This package of patriotic learning activities refers to historic tales about colonial days, Black history, and the contributions of the states to America's wealth and history. Poems, skits, riddles about states and presidents, and a play featuring mock presidential interviews are included. A Save-the-Statue-of-Liberty project is noted. (PP)

Provides a partial list of similarities between play therapy and family therapy and reviews methods for using play with families. Considers the question of indications and contraindications for play therapy with families. Clinical examples are utilized to illustrate throughout the paper. (Author)

The behavior of four boys who were referred for oppositional, rule violating, and aggressive behaviors was assessed by direct observation and parent reports. Changing contract behavior to solitary toy play resulted in reduced oppositional behavior during the observation sessions, fewer reports from the parents of low-rate problem behaviors, and…

Social interaction and play behavior were compared in community-based infant day care and at home for two matched groups of 18-month-old infants. Adult-infant, infant-peer, and infant-toy interaction were time-sampled. (Author/SS)

Explains how moving, singing, and having fun build character, confidence, and coordination while helping children grow up feeling good about themselves. These activities provide an integrated, multisensory approach to learning. Employing a variety of fun and effective activities also helps children release stress and tension. (TJQ)

Examines one child's reconstruction of identity in the transition from preschool to school-based patterns of play in the early weeks of schooling. The study's approach uses detailed linguistic interactional data showing identity as unstable and multiple, and draws attention to the crucial role of peer culture and play in children's experiences of…

An observational study investigated which teaching opportunities within a role play activity could be considered valuable for the improvement of mathematical thinking. Observations indicated many such opportunities, suggesting that if teachers manage to make use of such teaching opportunities, children can explicitly reflect on the relationship…

Early and ongoing exposure to entomology promotes interest in insects, minimizes fear of nature, and instills appreciation for biodiversity. Three effective ways to introduce young children to the study of insects are: live collections for observation and investigation, re-creation of insects through artistic constructions to learn structure and…

Examined children's play in indoor and outdoor environments at a New Zealand child care center. Identified four dimensions of difference illuminating the relationship between outdoor and indoor playspaces and the play occurring there: physical versus constructive play, change and stability continuum, freedom and control dimension, and differences…

Discusses the mathematics learning related to NCTM standards that emerges as children engage in play in early childhood and kindergarten settings and offers suggestions for the effective use of play in teaching young children mathematics. Focuses on the use of blocks and manipulatives. Discusses how teachers' assumptions and mathematics knowledge…

Compared free-play social behaviors of preschoolers with special needs in two inclusive preschool programs with those of typically-developing classmates, matched by age and sex. Found that children with no/little productive language spent more time in solitary pursuits than others and seldom initiated interactions. Children who were incapable of…

Intentional communicative acts were assessed in 13 children (ages 2-8) with Cornelia-de-Lange syndrome with a severe mental disability and compared to children with Down and 5p syndromes. The mean number of intentional communicative acts was significantly lower. Analysis of play behaviors revealed the differences were specific for the…

Uses a Weberian sociological approach to examine teachers' beliefs and discussions about play. Teachers held differing beliefs and their actions were related to their belief systems. Reasons for intervention fell into three Weberian constructs: cultural, social-political, and economic influences. (Author/BB)

Presents an account of observations, descriptions, and interpretations of children's representations. Offers examples of ways teachers and parents can help children expand their language, actions, and images to symbolize their experiences. (BB)

When administered to 34 infants with handicaps, Bayley Scale mental age scores were an average of 2.1 months higher than Estimated Developmental Ages (EDA's) calculated from the Uzgiris and Hunt Scales. The EDA's were significantly and positively related to Bayley mental age, and sensorimotor play emerged as the best single correlate. (Author/JDD)