Investigated the occurence of language in the play of preschool children. Ninety-three percent involved playing with language sounds, and 7 percent with language structure. (Author/DB)

Review of the literature on issues concerning playground design and children's needs. (MP)

Mothers of 702 three year olds were asked about the use by their children of a special soft object in situations of distress and at bedtime. Object usage was then related to the children's levels of independence. (CM)

Whether aesthetic appreciation (defined as an individual emotional response enjoyed for itself without regard to future considerations or applications) can be translated into classroom experience is discussed. (RW)

Examined 3- to 5-year-olds' attributions of the mental states of television characters depicting make-believe or realistic actions. Found that children who identified when television characters were engaging in pretend play did not necessarily infer the pretenders' thoughts and beliefs. Inferring pretenders' thoughts was related to performance on…

Describes the emotive performances treatment package, which combines in vivo desensitization through games, participant modeling, and social and material reinforcement of approach responses. Carried out eight treatment sessions of 20 minutes duration with 15 children who were afraid of the dark and of loud noises. Results show significant…

In this study, maternal speech was analyzed acoustically to see whether mothers spoke with the same simplitude in both real and play situations. Results showed that mothers use both pitch height and pitch range to introduce the preverbal infant to the difference between play and nonplay situations. (Author/JL)

Reports a study of mathematical interactions and developing attitudes of children in transition from preschool to school. Two episodes of construction play were analyzed to suggest a model of autonomous learning. Access to self-regulatory social relations was closely linked to accessibility of mathematical meanings. Contains 59 references. (FDR)

A study of three students (ages 9-14) with autism investigated whether deficits in deceptive play skills are general to all persons with autism and if these deficits can be overcome through repetitive reinforcement techniques. Results found the students could learn to deceive, even without formal intensive training. (Author/CR)

Discusses the importance of block play--including its contributions to perceptual, fine motor, and cognitive development--and components of a good preschool block play area. Recommends unit blocks complemented by stacking blocks, toys, beads, cubes, and Brio wooden toys. Makes recommendations for space, size, locations and connections to other…

Two experiments tested children's ability to imagine a pretend action and select a representation of its outcome. Found that children two years and older could select the correct representation, whether represented by a picture or toy; younger children could not select representations of actual or pretend transformations. Results had implications…

Contains excerpts from unpublished research which illuminate aspects of the play/drama/theatre continuum--research representing over 20 years of study of college students reflecting on their own childhood performance experiences. Focuses on young performers--how children practice the adult art form of theatre through dramatic play. (PA)

Examined how children behave differently with friends and non-friends. Engaged 123 triads of target children, friends, and unacquainted peers in free-play and planning tasks. Found that children behaved more positively but also exhibited more negative behavior with friends than with non-friends. (KK)

This study of 26 preadolescents' peer relationships incorporated peer nominations, peer interviews, and direct observations on the playground. Results indicated students with disabilities attending special schools experienced a variety of peer relationships including reciprocal nominations as preferred peers as well as low social status, lack of…