting from emotional disturbances. Examines various etiologies and approaches to treating these conditions. Provides a case study example. Claims that professionals must differentiate between primary and secondary occurrences of these…

Discusses how story enactments can be used in preschool and kindergarten classrooms to allow children to take on the role of storymaker and to provide experiences for children to draw upon as they learn to read. Offers tips for individual story writing and suggestions for group story telling. Asserts that a variety of storymaking experiences…

Examined relationships and conflicts between secondary school boys and girls, noting the fine line between playing "just for fun" and harassment. Data from classroom observations, interviews with younger adolescents, and reminiscences of the same adolescents a few years later revealed diverse interpretations of gendered interactions.…

Discusses children's play in conjunction with intellectual development, language, and social benefits. Suggests that play develops personality, encourages personal relations, stimulates creativity, adds to happiness, and advances learning. Encourages parents and teachers to provide children with richly varied play experiences to promote cognition,…

Twelve hearing and 12 hearing-impaired mothers were videotaped during work and play tasks with their hearing daughters, aged 8-12. Significant differences observed among 11 interaction patterns included less verbal interaction, more nonverbal interaction, and fewer maternal questions between hearing-impaired mothers and their daughters than…

Examines contemporary sociological conceptions of "deviance" and "resistance" in youth culture studies. Explores whether the notion of "playfulness" is applicable to the understanding of disruptive classroom behavior. The "asides" developed by certain class members are linked to the official lesson's…

To increase group creativity and understanding of the creative process, a 3-hour session of nonthreatening game playing was undertaken with 10 graduate students. Games included comfort-establishing, trust-building, and challenge activities. Observers were unaware of any individual asserting dominance, and participants formed relationships that…

Reflects on play as a context for teachers' assessment of young children's emerging literacy behavior and upon alternate assessment procedures in the context of play. (MG)

Two experiments, one involving two elementary-aged girls with autism and one involving three boys with serious behavior disorders, found that the use of contingent access to free time and play materials increased the rate of correct math problems completed and decreased the error rates. (Author/JDD)

Investigates the relationships among 20 mothers' and 20 fathers' self-reports of caregiving and emotional involvement with their four-month-old infants. For fathers, caregiving was positively correlated with emotional involvement with infants, time spent touching infants, average length of touch, and frequency of gazes at infants. (RJC)