Early Childhood Education Series

Play's the Thing

by Elizabeth Jones and Gretchen Reynolds

Published 1 April 1992

The traditional role for teachers in children's play was to structure it, setting rules and interrupting if things got "out of hand". However, for children three to five, sociodramatic play is a way to invent and make familiar the rhythms and actions of everyday life. This text describes why play is a fundamentally important part of children's development and shows how adults can support and promote play. The authors offer systematic descriptions and analyses of the different roles a teacher adopts toward this end - including those of stage manager, mediator, player, scribe, assessor, communicator, and planner - and describe both highly interactive and inhibited children from different economic backgrounds. The authors integrate cognitive and psycho-dynamic theory as well, regarding the scripts children play in both cognitive and affective terms, and they discuss the importance of fantasy and reality play themes, demonstrating the implications of play for literacy learning.

Playing to Get Smart

by Elizabeth Jones and Renatta M. Cooper

Published 25 November 2005

Play is the most effective way for children to develop critical life skills such as creative thinking and social problem solving. In this book, Betty Jones, well-known for her work on play, is joined by her colleague Renatta Cooper to offer a radical vision of early schooling-an antidote for the current pressure of standardized education.

Practicing what it preaches, Playing to Get Smart will be a playful reading experience for teachers and parents alike. With jokes, riddles, and stories sprinkled throughout, the authors show how important play is for children of all ethnic and socioeconomic groups, from birth to age 8.

A provocative challenge to teachers and parents of young children, Playing to Get Smart:

Explains why teachers need to provide opportunities for quality play and why parents need to understand the benefits of play for their children.
Demonstrates how play offers opportunities for initiative, leadership, conflict resolution, and peacemaking.
Addresses the negative effects of traditional schooling, particularly on poor children.

Master Players

by Gretchen Reynolds and Elizabeth Jones

Published 1 January 1997

Developed as a companion volume to "The Play's the Thing", this book defines and analyses the concept of master player based on videotaped observations of pre-school children at play. By interweaving sequences of play together with their dialogue about them, the authors model how teachers can work as a team to develop their understanding of a particular child and of the value of children's quality play, and how they can support it. The in-depth discussion between the authors reveals the multi-facted nature of play, individual differences in both teachers' and children's styles, and the complexity of intervention decisions made by teachers.