As educators, you are at the front lines of ensuring that play is and remains an important part of children’s daily lives. The following resources give you more insight on what the research has to say about play and some activities you can immediately put to good use. For additional information, read the valuable book excerpts from some of NAEYC's bestsellers.
What Should You Know About Developmentally Appropriate Practice?
Engaged, responsive teaching and play are fundamental to developmentally appropriate practice. Read this Q&A for an introduction to the basics of DAP. To learn more, register for an online program about DAP and play.
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The Importance of Play, A Conversation with Dr. Alison Gopnik
A researcher describes the hard evidence that children learn through play.
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Got Standards? Don’t Give Up on Engaged Learning
Even in classrooms with standards and required curriculum, there is still a place for rich, integrated learning experiences that truly engage children.
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Finding the Balance
Play and foundational skills don’t need to compete for the teacher's attention in an early childhood classroom.
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2009 Institute Highlights—Play: Where Learning Begins
This DVD-ROM contains summaries of select sessions from the 2009 NAEYC Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. The summaries are presented as PowerPoint slide programs with audio—the voices of the session presenters. Also included are handouts from the presentations.
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Position Statements on Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation
What should children be taught in the years from birth through age eight? Find out through this series of important position statements.
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Reference to Play in NAEYC’s Position Statements
Learn how integral play is in many of NAEYC’s Position Statements.
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Playdough: There’s More to It Than You Might Think
Using playdough is not only fun, but it also creates a medium through which teachers can address early childhood standards and observe a child’s progress in development.
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Block Building and Make-Believe for Every Child
Learn how to use blocks and make believe to encourage boys and girls to try out the learning centers they don’t usually visit.
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More on block time for preschoolers »
Play with Music!
Read about how music can lead to both play and learning in your program.
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Pretend Play Leads to Real-Life Learning
In this first issue of Teaching Young Children see in pictures the many ways children learn when engaged in pretend play.
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Babies on the Move
Although infants have limited motor abilities, here are some ideas to get or keep babies moving!
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Recess—It’s Indispensable!
There is no research to support administrators’ assumptions that test scores could be improved by keeping children in the classroom all day.
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Why Do Babies Like Boxes Best?
You can learn a lot about a baby’s development based on what objects he or she plays with.
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Nine Ways to Make Puppets
Puppets help bring children’s play to life. Creating scenarios for different characters can increase children’s vocabularies and storytelling skills and provide a safe way to express challenging feelings.
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Valuable book excerpts!
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8, Third Edition
Read the Developmentally Appropriate Practice Position Statements for a preview of this content-rich book. The 2009 version comes with a supplementary CD containing readings on key topics, plus video examples showing developmentally appropriate practice in action.
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Spotlight on Young Children and Play
This article, "Playing to Get Smart" is just one of a compilation of Young Children articles in this book focusing on play as a source of enjoyment and as a tool for learning.
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Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Children 3 to 6
Read this excerpt about how young children learn and develop, including a section titled, "What is good play?"
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The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the Best Strategies for Young Children's Learning
Read this excerpt for tips about setting up a classroom and why environment is so important to play and learning.
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K Today: Teaching and Learning in the Kindergarten Year
Read the excerpt to learn more about how to use play appropriately in a kindergarten setting.
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