Drawing from evidence-based practice and the latest research, this book explains the multitude of benefits of big body play for young children's social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Also learn how to organize the physical environment, set rules and policies, and supervise the play.

There are all kinds of bodies in the world. What are YOU like? Celebrate our brilliant bodies in this fantastic book jam-packed with interesting facts. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes as we change from babies to children to teenagers to adults, our bodies change too! Find out about growing and learning, keeping fit, breaks and bruises, the five senses, using our minds, how we are the same and how we are different – and lots more in the fourth book in the internationally best-selling Great Big Book series.

A fresh and timely approach to understanding the profound impact of motor development on children of all ages and stages. Based on the authors' more than seventy combined years of professional success working with children of all abilities, Growing an In-Sync Child provides parents, teachers, and other professionals with the tools to give every child a head start and a leg up. Because early motor development is one of the most important factors in a child's physical, emotional, academic, and overall success, the In- Sync Program of sixty adaptable, easy, and fun activities will enhance your child's development, in just minutes a day. Discover how simple movements such as skipping, rolling, balancing, and jumping can make a world of difference for your child—a difference that will last a lifetime.

An enormous new book for kids to learn about the human body. Includes giant foldout pages to show the intricacy of the body Open up the huge fold-out pages of this vividly illustrated book to discover the remarkable ways the human body works. Explore a giant skeleton, learn how your heart pumps blood, find out what's inside your head and see what happens to the food you eat. A fun and engaging introduction to a UK National Curriculum subject.

Explores the human body, its skeletal, muscular, nervous, and digestive systems, and the five senses. On board pages with interactive parts.

Describes play workshop experiences that give educators a deeper understanding of play-based learning and illustrate the power of play.

Responding to current debates on the place of play in schools, the authors have extensively revised their groundbreaking book. They explain how and why play is a critical part of children’s development, as well as the central role adults have to promote it. This classic textbook and popular practitioner resource offers systematic descriptions and analyses of the different roles a teacher adopts to support play, including those of stage manager, mediator, player, scribe, assessor, communicator, and planner. This new edition has been expanded to include significant developments in the broadening landscape of early learning and care, such as assessment, diversity and culture, intentional teaching, inquiry, and the construction of knowledge. New for the Second Edition of The Play’s the Thing! Additional theories on the relationship of teachers and children’s play, e.g., Vygotsky and the role of imaginary play and Reggio Emilia’s image of the competent child.Current issues from media content, consumer culture, and environmental concerns.Standards and testing in preschool and kindergarten.Bridging the cultural gap between home and school.Using digital technology to make children’s play visible.Recent brain development research.And much more! Elizabeth Jones is faculty emerita in human development at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. Gretchen Reynolds is on the faculty in the early childhood education program at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. Their other books on play include Master Players (Reynolds & Jones) and Playing to Get Smart (Jones & Cooper). “The Play’s the Thing provides an excellent summary of theories related to the importance of children's play and illustrates the six roles teachers can use to put these theories into practice.” —Harvard Educational Review “This book describes the knowledge that is required to foster play and to use it as a solid foundation on which to build learning.” —From the Foreword to the First Edition by Elizabeth Prescott, Faculty Emerita, Pacific Oaks College “Playful learning offers educators a plan for creating fun and engaging pedagogies that support rich curricula. . . . And this book offers magnificent descriptions and evidence-based examples of how teachers can pave this new road and create a climate for learning via play.” —From the Foreword to the Second Edition by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University, and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, University of Delaware