Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Play (Spotlight on Young Children series)

Supporting Young Children's Play and Learning

Discover ways to provide a strong curricular approach for young children’s learning while endorsing a playful pedagogy. The articles in this collection emphasize using play to promote children’s skills in problem solving, decision making, and self-regulation; engaging diverse learners in play activities; and partnering with families to further children’s playful learning. Specific topics include ways educators can

- Support infants’ and toddlers’ active explorations with sensory activities and unique materials
- Provide opportunities for children to engage in active, physical play
- Guide children’s learning through art play
- Communicate to others the importance and value of play for children from birth through third grade

Included is a professional development guide with questions and activities to help readers reflect on current teaching practices and inspire them to incorporate new ones.

• From Play to Practice: Connecting Teachers' Play to Children's Learning
• Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul
• You Can't Say You Can't Play
• Effective Practices in Early Childhood Education: Building a Foundation (3rd Edition)
• Purposeful Play: A Teacher's Guide to Igniting Deep and Joyful Learning Across the Day
• Serious Fun: How Guided Play Extends Children's Learning (Powerful Playful Learning)
• Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8
• The Play's the Thing: Teachers' Roles in Children's Play (Early Childhood Education Series)
• The Great Outdoors: Advocating for Natural Spaces for Young Children
• Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Language and Literacy (Spotlight on Young Children series)