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Whole Child Development

ALL Children Deserve Play

by Filed Under: Child Development & DAP 3 Comments

I’ve been busy behind the pages of this blog.

Between conferences and workshops and the planning meetings that accompany those trainings, a common topic emerged, something I’ve been mulling over a bit. It is this: Is play as a valuable part of early childhood classrooms more likely to be challenged when applied to low-income populations – children who may be viewed as “behind?” Is it harder to get support for developmentally appropriate practices for children who need the most developmental support?

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A Swiss Psychologist and the American Question

by Filed Under: Child Development & DAP 26 Comments

Long before the technology existed to allow us a real-time view inside the developing brain, a Swiss psychologist by the name of Jean Piaget explored the developmental patterns behind language and cognition in childhood.  As one of the most influential developmental psychologists of the 20th century, he was a prolific writer and a pioneer in giving a developmental context to the human tasks of thinking and learning.

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The High Cost of Pervasive Passivity and Why Play Matters

by Filed Under: Child Development & DAP 3 Comments

A preschool director once relayed to me an observation she made at her community center.  She watched as a mother plucked her child from the waters of the pool at the end of his swimming lesson, quickly dried him and dressed him right on the deck, and then delivered him, minutes later, to his karate class.  She wondered at how passive his role in the whole exchange was, as though he was merely a passenger on the high-speed train that was his life.

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