All Play Content

Young girl smiling
some kids playing with outdoor toys
Article
Young Children
June 1, 2022

Outdoor Recess Matters!: Preventing and Reducing Children’s Challenging Behavior on the Playground

Spending time on the playground is a great opportunity for children to be physically active and engage in various forms of play, as well as develop a variety of foundational social and emotional skills.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Hsiu-Wen Yang, Michaelene M. Ostrosky, Paddy Cronin Favazza, Yusuf Akemoğlu, W. Catherine Cheung, Katherine Aronson-Ensign
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a child playing in a box
Article
Young Children
June 1, 2022

The Power of Playful Learning in the Early Childhood Setting

This excerpt from Developmentally Appropriate Practice illustrates the ways in which play and learning mutually support one another and how teachers connect learning goals to children’s play.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Jennifer M. Zosh, Caroline Gaudreau, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek
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a craft coconut tree created by children
Article
Young Children
June 1, 2022

DAP and Playful Learning: Equitable Approaches

This issue of Young Children delves into different aspects of play and different roles of educators during play.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Annie Moses
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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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a parent with a child on  a tablet
Blog
December 13, 2021

Four Ways to Use Tablets to Foster Early Math Learning

Here, we describe four ways to use tablets in developmentally appropriate ways to foster preschoolers’ early math learning.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Jessica Mercer Young, Ashley Lewis Presser
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A child writes a poem.
Article

Learning Joy and Resilience Through Kindergartners

We may not be able to control the spread of the virus, the changing mandates, or the inequities and social justice issues intensified by the pandemic, but we can control how much our children feel loved by us.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Larissa Hsia-Wong
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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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child with flower
Blog
November 17, 2021

10 Tips for Finding Nature to Bring into Your Classroom

Here, we share 10 tips for finding nature-based objects to prompt curiosity, questioning, observation, and learning.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Kendra Nenia, Melissa Clucas Walter
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A group of young children dresses up for their stage production.
Article
Teaching Young Children
September 1, 2021

Rethinking Field Trips: Venturing Out to Foster Meaningful Learning

Knowing that local field trips are a source of curriculum in early childhood education, two teachers venture to a theater with their class, then engage in a project about storytelling, performance, and stages.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Lynette Bagwell, Betsy Cahill
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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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children playing on a playground
Article
Teaching Young Children
September 1, 2021

Stepping Back to Nurture

Stepping back from children’s play, rather than always inserting ourselves into it, gives us time to intentionally observe, listen to, and record children as they play.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Krystina Tapia, Emma Pickering, Jesse Robert Coffino
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a bucket of nature items like pinecones and leaves
Article
Teaching Young Children
September 1, 2021

Using Nature Contact to Support Children Under Stress

Contact with nature can help mitigate the negative effects of stress. Through nature-based encounters, we can provide children with strategies to use while they are in our care and beyond.

Authored by

Authored by: 
Becky L. DelVecchio, Susan Ferguson, Wesley Knapp
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the cover of the publication Teaching young children, Volume 14, Number 5
Issue
Teaching Young Children
Vol. 15, No. 1
September 1, 2021

Fall 2021

Nature Learning Indoors and Out
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.
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