Learn with Play


Book Description

A GIANT COLLECTION OF HANDS-ON KIDS ACTIVITIES. The perfect book to have on hand for inspiring you on holidays, weekends, or anytime the kids just need something to do! A fun mix of hands-on fun with learning, celebrating, and appreciating family time.




Playful Learning


Book Description

Children are natural scientists, artists, mathematicians, authors, and scholars. From the time they are born they seek out information about the world around them in an effort to construct meaning and further their development. While children have an inherent drive to make sense of their reality, parents have a unique opportunity to harness their children’s curiosity and channel it into a love of learning. Playful learning is the magic that takes place when we meld a child’s sense of joy and wonder with thoughtfully planned learning experiences. Through easy-to-implement, hands-on projects you can engage your child in fun and creative ways that encourage learning and impart the joy of discovery. With a little bit of information and forethought, you can play a pivotal role in the cognitive and creative development of your child Mariah Bruehl has worked in the field of education for over a decade. She has taught in the classroom, developed curriculum in many different subject areas, trained teachers, and implemented programs across many grade levels. She is the mother of two girls and the owner of Playful Learning—a retail space and education center in Sag Harbor. Learn more at www.playfulearning.com.




Playful Learning Lab for Kids


Book Description

Playful Learning Lab for Kids is a hands-on activity book that offers games and activities that revolve around the senses and concepts in reading, math, art, and science. Recent research has shown that children learn and develop new skills more quickly when they engage in playful, whole body activities. Movement allows them to refocus their attention, improves brain function, reduces stress, and improves circulation. Not only that, but the more senses that are used for learning, the more likely information is to be stored and retrieved. The activities in Playful Learning Lab for Kids explore concepts in reading, language, math, art, music, science, geography, and social studies, all while engaging children with movements, touch, sound, and sight. Most distinguishing of all, the activities and lessons here include suggestions for tailoring the experience to different levels, making it a book children can grow with. The skills range from visual perceptual skills and spatial awareness, to early geometry concepts, visual motor integration, and fine motor skills. Authors Claire Heffron and Lauren Drobnjak, pediatric occupational and physical therapists with years of experience in clinical and school-based settings, share their best tips and strategies for helping little learners reach their fullest potential through these engaging and fun activities. The popular Lab for Kids series features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, math, and even how to create your own circus—all authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The labs can be used as singular projects or as part of a yearlong curriculum of experiential learning. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. Gain firsthand knowledge on your favorite topic with Lab for Kids.




Playful Learning


Book Description




Purposeful Play


Book Description

Play is serious business. Whether it's reenacting a favorite book (comprehension and close reading), negotiating the rules for a game (speaking and listening), or collaborating over building blocks (college and career readiness and STEM), Kristi Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler see every day how play helps students reach standards and goals in ways that in-their-seat instruction alone can't do. And not just during playtimes. "We believe there is play in work and work in play," they write. "It helps to have practical ways to carry that mindset into all aspects of the curriculum." In Purposeful Play, they share ways to: optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day. "We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. So they provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional. Play doesn't only happen when work is over. Children show us time and time again that play is the way they work. In Purposeful Play, you'll find research-driven methods for making play an engine for rigorous learning in your classroom.




The Invent to Learn Guide to Fun


Book Description

Features an assortment of insanely clever classroom-tested "maker" projects for learners of all ages.




Serious Fun


Book Description

A practical book for teachers consisting of 10 YC and TYC articles on the importance of integrating rich content-based, teacher-guided instruction with meaningful child-centered play to nurture children's emerging capabilities and skills.




The Garden Classroom


Book Description

Creative ways to use the garden to inspire learning, for kids ages 4-8 Packed with garden-based activities that promote science, math, reading, writing, imaginative play, and arts and crafts, The Garden Classroom offers a whole year of outdoor play and learning ideas—however big or small your garden. Every garden offers children a rich, sensory playground, full of interesting things to discover and learn about. There's a whole lot of science happening right before their eyes. The garden can also be a place to develop math and literacy skills, as the outdoors offers up plenty of invitations to weave learning into everyday gardening. The garden classroom is a place where plants grow, and where children grow too.




Literacy Playshop


Book Description

Building on her award-winning research (featured in Playing Their Way into Literacies) which emphasizes that play is an early literacy, Wohlwend has developed a curricular framework for children ages 3 to 8. The Literacy Playshop curriculum engages children in creating their own multimedia productions, positioning them as media makers rather than passive recipients of media messages. The goal is to teach young children to critically interpret the daily messages they receive in popular entertainment that increasingly blur toys, stories, and advertising. The first half of this practical resource features case studies that show how six early childhood teachers working together in teacher study groups developed and implemented play-based literacy learning and media production. The second half of the book provides a Literacy Playshop framework with professional development and classroom activities, discussion questions, and technology try-it sections. This user-friendly book will inspire and support teachers in designing their own Literacy Playshops.




101 Movement Games for Children


Book Description

Every body is made to move, and moving is one of the best things we can do for our bodies. children who learn the joy of moving at an early age improve their chances of remaining active and healthy throughout life. The games in this book will also help children develop a healthy sense of play. Thes noncompetititve games - which focus on pure movement, rather than dance or music - stress excitement, humour, challenge, surprise and cooperation. Players just need enthusiasm and a willingness to explore activities with others.