For Your Binder

If you work with the wee bairns this one is for you!  While the theory applies to all ages, if you are needing a few fresh ideas for the little ones, this handout will assist.  And while there are activities in the handout, please please please remember it's never ever about the activities; it is about the caring, the connecting, the relationships and attachment! If those ingredients are missing, it doesn't matter how pretty the room is or how much stuff you got! # handouts # care # relationships # DAP # teaching # theorists

Missed the workshop? Want to watch it again? Got a DVD player? Lisa has DVDs of all her workshops! # oldschool  

An excerpt from Peaceful Babies - Contented Mothers (1940) taken from the Sensory Awareness Foundation Winter Bulletin, Number 14, 1994. This link will bring you to the article, where you can also access the rest of the content on the Pikler (USA) website. # movement # learning # teaching # parenting # theorists # DAP

The ambiguous, variable, and paradoxical nature of the play concept is so widely accepted, that most play theorists consider the search for a universal definition to be pure folly. # play # theorists 

Note: while no date is provided in the article, I originally read it in 2015 if that provides any context.

From the horse's mouth! I first came across this as a stand alone article, I now see that it is Chapter 24 of The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence. # theorists # learning # teaching

This used to be part of the supplementary handouts for the Meet the Masters workshop which is being edited to present a more accurate (and diverse) time line of ECE influencers. The info is now embedded in the block play workshop.  Regardless, it is a good stand alone resource if you'd like a quick crash course in the history of the blocks you probably have in your program! # blocks # theorists # play # handouts # teaching

Remember that one time, when Piaget noticed the kids getting the same questions wrong, but wrong in the same way? Well one time, a very clever workshop participant asked, What were the questions they got wrong? And I realized I had no idea. What a fantastic question! And while I never was able to locate an answer (maybe you did?) I did find this paper from 1911 which, while it didn't answer the participant's question, it made some good points! # teaching # learning # theorists

Kindergarten should be the graduate school of fantasy play! Where did we go wrong?  # play # DAP # theorists # teaching # learning

This articles explores the concept of scaffolding and offers a few strategies.  # theorists # DAP # teaching # learning

A good overview of the benefits of The Mix, but the reason it's here is for the modified image of Vygotsky's ZPD, which I really liked! # teaching # learning # theorists # mixedages # DAP  

The school we are talking about is not the school you are familiar with in the past, but it is something that you can hope for.  # teaching # learning # theorists 

This is a link to an essay which was published in a few books, including All Work and No Play... How Educational Reforms Are Harming Our Preschoolers, edited by Sharna Olfman. After reading this stand alone essay you might decide that you need the whole book.  You might also start to wonder how many more essays and articles and books we need to write before folks believe us and the power of play!  # play # DAP # pushdown # teaching # learning # theorists

This is an impressive overview of the research collected for the Minnesota Children's Museum in 2012. Not surprisingly, White's closing comment implies that while play is under siege, we must not forget that it is play that sets the stage for a strong foundation. # play # teaching # learning # DAP # theorists