Examined 115 college students' ability to remember, draw, and discuss favorite childhood play experiences. Found play materials remembered were frequently either natural objects (for example, rocks and leaves) or nonplay items (for example, pots and pans). Social play with friends or siblings was remembered more often than solitary activities, and…

Children's artistic and aesthetic development is fostered and their learning opportunities are maximized when the teacher plays an active, rather than passive, role within the context of the child-centered, process-orientated curriculum. Proposes that new understandings of children's artistic and aesthetic development be integrated with changing…

Compared the language and play of U.S. and Japanese toddlers and their mothers. In both cultures, variability in toddler language and play was associated with variability in maternal language and play stimulation. U.S. toddlers were more advanced in productive and receptive vocabularies, whereas Japanese toddlers were more advanced in symbolic…

Used traditional housekeeping and novel dramatic play centers to compare the effects of theme, novelty, and duration on the social and cognitive play of two- to five-year olds. More dramatic play was observed in centers that used familiar rather than unfamiliar themes. Girls preferred traditional to novel centers; boys preferred novel to…

Fifty-eight toddlers with developmental delays participated in a 12-month longitudinal study of the relationship between prelinguistic representational ability and later expressive vocabulary. Results indicated that representational play was a significant predictor of later expressive vocabulary, but vocabulary comprehension was not. (Author/DB)

Investigated feasibility of teaching socio-dramatic play through the use of a verbal script to increase sophistication of free play behavior in preschoolers with developmental disabilities. Found support for the clinical utility of scripted play as a teaching strategy for such children. (SD)

The effectiveness of group sandtray therapy, a model of play therapy, was evaluated using a pretest-posttest control group design with 56 preadolescents exhibiting behavioral difficulties. The experimental group (n = 28) received sandtray therapy in small groups for 10 weeks while the wait-list control group (n = 28) received no treatment. Results…

Research shows that a child's social and behavioral skills affect the development of cognitive and physical abilities. Set students on a path to success and have fun doing it with this activity-packed second edition of "Wanna Play". The authors provide hundreds of activities that help children learn how to behave appropriately and make friends.…

To ensure the best possible outcomes for young children with and without disabilities, early childhood educators must enter the classroom ready to conduct all types of early childhood assessment--including determining if children need additional services, planning and monitoring instruction, and determining program effectiveness. They'll get the…

Noting that, in terms of language acquisition, the "basics" at schools should parallel the "basics" of common sense family life, this book examines the connections between play, language development, and learning in young children. Chapter 1 deals with the role of the teacher in a changing society. Chapter 2 addresses some of…

The value and function of play behavior in young children, and the process and conditions by which play contributes to learning, cognition and problem solving, are explored in this literature review. The first section examines early theories of play, the psychoanalytic theory of play, and the developmental stages of play. Common elements of play…

Noting that play is an essential aspect of learning for young children, this book presents a collection of articles on children's play in Australia. Part 1, "Play, Development, and Learning," contains the following chapters: (1) "The Role of Play in Development and Learning" (Ann Glover); (2) "Stop, Look, and Listen:…

Beginning with Lev Vygotsky's long-established assertion that the play of children always involves both imaginary play and rules of behavior, this article argues for a theoretical framework that connects such play with the construction of social identities in kindergarten peer groups. It begins with a discussion of Ivy Schousboe's model of the…

Background: Participation in free-time play, including individual and group activities, is important during youth as patterns of physical activity established then persist into adulthood. The VERB Summer Scorecard (VSS) intervention is an innovative physical activity promotion initiative that offers tweens (8-13 year-olds) opportunities to be…

The study purpose was to describe parent-child engagement and parental guidance of children's participation in literacy-related activities at home. Of the 37 families who participated in a home-based multimethod assessment of storybook reading and play activities, 13 were considered low income. The children's mean age was 60 months. Parents read…