Analyzed records of Slovene children's speech from a linguistic point of view and established differences in communication patterns with regard to the children's ages and the type of symbolic play. Found a shift in play from make-believe with regard to objects to roleplay related to social context. The older the child, the more language functions…

Reconceptualizes the role of the professional playleader, taking into account the contexts of children's development. Describes the growth of adventure playgrounds and playleadership in Europe. Discusses the responsibilities and attributes of the playleader, focusing on advocating for children's right to play. (KB)

Analyzed two episodes of videotaped play and interaction of 3- to 5-year-old boys in a childcare setting. Found that interaction appears chaotic on the surface but close analysis reveals finely organized play, with older boys teaching newcomers how to be masculine in the block play area. Illustrates that masculinity is determined through practice…

Outdoor-learning centers provide information for children to understand their world. These centers are appropriate for emergent curriculums and many sensory experiences, and are created based on the environment and children's current use of the space. Ideas for learning centers include the following: writing center, dramatic play, art and…

Dicker-Brandeis saw the principal aim of teaching to be liberation of concealed sources of children's creativity, development of fantasies and imaginations. Article explores play and art and Dicker-Brandeis's role in these activities. The value of art and play in the lives of children, particularly in a world of fear and death, is validated by the…

Discusses the role of peer interaction in the music classroom through the observations of how sixth-grade students accomplish the "Canon no. 40" improvisation and composition assignment. Concludes that peer interaction was a key element in the students' learning and provides the lesson plan for "Canon no. 40." (CMK)

Introduces this special issue on the evolving childcare and early education services in the city/nation of Singapore and presents ongoing research interests in the area. Topics for articles include an historical overview; the role of play, language development, and early reading experiences for young children; number concepts; and early-childhood…

A study analyzed the language development of 200 children at 14, 24, 30, and 42 months and assessed their symbolic play at 14 months. Children from families with dyslexia (n=103) had lower maximum sentence length at 2 years and object naming and inflectional morphology skills at 3.5 years. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Examines the relation between a play-based assessment tool, specifically the PLAY observation system, and a standardized assessment of cognitive and social skills of preschool children. Recorded the level of play each child exhibited. Play behaviors reflected the child's cognitive and social developmental functioning. (CMK)

Examines three issues from study by Jaffe et al.: predictive nature of face-to-face play, the psychological present moment for infants, and the representation of the pragmatics of dialogue. Emphasizes value of the study for future work in social interaction. (DLH)

One goal of physical education is to help children carry a physically active lifestyle over from childhood to adulthood. To motivate children in this direction, activity must be fun. This article discusses what makes games fun and describes how one elementary school developed low-organization games, evaluated student enjoyment levels, and…

To characterize infant reactions to jealousy evocation, 94 6-month-olds and their mothers were videotaped in an episode where the mothers directed positive attention toward a lifelike doll, and in 2 contrasting interactions: face-to-face play and a still-face perturbation. Cross-context comparisons of affects and behaviors revealed that jealousy…

This paper examines the presence of spontaneous imitation within the social interactions of young people with developmental delay and their adult carers. There have been only a handful of observational studies examining imitation in this population, despite the relevance of such work to contemporary theoretical debates about imitation and the…

This paper examines the effects of the playworld educational practice on the development of narrative competence in 5- to 7-year-old children. The playworld educational practice is derived from play pedagogy and the theory of narrative learning, both developed and implemented in Scandinavia. The playworld practice consists of joint adult-child…

In this paper, we report on a program of study called Adventures in Modeling that challenges the traditional scientific method approach in science classrooms using StarLogo modeling software. Drawing upon previous successful efforts with older students, and the related work of other projects working with younger students, we explore: (a) What can…