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a childs painting of a butterfly
Article
Teaching Young Children
July 1, 2022

"How Do You Spell Butterfly?" Connecting Play to Content Learning

In this article, Jenna Valasek explains how she uses open-ended materials with intentional teacher planning and scaffolding to engage children in active thinking, social interactions, and joyful learning across multiple areas.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Jenna Valasek
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the cover of teaching young children volume 15, number 4
Issue
Teaching Young Children
Vol. 15, No. 4
July 1, 2022

Summer 2022

Playful Content Learning
Teaching Young Children is NAEYC's magazine for anyone who works with preschoolers. Colorful, informative, and easy-to-read, TYC is packed full of teaching ideas, strategies, and tips.
Members Only
the cover of the publication young children, Volume 77, Number 2
Issue
Young Children
Vol. 77, No. 2
June 1, 2022

Summer 2022

DAP and Playful Learning: Equitable Approaches
This issue of Young Children delves into different aspects of play, different roles of educators during play, and the contexts of children and families with play.
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an old photo of children playing in a craft airplane
Article
Young Children
December 1, 2021

Our Proud Heritage. Building the Kindergarten Curriculum

This article introduces the Patty Smith Hill blocks and describes how they helped one teacher build a curriculum and intentionally plan and teach in ways that engaged children in deep study of topics they could learn through firsthand experiences.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Elizabeth A. Sherwood
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Children play with blocks and dinosaur figurines.
Article
Teaching Young Children
September 1, 2021

Sparking Creativity with Cross-Area Play

Cross-area play is rooted in the idea that when children are given the freedom to experiment with materials in open-ended ways, their play can transform into elaborate, complex plots and offer rich developmental opportunities.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Lydia Minahan, Jessica Byrd, Sarah Dwyer, Sandra Romp, Layney Viets, Ekaterina Strekalova-Hughes
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A child plays a shapes activity.
Article
Young Children
September 1, 2021

Intentional Teaching Moments: Supporting Executive Function Development and Early Mathematics Through a Geometry Activity

Enhanced by math activities, higher-order mental skills and abilities serve as the behind-the-scenes machinery that facilitates young children’s ability to engage in and demonstrate their learning competency.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Holland W. Banse, Douglas H. Clements, Julie Sarama, Crystal Day-Hess, Marisa Simoni, Candace Joswick
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Teacher on a laptop smiling at young child
Article
Teaching Young Children
September 16, 2020

Ask Hello. Play in the Age of COVID

If your center is operating fairly “normal,” what have you noticed during play? Are children talking about COVID? Do they interact the same way as before?
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young girl putting together a 3D block puzzles using blocks
Article
Young Children
May 1, 2020

Learning Engineering through Block Play: STEM in Preschool

In recent years, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have been increasingly emphasized for elementary-age children, and this trend should extend into preschool too. Blocks—a fundamental material found in almost all early childhood se

Authored by

Authored by: 
Zachary S. Gold, James Elicker, Barbara A. Beaulieu
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