Outdoor play is commonly believed to be an important form of play for young children. This book shows teachers, child care providers, and other adults who work with 2- to 8-year-olds how to design, equip, and maintain safe yet challenging playgrounds. The chapters are: (1) "Why Playgrounds?" exploring the elements and value of outdoor…

Recent advances in neuroscience have engaged the interest of early childhood educators who believe that the more we know about the brain, the better able we will be to influence learning. This workshop facilitator's guide and set of two videotapes are designed to assist educators, students, caregivers, parents, and those providing services to…

Development of self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment are thought to depend on the emergence of a sense of self as distinct from other. This longitudinal and cross-sectional study sought to replicate the association between a self-referential visual self-recognition task and embarrassment, and to extend the understanding of the…

Five groups of eight to 10 mothers were taught how to utilize behavior modification principles for the purpose of generating effective play behavior between themselves and their mentally retarded children (4-to 10-years-old). (DB)

The author presents a short drama intended for use in group counseling sessions with the parents of elementary school students. (RWP)

Role-playing and creative dramatics provide children with practice in a great number of vital human concerns. A sample lesson for use in elementary grades is designed to help children understand systems thinking. A variety of global concepts are presented in the lessons. (SM)

Author suggests that through encouragement of game play, children can learn to derive more meaning from their education and their lives. (Author)

An adaptation of a paper presented at the XIIIth World Assembly of OMEP (World Organization for Early Childhood Education) in Bonn, Germany. (MB)

This discussion of the role of structured guidance in facilitating cognitive development presents the author's point of view regarding a current issue in early childhood education. (WY)

Outcomes of fantasy play training were compared with those of nonfantasy/skills training in English nursery classes and play groups. Children receiving fantasy play training engaged in cooperative play more than did those receiving skills training, played more often in larger subgroups, and were more physically active. Most effects were present at…

A study of student teachers' perceptions of preschool children at play shows that teachers see the play situation in four ways and in this developmental order: fragmentary (details without coherence), partialistic (focusing on one part of the whole scene), chronological (events ordered temporally), and abstracting (the scene illustrating a…

American culture appears to be the enemy of childhood. Children now look, dress, talk, and behave like adults. At the same time, adults have become more like children. (Author/JM)