This illustrated guide for designing and building children's playgrounds opens with a definition of "play space" as a joyful, safe, healthy environment which builds strong bodies and develops emotional stability. Section 1, "Why Play Spaces Are Needed," includes some observations about children's developmental needs and how those needs are being…

A second language program developed at Wilson College (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania) with a federal grant uses the Rassias Method of theatrical, dramatic language saturation. In the first application of the program at the college, peer tutors (who would be assistant teachers in the subsequent immersion program) were trained in a three-day workshop.…

The major purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between play complexity, occupational preference, and perceived self-competence. A second focus was to examine these variables in terms of age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES). Two age groups (200 third graders and 206 sixth graders) participated in the initial part of the…

Synergistic psychology has been proposed as a meta theory for synthesizing different psychological theories into an explanation of how social, cognitive, and biological factors interact in human behavior. The basic theoretical assumption in synergistic psychology is that internalized social interactions become higher mental functions that regulate…

Providing basic reference materials, this issue of "Children in the Tropics" consists of a revised and completed version of the 1982 issue on the development of children from birth to 6 years of age. Contents present a broad picture of the physical and mental development of children under 6 and formulate a number of recommendations about…

To determine if there are common factors which all teachers of Hispanic children should be acquainted with in order to facilitate the education of Hispanics, a study was conducted of 4 Hispanic groups (25 Mexican Americans, 23 Puerto Ricans, 20 Cubans, and 17 Venezuelans). Eighty-five families, together with their children ranging in age from 4-60…

The concept for the piloting of a contemporary early childhood kindergarten in China was visualised by the chief executive officer of TMC Academy, Dr Chin, in July 2002 when he participated in a Singaporean-led mission to Liaoning Province in China. Shenyang Creative Kindergarten is the result of that concept. It opened for children in September…

The way that mothers' input assists children with the use of their linguistic resources for negotiating peer interaction was studied. Two two-year-old girls and their mothers were videotaped once a month for eight months while the foursome met at a weekly playgroup. The mothers' language was analyzed in terms of the following questions: (1) Does…

This literature review focuses on the conditions of life and aspects of the behavior of people in areas of the English-speaking Caribbean. The review is based on books, reports and papers which discuss broad features of sociological problems, the impact of academic changes on individuals and the consequences these changes have on people's…

Reading, writing, speech assignments for special education classes, English as a second language and many other classroom projects can be taught through the involvement created by Readers Theatre. Readers Theatre is the presentation of dialogue-type material in play form. The actors hold the script as they move through it and a narrator's voice…

Variables related to children's interest in and play experiences with fire and fire-producing materials were explored in this study. Information for the study was obtained from samples of public school children and their parents. The samples were drawn from the communities of Oakland and Hayward, California, and included 70 boys and 69 girls and…

Child care programs are ideal places to begin the mastery of both English and a native language. Language growth can be promoted through the use of pretend play. Pretend situations include storytelling, oral drills and poems, riddles and songs. In storytelling activities, it is essential that the adult model language for the children. The children…

This volume contains a series of seminars on parenting presented by the North Haven Right to Read Advisory Council. The major theme of the seminars is the role of the parent in stimulating the child's total development: emotional, social, and intellectual. Specific topics examined are: (1) the young child's view of himself: his basis for learning,…

This guide for parents discusses social competence in 2-year-old children, drawing upon anecdotal data to provide a sampling of 2-year-old children's social behavior and their parents' child rearing techniques. The data were collected from questionnaires, telephone interviews, and home visits in a 12-month study of the interactions of 86…

THE USE OF PLAY THERAPY WITH MENTALLY SUBNORMAL CHILDREN IS EXPLORED, AS IT ENABLES SUCH CHILDREN TO REALIZE THEIR POTENTIALS AND TO INTERACT MORE ADEQUATELY WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT. A CONSIDERATION OF GENERAL AND THEORETICAL PROBLEMS AND A CONCEPTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MAN'S ESSENTIAL QUALITIES ARE PRESENTED. A GENERALIZED THEORY OF PLAY…