Tabulated the frequencies of dyadic and group interactions in single-sex playgroups of 4- and 6-year-olds. Found that boys and girls at both ages engaged in similar frequencies but in different patterns of dyadic interactions. Only 6-year-old boys interacted in groups. (BC)

Illustrates how many teacher-child interactions within the early childhood classroom involve improvisation within an ongoing collaboration to create a new, emergent scene. Describes characteristics of improvisation, including being spontaneous, using everything, giving and receiving offers, and creating collectively. Asserts that viewing classroom…

This article discusses teaching play skills to children with autism. Factors considered include developmental appropriateness, language development, peer involvement, motivational techniques, and setting and intervention methods. Methods for teaching play skills are then reviewed, including script training, peer trainers, and pivotal response…

Draws on current research to advocate the importance of children's need for physical activity and the benefits of teaming literature with movement and dramatic play. Focuses on: (1) brain research on movement; (2) poems and stories that highlight movement; and (3) movement and imagination. Contains 22 references and lists 39 children's books. (SD)

Case studies of three kindergarten students with social difficulties illustrate an intervention program emphasizing a sequential peer-entry hierarchy in which children move from low-risk strategies to high-risk strategies and use props to facilitate the production of high-risk verbal statements. Increases were found in use of props and verbal…

Presents a study that compared the effects of social and isolate toys as setting events for the social interaction of two preschool special needs children within an approximated regular preschool environment setting. Reports there was no difference found between social and isolate toys. Includes references. (CMK)

Based on fieldwork with first-graders in two racially mixed U.S. elementary schools, this article draws from Black feminist theory to examine intersections between gender and racialized ethnicity, especially in the experiences of African American girls. Findings suggest that racial positioning and gender of the African American girls held…

Explores the tension between formal and nonformal approaches to preschool education in India, through discussion of the preschool program of the Government of India's Integrated Child Development Services that targets disadvantaged children and private nursery schools operating on a commercial basis. Asserts that although a nonformal approach is…

This article argues that non-directive play therapy offers an approach that is well suited to addressing adolescent concerns. The argument is illustrated by two accounts of therapy that show how a more traditional non-directive counseling approach was combined with play therapy by the adolescents themselves, allowing exploration of emotional…

Reports on an educational project that focused on the nature of the support one teacher gave to the children in her kindergarten class while engaging with them in literacy play. Contends that the project revealed that young children have their own assumptions about and knowledge of the written language, which they actively use in their play. (PM)

Describes one child's fascination with the properties of water during indoor and outdoor activities and discusses how outdoor play allows toddlers to engage in leisurely investigations. Shows how outdoor play allows children to set challenges for themselves, become more engrossed, and less dependent on adults. (KB)

Shows how mathematics is integrated into everyday hands-on activities and problem-solving situations in one preschool. Provides examples of how themes emerge from children's interests and are incorporated in classroom learning centers. Asserts that meaningful teaching methods and pictorial demonstrations and manipulatives engage preschoolers in…

This article discusses an action research project that targeted the social interaction skills of seven students (ages 5-7) with autism. Through group games at recess and award stickers each day for playing the games, children increased their participation in the games, learned new games, and demonstrated good sportsmanship. (Contains 10…

The desire of parents for self-improvement can often be met by adult education classes that focus on child rearing and family relationships. This kind of educational opportunity seems to be imminent in Portugal, where stability is emerging after years of political and economic unrest. (CB)

Argues that, as the world becomes increasingly less human and more technocratic, staying in contact with whatever is humane requires conscious effort. Suggests the use of poetry writing assignments as a means of preserving children's inventiveness and imagination. Provides examples of poems written by schoolchildren. (SG)