Don’T Play in the Sandpit


Book Description

Moral-free America didnt happen overnight. The Great Depression was a time in American history where citizens had to fight to survive the hard timesand this often meant breaking the law. Making and distributing moonshinea dangerous homemade brew of alcoholwas one way to try and survive. But these adults did little to hide their illegal lifestyle from their children, often even glorifying their illicit activities and relishing in their own alcoholism. A time also marred by prejudice and racism, this bitter atmosphere helped shape the younger generation of the early twentieth century. Dont Play in the Sandpit chronicles the way this immoral atmosphere has been passed on between generationsgradually breaking apart any belief by society of a moral code. Opening during the Great Depression in a fictionalized, isolated Florida community where moonshining, rum running, and gambling lead to its demise, the story points a finger at adultsparents includedwho do not do their part to discourage young people from drinking alcohol. And as the story unfolds, the costs of adults endorsing alcohol abuseeither by their silence, by their own indulgence, or by embracing young drinkersare ultimately paid with the health of todays generations. What can be done to confront the disease of alcoholism? The medical establishment can research the effects of excessive drinking, but it is up to parents and society in general to take responsibility for curbing its useand they must do it by example.




The Artful Parent


Book Description

Bring out your child’s creativity and imagination with more than 60 artful activities in this completely revised and updated edition Art making is a wonderful way for young children to tap into their imagination, deepen their creativity, and explore new materials, all while strengthening their fine motor skills and developing self-confidence. The Artful Parent has all the tools and information you need to encourage creative activities for ages one to eight. From setting up a studio space in your home to finding the best art materials for children, this book gives you all the information you need to get started. You’ll learn how to: * Pick the best materials for your child’s age and learn to make your very own * Prepare art activities to ease children through transitions, engage the most energetic of kids, entertain small groups, and more * Encourage artful living through everyday activities * Foster a love of creativity in your family




Rethinking Play as Pedagogy


Book Description

The conceptualisation and practice of play is considered core to early childhood pedagogy. In this essential text, contributors from a range of countries and cultures explore how play might be defined, encouraged and interpreted in early childhood settings and practice. Rethinking Play as Pedagogy provides a fresh perspective of play as a purposeful pedagogy offering multi-layered opportunities for learning and development. Written to provoke group discussion and extend thinking, opportunities for international comparison, points for reflection and editorial provocations, this volume will help students engage critically with a variety of understandings of play, and diverse approaches to harnessing children’s natural propensity to play. Considering the role of the learning environment, the practitioner, the wider community, and policy, chapters are divided into four key sections which reflect major influences on practice and pedagogy: Being alongside children Those who educate Embedding families and communities Working with systems Offering in-depth discussion of diverse perceptions, potentials and practicalities of early childhood play, this text will enhance understanding, support self-directed learning, and provoke and transform thinking at both graduate and postgraduate levels, particularly in the field of early childhood education and care, for students, educators, integrated service providers and policy makers.




School Spaces for Student Wellbeing and Learning


Book Description

This book introduces a new wellbeing dimension to the theory and practice of learning space design for early childhood and school contexts. It highlights vital, yet generally overlooked relationships between the learning environment and student learning and wellbeing, and reveals the potential of participatory, values-based design approaches to create learning spaces that respond to contemporary learners’ needs. Focusing on three main themes it explores conceptual understandings of learning spaces and wellbeing; students’ lived experience and needs of learning spaces; and the development of a new theory and its practical application to the design of learning spaces that enhance student wellbeing. It examines these complex and interwoven topics through various theoretical lenses and provides an extensive, current literature review that connects learning environment design and learner wellbeing in a wide range of educational settings from early years to secondary school. Offering transferable approaches and a new theoretical model of wellbeing as flourishing to support the design of innovative learning environments, this book is of interest to researchers, tertiary educators and students in the education and design fields, as well as school administrators and facility managers, teachers, architects and designers.




A Time Before Facebook


Book Description

Two families on opposite sides of the US/Canada Border are forever united through a marriage, children, and then a death. Jimmy is now growing up in a time before computers, email and social networking. The stories are true, but some persons and events have been fictionalized where necessary.




A Student's Guide to Methodology


Book Description

Essential for anyone undertaking a dissertation or thesis, this title presents clear and straightforward information and advice on the process and functions of methodology.




Young House Love


Book Description

This New York Times bestselling book is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up your home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts and millions of hits per month on their blog YoungHouseLove.com, Sherry and John Petersik are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Packed with 243 tips and ideas—both classic and unexpected—and more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.




Making Play Work in Early Years Settings


Book Description

Making a play-based curriculum work in early years settings. Early Years practitioners have been advocating for play to be at the heart of early years for many years. Now is the time to make this a reality. Using in the moment planning, child initiated play and other strategies, this book supports early years practitioners to enable the children in their setting to choose what they do and how they want to learn. Dawn Rigby shares her passion for a play-based curriculum, her own setting′s journey, what worked and the challenges faced along the way. This practical book: shares examples of good practice; gives advice on how to make play the central focus of early years practice; explores why a play-based curriculum matters; includes practical support on developmentally appropriate practice.




The Human-dimensions of Human-computer Interaction


Book Description

"This book uses a narrative style; simplifying jargon for the non-technical reader. It is a techno-journey commencing with the background history of computing to contrast with HCI in today's techno-world; filling the gap in the literature that only sparsely covers the vast number of human-dimensions (or social context) of computer usage. The target audience includes: IT professionals, postgraduate information systems' students, corporate trainers, general computer users, educational technology researchers, academics at universities and other types of community-based learning Institutions."--BOOK JACKET.




Odd Girl Out


Book Description

A sensory portrait of an autistic mind From childhood, Laura James knew she was different. She struggled to cope in a world that often made no sense to her, as though her brain had its own operating system. It wasn't until she reached her forties that she found out why: Suddenly and surprisingly, she was diagnosed with autism. With a touching and searing honesty, Laura challenges everything we think we know about what it means to be autistic. Married with four children and a successful journalist, Laura examines the ways in which autism has shaped her career, her approach to motherhood, and her closest relationships. Laura's upbeat, witty writing offers new insight into the day-to-day struggles of living with autism, as her extreme attention to sensory detail -- a common aspect of her autism -- is fascinating to observe through her eyes. As Laura grapples with defining her own identity, she also looks at the unique benefits neurodiversity can bring. Lyrical and lush, Odd Girl Out shows how being different doesn't mean being less, and proves that it is never too late for any of us to find our rightful place in the world.