The important role of spontaneous play in preschool education programs is emphasized. At present too much emphasis is placed on structured learning activities and it's suggested that more "open spaces" be allowed for in a child's day. In spontaneous play, adequate space and time must be allotted for investigation and unhurried experience. Good…

This guide is comprised of activities designed to assist parents in facilitating the language development of typically developing children or children with communication problems, to assist teachers and child care providers in effectively communicating with preverbal children, and to assist speech/language professionals in including preverbal…

The Creative Curriculum for early childhood education is a teaching framework that addresses children's emotional, cognitive, and physical development. This supplement to the Creative Curriculum is designed to enhance teachers' effectiveness in understanding how content is linked to teaching and learning in a developmentally appropriate curriculum…

The Creative Curriculum for early childhood education is a teaching framework that addresses children's emotional, cognitive, and physical development. This supplement to the Creative Curriculum is designed to enhance teachers' effectiveness in understanding how content is linked to teaching and learning in a developmentally appropriate curriculum…

This study examined how 3 Dominican children, ages 2 to 4 years old explore reading and writing in the context of their everyday lives and how adults and older siblings socialize young children into literacy. Data were collected during a school year. Each participant was observed 3 times a week for 2 hours per session, totaling approximately 200…

Part of a series for early years teachers in Scotland, this guide focuses on ways to provide creative opportunities that support and enhance child development. The guide discusses how to respect children's creativity while observing and developing their skills and suggests practical and creative alternatives to the mass production of identical…

Examines the extent of mothers' and fathers' involvement in children's play, and stylistic variations in that play. Results from 35 preschool children from multiethnic families reveal boys played differently than girls and parental involvement was also different. Parent's different interactions with sons' versus daughters' playing shows that…

Discusses ways in which preschool and other grade-level teachers can help children of alcoholic parents cope with their problems. (BB)

Discusses two approaches that parents and preschool teachers can use to encourage fantasy play among young children: creating a supportive environment and taking part in play. The ages of the children involved can help teachers decide which method is more helpful. (BB)

Two studies of nursery school children examined the relationship between friendships and sociometric judgments of social status. (Author/BB)

Social-cognitive modes of play and peer responses were observed in two classrooms of 40 three-year-olds, two classrooms of 32 four-year-olds, and two classrooms of 36 three- and four-year-olds. Developmental differences appeared in play patterns in same-age but not in mixed-age classrooms. (TJH)

A naturalistic probe of early language content was administered to 31 normally developing preschool children. The productivity of 3 different strategies for eliciting 27 content categories was tested and the efficiency of the probe technique compared with analysis of language samples. Results suggest this nonstandardized, criterion-referenced…

Examined the links between marital relations, parenting, and children's higher and lower forms of play in the day care peer group. Reported (1) discrepancies between parents' ideal and real modes of parenting; (2) a correlation between mothers' assessments of marital stress and companionship and children's play; and (3) no correlation between…

Task-related and social behaviors of preschool children (n=21) at risk for behavior problems were examined in two school settings, a structured instructional context and an unstructured free play context. Results indicated that group differences in on-task, aggressive, and prosocial behavior depended on context. (Author/DB)

Examined the effects of peer support and parent involvement on the cognitive and social development of 63 preschool children enrolled in rural California Head Start programs. Found that parental involvement in school was predictive of gains in learning skills and classroom behavior, whereas mutual friendships predicted gains in social play and…