Popular Categories
Health Issues
Children move through a developmental progression in the acquisition of motor skills. There are four phases of motor development: the reflexive movement phase, the rudimentary movement phase, the fundamental movement phase, and the specialized movement phase. The fundamental movement phase occurs between the ages of 2 and 7 as children gain control over their gross motor and fine motor skills.
The formal operational stage is the last of four stages proposed by Jean Piaget to describe the cognitive development of infants, children, and adolescents. The formal operational stage occurs with children from 12 years into adulthood. Emerging abstract thought and hypothetical reasoning mark this stage of cognitive development.
Emotional development refers to the ability to recognize, express, and manage feelings at different stages of life and to have empathy for the feelings of others. Emotional development is largely affected by relationships with parents, siblings, and peers.
Peer pressure occurs when an individual experiences persuasion to participate in the same activities as those in their peer group, or to adopt similar values, beliefs, and goals as the group. For a child, their peer group is usually, but not always, of the same age group.
People
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a social and educational reformer and writer in Europe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He believed that society could best be changed by education and that reform began with assisting the individual students to help themselves.
Friedrich Froebel was truly a pioneer in early childhood education. He established a new type of school for three and four year old children in 1837, which he called a child's garden or kindergarten. Prior to this there had been no educational training for children under the age of seven.
Play
The Frost Play Research Collection was dedicated in the spring of 2004 with the purpose of making available historical and contemporary research material for students and play scholars. The collection of teacher, researcher, and author, Dr. Joe L. Frost, is comprised of materials from his extensive research library and donated material.
Jane Addams was an early twentieth century reformer for better living conditions for the poor, equality and justice for oppressed populations, and world peace for all. One of the many reforms she championed was the basic human need for play.
Destination playgrounds are typically larger playgrounds set in a location that may require a drive to reach. Destination playgrounds draw crowds from surrounding areas for their unique themes and offerings for a wide range of children and adults alike.
The idea of using alphabet blocks was seen as an essential tool for learning for young children. It encouraged learning to read and spell in an enjoyable way. Typically, a set of alphabet blocks contains 26 blocks, each containing a letter of the alphabet.
Written by Henry S. Curtis in 1915, Education Through Play discussed the issue of children's play as it was viewed at that time. Education Through Play suggested that play should be included in the child's school day.
