Preschoolers at Play

Lisa Mufson Bresson, MEd, is an early childhood education consultantwith Beyond Boundaries, LLC, and coauthor of NAEYC’s bestselling book Big Questions for Young Minds: ExtendingChildren’s Thinking. She leads workshops and presentations at local, state,national, and international conferences, thriving on the connections she makeswith learners—both big and little!—on a daily basis. Since 2008, she has been acontributing author to Teaching YoungChildren (TYC), NAEYC’s magazine for preschool teachers, and serves on TYC’s advisory board. She is a former program manager for Grow NJKids, New Jersey’s statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System for earlychildhood programs. Previously, Lisa taught in urban public preschool settingsfor over a decade.  Megan King, MEd, is a preschool teacher at Passaic PublicSchools in Passaic, New Jersey. She has worked in the field of early childhoodeducation for over 10 years. She is active in the makerspace movement and haspresented on and coauthored several articles on incorporating hands-on “maker”materials in early childhood classrooms. She has written articles published in TYC and is proud to serve as one of TYC’s advisory board members. She works with a diverse group ofearly childhood educators on the NAEYC/PBS Ready To Learn Content ReviewAdvisory Board and is a past NJ Governor’s Educator of the Year Award winner atthe school level. Megan enjoys working with her preschoolers and experiencingthe world through their eyes.

This book should be in every preschoolclassroom! It is difficult to find information that is new, engaging, and provensuccessful in the classroom, but finally, here is a useful tool for preschoolteachers. I especially love the features within each chapter that break downsuggestions for play materials, tips for incorporating technology, questions toconsider, and more. I am excited to implement these ideas and activities. —Dana Pergola, Pre-K Teacher, PassaicPublic Schools   Grounded in developmentally appropriatepractice, this essential and practical book supports and inspires preschoolteachers and coaches to intentionally select and use play materials to fosterchildren’s engagement, creativity, and learning across all domains. Bresson andKing empower us to hold on to the joy of teaching through creating andreflecting on developmentally appropriate environments, materials, andteacher–child interactions. —Holly Seplocha, Professor Emeritus,William Paterson University, and Early Childhood Consultant and Author Play is such an important topic, andLisa and Megan have presented a beautifully simple approach to choosing the“right stuff” for the preschool classroom. Each chapter is filled with ideas,wonderings, and questions to reflect upon. Breaking the chapters down intodomains of learning allows for working on one area of development at a time.This is the perfect addition to my bookshelf. I can’t wait to share it with mystaff and see how they integrate some of these suggestions in their classrooms! —Karen Humphris, Executive Director,Passaic County Community College Child Development Center  I hope this book finds its way into thehands of all preschool teachers, coaches, and college faculty. The authorsadopt a strong commitment to joy and curiosity and hold the teacher as acreative professional and essential collaborator with children. The “rightstuff” it offers is everything one would need to create a vibrant earlylearning classroom. It opens on a strong foundation of curiosity about and inchildren and on how to foster joy and learning with play. What follows is a superaccessible and well-organized feast of resources and activities. Of note arethe questions at the end of each part that help teachers connect to their ownlearning and well-being. This resource is a complete package that will help anyteacher embody the truth that any time becomes the right time to capitalize andbuild on children’s curiosity. —Katie Emerson-Hoss, Higher EducationOutreach and Implementation Manager, EarlyEdU Alliance at University ofWashington  What a wonderful resource! The supply lists,suggestions for how to incorporate the play materials into learningexperiences, and linkages to how they support development are both useful andengaging. I cannot wait to use this book with my staff and graduate students. —Kristen Allen, Director of EarlyEducation, YWCA Rhode Island  This book accurately describes howplanning and designing the environment to include specifically chosen playmaterials for preschool-age children will have a significant impact on earlychildhood educational practices. Well written and simply stated, this resourcewill be invaluable to child care professionals in their educational journey. —Eve Robinson, Program Director, Grow NJKids, and Instructor/Visiting Specialist, Montclair State University  This book weaves together childdevelopment and the critical importance of play, while empowering teachers tocreatively make decisions for play materials that foster children’s learning.It is a fantastic resource for teachers in all stages of their career and forthe coaches that support them. —Kelley J. Perkins, Co-Director, EarlyChildhood Leadership Institute, Rowan University

• Introduction PartOne: Essential QuestionsChapter 1: Who? Childrenfrom Ages 3 to 5 Chapter 2: Why? Optimizing Learning, Development,and Well-BeingChapter 3: How? The Role ofTeachers Chapter 4: What? PlayMaterials for PreschoolersSummary and Reflection PartTwo: Cognitive Learning and DevelopmentChapter 5: Play MaterialsThat Support My Language and Literacy SkillsChapter 6: Play MaterialsThat Teach Me Mathematical Concepts Chapter 7: Play MaterialsThat Encourage Me to Build and Engineer Chapter 8: Play MaterialsThat Inspire Scientific Inquiry and Innovation Chapter 9: Play MaterialsThat Help Me Understand NatureSummary and Reflection  PartThree: Social and Emotional Learning and DevelopmentChapter10: Play Materials That Support My Emotional Intelligence, RelationshipBuilding, and Cooperation SkillsChapter11: Play Materials That Invite My Creative Expression Through Visual ArtsChapter 12: Play MaterialsThat Encourage Me to Explore and Make Music Chapter 13: Play MaterialsThat Inspire Pretend Play and Dramatic PlaySummary and Reflection PartFour: Physical Learning and DevelopmentChapter14: Play Materials That Build My Gross Motor SkillsChapter15: Play Materials That Enhance My Fine Motor SkillsChapter 16: Play MaterialsThat Help Me Understand My BodyChapter 17: Play MaterialsThat Stimulate My SensesSummary and Reflection  Final Thoughts Appendix A: Highlights ofLearning, Development, and Positive Well-Being  Appendix B: On theBookshelf References  Resources Index Acknowledgments About the Authors