Not Just Play offers the first comprehensive treatment of the relationship between the social work profession and the summer camp movement in many decades. Incorporating historical research, vignettes, numerous quotations from social workers in the field, and other unique contributions, it shares a multifaceted examination of this field of practice.

Winner of the 2008 Chicago Folklore Prize Felicia R. McMahon breaks new ground in the presentation and analysis of emerging traditions of the “Lost Boys,” a group of parentless youths who fled Sudan under tragic circumstances in the 1990s. With compelling insight, McMahon analyzes the oral traditions of the DiDinga Lost Boys, about whom very little is known. Her vibrant ethnography provides intriguing details about the performances and conversations of the young DiDinga in Syracuse, New York. It also offers important insights to scholars and others who work with refugee groups. The author argues that the playful traditions she describes constitute a strategy by which these young men proudly position themselves as preservers of DiDinga culture and as harbingers of social change rather than as victims of war. Drawing ideas from folklore, linguistics, drama, and play theory, the author documents the danced songs of this unique group. Her inclusion of original song lyrics translated by the singers and descriptions of conversations convey the voices of the young men. Well researched and carefully developed, this book makes an original contribution to our understanding of refugee populations and tells a compelling story at the same time.

Bullying Epidemic: Not Just Child's Play is a powerful new book on children s bullying and the corrosive, enabling role adults inadvertently play. Why is bullying still a growing crisis, after a decade of bullying prevention programs? Bullying Epidemic looks clearly at the self-serving excuses adults make for failing to step in and stop bullying, and the tremendous human cost of looking away while our kids are suffering. Caught early, bullying is easily stopped. Unchallenged, bullying becomes impossibly complex, with no rewind button, leaving permanent emotional scars and, too frequently, costing children their lives. No law can provide consolation or damage repair for parents who ve lost children to suicide. All of us are damaged by the roles we play bully, target, and, most frequently, bystander. Adults must reclaim our roles as leaders to children, clean up the bullying in adult workplaces, in our personal lives, and on TV. We must unwaveringly insist that kids do the same. Kids should know that every day is bullying prevention day not just when cameras are rolling or the bullying prevention expert is in the school. Bullying Epidemic offers a commonsense action plan for all adults determined to turn the tide of children s bullying. Lorna Blumen is an educational consultant and bullying prevention specialist. Author of Girls Respect Groups: An Innovative Program To Empower Young Women & Build Self-Esteem!, she has appeared on Canadian and U.S. television and radio.

Now in its third edition, this classic text remains the seminal resource for in-depth information about major concepts and principles of the cultural-historical theory developed by Lev Vygotsky, his students, and colleagues, as well as three generations of neo-Vygotskian scholars in Russia and the West. Featuring two new chapters on brain development and scaffolding in the zone of proximal development, as well as additional content on technology, dual language learners, and students with disabilities, this new edition provides the latest research evidence supporting the basics of the cultural-historical approach alongside Vygotskian-based practical implications. With concrete explanations and strategies on how to scaffold young children’s learning and development, this book is essential reading for students of early childhood theory and development.

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

Anti-bias education begins with you! Become a skilled anti-bias teacher with this practical guidance to confronting and eliminating barriers.

A fresh and timely approach to understanding the profound impact of motor development on children of all ages and stages. Based on the authors' more than seventy combined years of professional success working with children of all abilities, Growing an In-Sync Child provides parents, teachers, and other professionals with the tools to give every child a head start and a leg up. Because early motor development is one of the most important factors in a child's physical, emotional, academic, and overall success, the In- Sync Program of sixty adaptable, easy, and fun activities will enhance your child's development, in just minutes a day. Discover how simple movements such as skipping, rolling, balancing, and jumping can make a world of difference for your child—a difference that will last a lifetime.