Play subtypes of Activity and Pretend have been proposed yet no empirical study has determined the criteria that identify and differentiate these two play subtypes. Children (n=98) and adults (n=38) were shown 10 video examples of human and other primate. Activity and Pretend play and asked to identify which of six criteria (positive affect,…

A repeated-measures, waiting list control design was used to assess efficacy of a social skills intervention for autistic spectrum children focused on individual and group LEGO[C] play. The intervention combined aspects of behavior therapy, peer modeling and naturalistic communication strategies. Close interaction and joint attention to task play…

Developmentally specific play programs were designed for three children with pervasive developmental disorders being served in a home-based program. Using the Developmental Play Assessment, six activities for each of three adjacent developmentally sequenced play categories were targeted for direct instruction using different toy sets. A modified…

The aim of this article is to propose a theorization of the father-child relationship based on our current understanding of attachment, interactions between fathers and their young children, and human-specific adaptations. The comparison of mother-child and father-child interactions suggests that fathers play a particularly important role in the…

This article discusses ways in which classroom teachers can use "life skill" games to facilitate classroom management by giving student opportunities to practice desirable behaviors. There is also usually a reduction in behavior problems when children are allowed to occasionally move. In addition, research has demonstrated that periodic movement…

This study argues that children require social literacy to protect and sustain their play: In play, they construct an emotional landscape of "we"-ness to be protected from outsiders. The research consisted of a 4-month-long investigation, which involved audiotaping and videotaping children engaged in self-initiated play in a kindergarten…

Children who enter foster care typically have had little or not experience with play. This article describes the impact of play deprivation on early development. It provides guidelines for recognizing play deprivation and describes ways to help babies and young children develop a repertoire of play behaviors that is based on secure relationships…

The focus of the present study was the role of cultural learning in infants' acquisition of pretense actions with objects. In three studies, 18- and 24-month-olds (n= 64) were presented with novel objects, and either pretense or instrumental actions were demonstrated with these. When children were then allowed to act upon the objects themselves,…

This manuscript considers the way that several creative media--including music, videography, visual arts, literature, drama, play, and altar-making--can be utilized in assisting the multifaceted grief process of clients. In particular, attention is given to the ability of creative media to enable clients to maintain a connection to the deceased,…

Maternal scaffolding of pretend play was investigated in ten hearing mother/hearing child (Hh) dyads and ten hearing mother/deaf child (Hd) dyads. Three videotaped samples of play interaction were collected when the children were 28, 29 and 30 months of age. The videotapes were segmented according to four levels of maternal participation (dyadic…

What do poker and bridge have in common? Both are card games that originated in Europe (although poker's modern form developed in the frontier towns of the American West, while bridge still reflects its British heritage). Both use a regular 52-card playing deck, both involve bidding, and both have experienced renewed popularity in recent years.…

Social pretend play is considered to be beneficial to literacy development. However, observations in the case study of social pretend play by a boy from the age of 3 to 5 years, showed that at this young age the children's play may also have its limitations with regard to literacy-related features. On the one hand, children create a reciprocal…

The study presented here discusses rules and agreements in a preschool group from the viewpoint of the development of a community of learners. What kinds of rules and agreements exist in the preschool group, how they are articulated and how they are adopted at the beginning of the preschool year were the questions addressed in this small-scale…

The purpose of this review was to establish what is currently known about the effect of the Sport Education (SE) curriculum model (Siedentop, 1994a) on various indices of student learning in physical education. A total of 62 peer-reviewed journal articles pertaining to the SE model were collected and separated into two broad categories of…

This study was designed to determine the extent to which a technical and a tactical approach to teaching a basketball unit to physical education teacher education (PETE) students would each affect their games playing abilities, perceived ability to teach, and approach preference for teaching the game. Pre- and post-unit data were collected through…