The review synthesizes viewpoints on functions of play and provides an overview of information on effects of visual impairments on play patterns. The importance of play in learning is stressed. Specific needs for research on the play behavior of young children with low vision are identified. (Author/CL)

Child care workers in an institution for severely/profoundly retarded children were trained to use prompts and increased toy availability. On the average purposeful activity level of the children increased from 10 percent to a mean of 70 percent during treatment while stereotyped or harmful behaviors decreased from an average of 20 percent to 70…

This article clarifies the concept of the nature of play for professional purposes. Evolutionary and biosocial analysis of play behavior is advanced and associated with current cultural views of play. Suggestions on how a culture can positively satisfy human play needs are offered. (Author/DF)

Describes children's play materials in one rural village in Senegal and illustrates the children's free play. (CI)

Addresses the questions of why and how school learning activities might be made more playlike. Suggests that the concept of flow and of mastery learning are linked. While this relationship must be tested empirically, it offers the possibility of improving teaching techniques. (CB)

Through play, children draw ideas from their own experiences and create exciting works of art. Materials and methods that can be used in the classroom to help children play are described. (CS)

Suggests ways in which improvisational drama can be used to foster student involvement, self-awareness, and communication. (KS)

In this book, parents will find ways to help teachers nurture important emerging math skills, from sorting and division of materials to early counting. Basic ideas and tools, including classroom-tested activities, will help support their child's math learning, both at home and in child care. Following an introduction, the book contains three…

This study involved observation of 4- and 5-year-olds in a day care setting, focusing on how they developed and maintained friendships with other children in day care. Children were observed twice a day for 3 weeks as they engaged in outdoor play, dramatic play, and manipulative play. Observations included which children played with each other and…

The Family Expedition is a federally funded program designed to foster healthy changes in families with troubled adolescents through multifamily adventure therapy experiences. Each Family Expedition cycle is 4 months long, consisting of six multifamily sessions and three home visits. Each 90-minute home visit gives families time to focus on…

This paper explores the relationship between epideictic and argument, noting that the relationship is a "troublesome" one. The first part moves toward new definitions of epideictic and argument (taking the view that epideictic rises out of human play) and locates argument on the boundary where the play-world meets the "real" or…

Read, Play, and Learn is a play-based curriculum designed to promote growth across all of the areas of development important to a young child. With a school-year's worth of ready-to-use lessons or modules, the curriculum provides story-related activities centered around themes such as enjoying seasonal festivities, sharing emotions, making…

Read, Play, and Learn is a play-based curriculum designed to promote growth across all of the areas of development important to a young child. With a school-year's worth of ready-to-use lessons or modules, the curriculum provides story-related activities centered around themes such as enjoying seasonal festivities, sharing emotions, making…