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Whole Child Development

Magic Words for Guiding Behavior: "Let's Pretend"

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Child Development & DAP, Create, Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment

In Vivian Gussin Paley’s book, A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play, she mentions the opportunity to use fantasy play as a tool for classroom management or child guidance.    I found this interesting, and it caused me to think about that premise, the ways I have used it in the past, and the ways I could use it to smooth out difficult situations.

As she states, “Conversations with children may arise out a ‘last straw’ annoyance, in other words, or from a sense of dramatic flow.  They can come from concerns over decorum or from respect for our imaginations.  Both approaches will manage a classroom, but one seems punitive and the other brings good social discourse, communal responsibility, and may have literary merit.” (pg. 74)

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A Part of Their World: Adult Roles in Child’s Play

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience Leave a Comment

I wrote yesterday about the importance of dramatic play in the development of the whole child.  It is true that a large part of the benefit from this type of play comes from the fact that it is intrinsically driven and self-guided.  However, sometimes there is a need for adult interaction or intervention.  While joining in is a natural way to  scaffold the child’s play, helping him to become more competent in the skill, it’s also a lot of fun, and a great way to build a good relationship with kids!

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A Part of Their World: Adult Roles in Child's Play

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience 9 Comments

I wrote yesterday about the importance of dramatic play in the development of the whole child.  It is true that a large part of the benefit from this type of play comes from the fact that it is intrinsically driven and self-guided.  However, sometimes there is a need for adult interaction or intervention.  While joining in is a natural way to  scaffold the child’s play, helping him to become more competent in the skill, it’s also a lot of fun, and a great way to build a good relationship with kids!

[Read more…]

Enchanted Learning: The Benefits of Fantasy Play for Children

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience 26 Comments

Many parents have come to their child’s preschool teacher with the same concern.  “It seems like my child plays dress-up all day at preschool.  What could he possibly be learning from that?”  The question is understandable – what does he learn from leaping around with his cape fluttering behind him?  And yet, the question is somewhat ironic, as these very parents likely spent much of their childhood engaged in the same kind of play.

I personally still have vivid memories of my own childhood, as my playmates and I snuck past sleeping giants, swung through the trees in the Amazon, and set sparkling lures for fairies.  In fact, my playmates themselves included one conjured character named Cheney, a girl who lived in the clouds.

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Safe Fire-Free Ways to Have a Blast With Your Children This Fourth of July

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience 2 Comments

Fireworks are off-limits in many areas this summer because of the fire threat it poses to foothills, forests, and even neighborhood underbrush.  Even if fireworks are allowed in your area, you’re bound to have some children who want an exciting hands-on experience, but aren’t quite old enough for the fire power yet.  Here are three fun fire-free “blast-off” experiments you can incorporate into your Fourth of July Festivities.  And you don’t even have to wait until dark!

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Turn the Page – How to Rewrite Your Script for Parenting and Teaching

by Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills Leave a Comment


Studies have shown that, particularly in times of stress, we tend to revert to our past experience as our script. We teach as we were taught, we parent as we were parented.  We may know better than the teachers we had, or we may want more for our own kids than we were given, but when the pressure is on we follow the script we learned from watching others.  For some of us, with fortunate experiences and good role models, this truth is a blessing.  For those with a less desirable childhood it can be a curse.

I was working with a group of teachers recently when a woman shared something that made me both sad and amazed. We had been talking about our own experiences being disciplined as children and she alluded to the fact that her father had often crossed the line into abuse. Decades later, the backs of her legs still bore scars where they had been accosted with switches and belts.

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Five Little Monkey Puppets

by Filed Under: Building Readers, Create, Learning through Play and Experience, Music and Movement 10 Comments

Here’s a little project you can work on this weekend, though I hope you have some other plans because this one is so easy, it shouldn’t take you long.  Build monkey finger puppets out of inexpensive felt from your local craft or fabric store, or from that overflowing box of felt scraps that parents and teachers of preschoolers often have tucked away.

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Dear Sweet Puddin’head

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Snack Time Leave a Comment

I’ve been working on some pretty comprehensive posts lately, so I decided it was time for some fluff.  LITERALLY. 

I give to you, one of the simplest and most versatile recipes in my repertoire, Puddin’head.  This tasty stuff results from the combination of pudding and whipped topping.  We’ve used it for quite some time in our house, as a frosting spread on cakes and piped onto cupcakes, a substitute for plain Cool Whip in desserts like this chocolate trifle, a hot chocolate topping, or a tasty filling in crepes or on waffles along with some fruit.  After referring to it for too long as “that yummy pudding-Cool Whip stuff”, my husband finally gave it its Twain-esque moniker, and it has stuck. 

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Dear Sweet Puddin’head

by Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience, Snack Time 136 Comments

I’ve been working on some pretty comprehensive posts lately, so I decided it was time for some fluff.  LITERALLY.

I give to you, one of the simplest and most versatile recipes in my repertoire, Puddin’head.  This tasty stuff results from the combination of pudding and whipped topping.  We’ve used it for quite some time in our house, as a frosting spread on cakes and piped onto cupcakes, a substitute for plain Cool Whip in desserts like this chocolate trifle, a hot chocolate topping, or a tasty filling in crepes or on waffles along with some fruit.  After referring to it for too long as “that yummy pudding-Cool Whip stuff”, my husband finally gave it its Twain-esque moniker, and it has stuck.

[Read more…]

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