Based on a 1983 presentation, this article characterizes the nature of play and delineates its fundamental functions. Relates an experiment showing how free play aided problem solving more than structured lessons in young children. Concludes with suggestions for facilitating play to aid intellectual growth. (JDH)

Describes children's dramatic play behavior as a structured, recognizable phenomenon that is the result of careful nurturing by caregivers and a future tool to make vivid the actualities and potentialities of human experience. (CRH)

In this article, the author describes an incident in her teaching career. The incident concerns a young boy who is having difficulty adjusting to his first day of preschool. Bringing psychological insight to the narrative story, the author describes the boy's gradual acceptance and participation in the class. (MA)

Based on the view that creative play and hands-on experiences are essential to the development of well-balanced children and that their teachers have the responsibility to create an environment that can stimulate children's senses and curiosity, this book provides activities incorporating the use of sand and water tables into the classroom on a…

Asserts that play is a fundamental human disposition. Reviews well-known theories of play from the adult-functional perspective and examines the value of play from the child-experiential perspective. Considers variations in play and the meaning and value of true play, maintaining that play's personal, experiential value is of equal or greater…

Ten language-impaired children, aged three-four, were observed playing with toys and with objects requiring object transformations for play. Chronological age-matched normal subjects performed more object transformations than either the language-impaired subjects or children matched for mean length of utterance. All children performed more object…

Examined the effects of a game involving cooperative interaction and symbolic play on child development in children ages six and seven. A pretest-intervention-posttest design was used with a sample of 125 experimental and 53 control subjects. Results suggest the intervention stimulated significant improvement in social behavior and in some…

Examined children's cognitive style and their play in different play areas according to sex and age. Found that females played most in the physical, block, manipulative, and dramatic play areas, while males played most in block play. Four-year olds played most in physical, block, and dramatic play, while five-year olds most often chose…

Analyzed the differences between heroes, other characters, and themes from the Roy Rogers television show of the 1950s, and the Brave Starr show of the 1980s. Found the modern hero more prosocial, cooperative, fearful, and self-critical. The modern villain was more hostile, negative, and successful against the hero. Discusses implications for…

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)