The Importance of Play in Early Childhood Education

Marilyn Charles, Ph.D., ABPP, is a psychologist and psychoanalyst at the Austen Riggs Center, and Professor, University of Monterrey (UDEM), with a special interest in the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Recent books include Psychoanalysis and Literature: The Stories We Live, Working with Trauma, and Introduction to Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Jill Bellinson, Ph.D., is a psychologist and psychoanalyst in New York City, USA. She has served as psychological consultant to preschools and child welfare agencies for more than 30 years and is author of Children’s Use of Board Games in Psychotherapy and numerous papers on psychodynamic treatment of children and adults.

Introduction—Marilyn Charles THEORIES OF PLAY 1. Child Development through Play — Stephanie Creekpaum 2. Pretend Play in the Classroom: Helping Children Grow — Sandra W. Russ & Alexis W. Lee UNDERSTANDING PLAY 3. Play as Communication — Brenda Lovegrove Lepisto 4. From Reaction to Reflection: Mentalizating in Early Childhood Education — Norka Malberg PLAY IN THE CLASSROOM 5. Play in the Emotional and Cognitive Life of a Preschooler — Steve Tuber 6. Being a Playful Teacher — Peter Blake 7. Mine! No, MINE!! Interaction in Children’s Play — Jill Bellinson TECHNIQUES OF PLAY 8. Art-making Experiences for Young Children Affected by Traumatic Experiences — Ann-Marie Mott 9. Young Children’s Musicality: Relating with Rhythm — Sophie Alcock 10. Promoting Identity Development through Memory Narratives — Elaine Reese and Tia Neha SPECIALIZED NEEDS FOR PLAY 11. Trauma and Identity — Marilyn Charles 12. Working with Difficult and Hard to Understand Children — Ionas Sapountzis CULTURE AND PLAY 13. Creating Reflective Space in the Classroom – Ana Archangelo and Fabio Camargo Bandera Villela 14. Cultural Issues in Relation to Play for Teachers — Athena Drewes 15. Culture and Play as Key Elements of Identity Formation and Academic Performance for Children of Color in Primary Education — Kirkland C. Vaughans and Renee Vaughans TEACHERS AND PLAY 16. Engaging Children in Healing Work — Michael O’Loughlin 17. Teacher Stress: Impact, Challenges, and Solutions — Deborah Mugno and Jennifer Reid Afterword —Jill Bellinson