Children of five to eight years of age were assigned to a play group, a narrow-focus, goal-directed group, or a broad-focus, goal-directed group. Children in the broad-focus group recognized and recalled significantly more features of the environment than did children in the other two groups. (Author/BB)

The study with three elementary-level moderately retarded students and peer mentors from the regular education program demonstrated that peer mediation was effective in facilitating cooperative play between regular class students and retarded students. Treatment effects were maintained for at least three months. (Author/DB)

Blind children in Sweden are integrated with sighted children in nursery school from the age of two-three years. This paper describes the child's transition to the nursery school environment, play activities, parents' and teachers' reactions to the blind child's behavior, and use of videorecordings to provide feedback to teachers. (JDD)

Proposes an outline that employs numerous design guidelines for developing children's playscapes (play environments) that are geared to the child's perspective. (BB)

Reviews the literature concerning children's humor. Discusses major characteristics of early humor based on the child's level of developmental mastery, and proposes a conceptual model of humorous play. (RJC)

Analyzes videotapes of 42 children of 4-5 years and 24 children of 7-8 years playing doctors and nurses. Children were aware of the serial order of activities that occur in medical examinations. (RJC)

Examines collaborative writing and the importance of children's talk as they write. Provides several examples of children's dialogues during collaborative writing and role-playing sessions. (MM)

Relations between children's ability to apply gender labels, their tendency to sex-typed behavior, and their parents' attitudes and reactions toward sex-typed behaviors were studied. (PCB)

Two hearing-impaired children, aged three and five, were observed in free play as they alternated between integrated and segregated settings. Results indicated that the level of cognitive play was not consistently influenced by the social setting, and that the children engaged in more socially advanced play in the integrated setting. (Author/JDD)

Studies seven experiences of 69 infants of 12 1/2 and 17 1/2 months in dyadic play with mothers, fathers, and first-borns. Mothers and fathers were more alike than different in the amounts of play experiences they created, and infants experienced a more enriched environment with parents than with first-borns. (RJC)

Reviews examples of projects, thematic units, and specific activities that preschool teachers can use to enhance the educational opportunities of gifted and talented students in their classrooms. (MDM)

Examines relationships between child and adult art, proposing an exploration of meanings of children's art activity by examining relationships between art-making and other activities of the same developmental period. The paper posits some basic human needs and considers how various activities might serve as instrumentalities to realize such goals.…

Research affirms that preschoolers learn best when following their natural dispositions to explore, wonder, question, create, and play. Preschoolers attending early education programs should not be treated like smaller versions of older kids. They need a well-equipped classroom with an ambience that fosters their social and emotional development.…

Used a teacher rating scale and coded videotaped observations to examine 30 toddlers' emerging social competence in an unfamiliar peer group during a 4-week summer camp. Found a correlation between the prosocial component of the teacher rating scale and observations of children's interactive-functional play and overall rate of interactive play…

Argues that Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) can be redefined as a nonlinear dynamic model. Presents a mathematical reformulation that generates a variety of developmental patterns and has the capacity to show under which conditions unwanted or unsuccessful developmental paths may occur. Illustrates how this reformulation…