While mental health issues have always been part of the landscape of youth work, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought them into sharp relief. For nearly 30 years, The Clubhouse Network has provided young people from low-income communities with a safe out-of-school setting in which to explore, experiment, and express themselves through technology. In…

Early language experiences are vital to children's future success in school and quality language-rich interactions can be promoted at home and around the community in many creative ways. Project ELLO (Everyday Language and Learning Opportunities) is a research-based public engagement campaign that began as a novel and efficient way to address…

Italian makerspace is based on the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach founded by Loris Malaguzzi, in which the environment plays a critical role in children's development. Malaguzzi believed that the makerspace is the third teacher (joining family and classroom teachers), and children express themselves through a "hundred…

Access to play has been recognized as a universal right of children (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 31) and promoted by international and national organizations with a focus on children's well-being, such as Childhood Education International, the International Play Association, the US Play Coalition, and the Alliance for…

Innovation and learning come together in a vibrant manner during dynamic arts education classes led by teachers who understand the importance of collaboration and student improvisation.

All children have the right to creative expression through the arts. The creation of art cultivates critical thinking, reflection, and problem-solving skills. It also encourages systems thinking; the color choices, individual brushstrokes, and materials all contribute to a greater whole. Infusing art-making and arts education throughout the…

The daily trips outside can be challenging, and living in Manhattan makes them even more complex. It seems there is no such thing as a simple stroll, or a quick trip outside; and the winter weather makes such excursions that much more complex. Yet, it is always worth it. In the author's nine years of teaching, she has discovered that a "quick…

An art instructor of a Senior Citizens' class brings together a kindergarten class and her own pupils to see age differences vanish through comradeship. (AJ)

Inventing games is an activity-based strategy for teaching children to (1) make decisions; (2) learn academic skills; (3) formulate organizational skills; (4) practice social skills; (5) develop rule-making knowledge; and (6) express their creativity. (DG)

Asserting that playfulness is an important part of learning to work with others, as well as for attaining traits such as flexible thinking, persistence, commitment, and a love of and fascination with learning, this article presents a review of playfulness development, focusing on children age three to five, and describes 12 teaching-learning…

Discusses how children can widen their experiences and also acquire a fresh perspective on their everyday experiences through movement and dance. (CM)

Describes classroom activities for elementary school students that (1) encourage geographical knowledge of the United States and other countries; (2) stimulate interest in inventions and the invention process; (3) encourage learning about snakes and their habitat; and (4) get students to be attentive. (MDM)

Weekends, summers, and holidays are better spent reading and participating in fun activities with one's child. Time at home can be spent doing something creative by creating thematic book bags that children and parents can check out of the class. In this way, children are able to see their parents making reading and school a priority, while…

Impromptu storytelling techniques are creative and interesting ways to introduce children to the adventure and allure of storytelling, which in turn aids their cognitive and social development. Presents several activities designed to elicit impromptu storytelling, including sentence stories, name tales, "every day is special" stories,…

Sixteen books for kindergarten through sixth grade were chosen and reported on at the Annual Study Conference of the Association for Childhood Education International, held in Denver, Colorado, April 1972. (CB)