Author Archives: Kelly Christian
- The Benefits of Playing Alone
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There are many different ways for a child to play. If you have a toddler you may have noticed that they seem to be playing alongside other children yet appearing to focus on their own play and rarely interacting with …
- Sociodramatic Play
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Children start to incorporate pretending into their play by the ages of two and three. Over time, parents may begin to notice imaginative stories emerging in their children’s play (i.e., feeding the baby, going to the doctor, playing house). As …
- Pretend Play During the First Year
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Pretend play is ever-present throughout childhood and really begins during infancy. As children grow and develop their pretend play abilities also mature. Anyone who has spent time with a baby understands that in the first year of life they work …
- Pretend Play at Four and Five: Developing Social Understanding
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Between four and five years of age children become more aware of themselves and as a result they want to learn more about other children. This also translates to how children play with other children. For instance, as toddlers, children …
- Developing Imaginations
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As a toddler’s cognitive, social, and emotional capabilities broaden so do their imaginations. Around 12-18 months children begin to talk and are increasingly capable of communicating with others. During this time you may notice that children at this age are …
- Playfulness and Learning
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Most children are naturally delighted and excited by the discoveries they make about their world. The playful stance that children tend to take early on as youngsters is likely one of the reasons children seem propelled toward greater curiosity and …
- Be Playful!
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Undoubtedly an important aspect of child development is a child’s ability to be playful. No one knew this better than Dr. Seuss who said: “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, …
- The Arts and Learning
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Educational systems that are focused on traditional learning, like language arts and math, do not give children struggling in these areas a chance to learn other potential strengths. Children who have strengths in music, dance, theater, and art aren’t necessarily …
- Benefits of Recess
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The social and cognitive benefits of recess and free play are too important to be ignored. During recess children learn valuable social skills like learning to negotiate with peers in order to keep playing with them. “I want to play …
- No Time for Recess
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Dr. Anthony Pelligrini is a notable scholar of recess and the education system. According to him, recess is disappearing because school administrators are more concerned with increasing instructional time and claim that recess promotes bullying and aggressive behaviors. The argument …