Encouraging imaginative play in the classroom is an effective way to teach young children how to think creatively and interact socially - vital parts of their cognitive, social, and emotional development. This book presents engaging and practical ways to use drama which will enable young children to develop creative thinking and literacy skills while planning together, making decisions, giving and receiving feedback and working toward a common goal. The reader is guided through introducing and using dramatic play with children, how to integrate drama into everyday classroom activities, and preparing a child-centered story dramatization. There is a full color, ready-to-use children's storybook included within the book along with instructions on the multiple ways this can be used as a starting point in the classroom. This is an unbeatable resource for any teacher or trainee teacher wanting to introduce drama into the classroom in a developmentally appropriate way that will benefit all aspects of a child's intellectual and social progression.

'Children's Play' explores the many facets of play and how it develops from infancy through late childhood. The authors discuss major revolutions in the way the children of today engage in play, including changes in organised youth sports children's humour, and electronic play.

Play is serious business. Whether it's reenacting a favorite book (comprehension and close reading), negotiating the rules for a game (speaking and listening), or collaborating over building blocks (college and career readiness and STEM), Kristi Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler see every day how play helps students reach standards and goals in ways that in-their-seat instruction alone can't do. And not just during playtimes. "We believe there is play in work and work in play," they write. "It helps to have practical ways to carry that mindset into all aspects of the curriculum." In Purposeful Play, they share ways to: optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day. "We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. So they provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional. Play doesn't only happen when work is over. Children show us time and time again that play is the way they work. In Purposeful Play, you'll find research-driven methods for making play an engine for rigorous learning in your classroom.

The buzz word in education today is accountability. But the federal mandate of "no child left behind" has come to mean curriculums driven by preparation for standardized tests and quantifiable learning results. Even for very young children, unstructured creative time in the classroom is waning as teachers and administrators are under growing pressures to measure school readiness through rote learning and increased homework. In her new book, Vivian Gussin Paley decries this rapid disappearance of creative time and makes the case for the critical role of fantasy play in the psychological, intellectual, and social development of young children. A Child's Work goes inside classrooms around the globe to explore the stunningly original language of children in their role-playing and storytelling. Drawing from their own words, Paley examines how this natural mode of learning allows children to construct meaning in their worlds, meaning that carries through into their adult lives. Proof that play is the work of children, this compelling and enchanting book will inspire and instruct teachers and parents as well as point to a fundamental misdirection in today's educational programs and strategies.

Illustrating the power of play for helping children overcome a wide variety of worries, fears, and phobias, this book provides a toolkit of play therapy approaches and techniques. Coverage encompasses everyday fears and worries in 3- to 12-year-olds as well as anxiety disorders and posttraumatic problems. Leading practitioners describe their approaches step by step and share vivid illustrative case material. Each chapter also summarizes the research base for the interventions discussed. Key topics include adapting therapy to each child's developmental level, engaging reluctant or less communicative clients, and involving parents in treatment.

This book provides a vital and original investigation into, and critique of, the situation facing the realisation of the child’s right to play. The right to play has been referred to as a forgotten right – forgotten by States implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in monitoring and providing guidance on the Convention, and by human rights academics. Through multidisciplinary, original archival, novel doctrinal and primary empirical research, the work provides a thorough investigation of the right to play. It offers an innovative insight into its value, the challenges facing the realisation of the right, its raison d’être and its scope, content and obligations. It also critiques the Committee’s engagement with the right to play and shares lived experiences of efforts to support its implementation in the United Kingdom and Tanzania. The book highlights elements of best practice, challenges, and weaknesses, and makes recommendations for the continued and improved realisation of the right to play. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, advocates and policy-makers working in the areas of Children’s Rights, International Human Rights Law, Public International Law, Child Welfare, and Education.