For Your Binder

You can access the articles within The American Journal of Play free online or pay a nominal fee and have the journal mailed to you. The journal started in 2008 and is a scholarly yet accessible resource for your next college paper, deep dive into a specific interest area, or to show the wolves that, Yes Virginia, we are a scholarly profession!  And BONUS!  There is a search function within the journal section so you can drill down and get exactly what you were looking for! #play #teaching #learning #DAP

A short article with 10 different ways to build a child's fine and small motor skills! #DAP #play #movement #writing #teaching #learning 

The author states that his guide on the visit said the den building was not an adult idea: it originated from children’s spontaneous activity. #dens #forts #play #outside #teaching 

Might some of the chaos found in the study of play theory be due to the lack of clarity about the popular cultural rhetorics that underlie the various play theories and play terms?    This link will take you to a stand alone chapter (written by Sutton-Smith) of The Game Design Reader:  A Rules of Play Anthology by Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman, 2006.  If Sutton-Smith is new to you, this will be a good warm-up before you dive into his 1997 classic, The Ambiguity of Play.   #play #theorists

A short article that includes 10 ideas for large and gross motor skill development in young children! #DAP #play #movement #outside #teaching #learning 

This link will take you to a microfiche document that is dated in both narrative language and in copyright terms but the heart of the message is still valid: across the country non-white children are learning to read from books which scarcely mention them or omit them entirely - what does that say to them about their perceived role in the world they are growing up in?

#books #stories #DAP #language #literacy #diversity #inclusion #teaching #learning #reading

This is a valuable collaborative resource created by The National Playing Fields Association, PLAYLINK, The Children's Play Council, Play Wales, Play Scotland, Sutcliffe Play & Playboard Northern Ireland.  At it's core is a shared belief that children need to play and as such, need environments that are suitable for them to do so.  #play #playwork #learning #teaching #outside

This article provides four concise answers to the question, Why do children need fairy tales?  #fairytales #stories #books #reading

New research shows that teaching kids more and more, at ever younger ages, may backfire! #play #teaching #learning #pushdown

Awhile back I participated in an online seminar about Shindana Toys sponsored by the Strong National Museum of Play. I took a few notes but recently I happened upon this online slideshow that pretty much highlights all the points made in the session and includes some good photographs; so I am including it here for you.  #toys #equity #play 

This link will bring you to a very generous "snippets of the paper" page, it includes more than just the abstract though and some of you might have institutional access to the full study.   There has been little exploration into risky play in the context of urban neighborhoods so this study does just that. Not surprisingly, the study finds that there are enormous inequities in the distribution of wealth within cities which directly and indirectly impact outdoor play and hoe play spaces are maintained.  #play #outside #risk #environment #equity

Are our elementary school memories influencing how we are doing early childhood even though (we know) many of those practices are not developmentally appropriate? #DAP #teaching #learning