Preschoolers at Play

Lisa Mufson Bresson, MEd, is an early childhood education consultant with Beyond Boundaries, LLC, and coauthor of NAEYC’s bestselling book Big Questions for Young Minds: Extending Children’s Thinking. She leads workshops and presentations at local, state, national, and international conferences, thriving on the connections she makes with learners—both big and little!—on a daily basis. Since 2008, she has been a contributing author to Teaching Young Children (TYC), NAEYC’s magazine for preschool teachers, and serves on TYC’s advisory board. She is a former program manager for Grow NJ Kids, New Jersey’s statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System for early childhood programs. Previously, Lisa taught in urban public preschool settings for over a decade.   Megan King, MEd, is a preschool teacher at Passaic Public Schools in Passaic, New Jersey. She has worked in the field of early childhood education for over 10 years. She is active in the makerspace movement and has presented 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 of early childhood educators on the NAEYC/PBS Ready To Learn Content Review Advisory Board and is a past NJ Governor’s Educator of the Year Award winner at the school level. Megan enjoys working with her preschoolers and experiencing the world through their eyes.

Introduction


 

Part
One: Essential Questions

Chapter 1: Who? Children
from Ages 3 to 5

Chapter 2: Why? Optimizing Learning, Development,
and Well-Being

Chapter 3: How? The Role of
Teachers

Chapter 4: What? Play
Materials for Preschoolers

Summary and Reflection

 

Part
Two: Cognitive Learning and Development

Chapter 5: Play Materials
That Support My Language and Literacy Skills

Chapter 6: Play Materials
That Teach Me Mathematical Concepts

Chapter 7: Play Materials
That Encourage Me to Build and Engineer

Chapter 8: Play Materials
That Inspire Scientific Inquiry and Innovation

Chapter 9: Play Materials
That Help Me Understand Nature

            Summary and Reflection

 

Part
Three: Social and Emotional Learning and Development

Chapter
10: Play Materials That Support My Emotional Intelligence, Relationship
Building, and Cooperation Skills

Chapter
11: Play Materials That Invite My Creative Expression Through Visual Arts

Chapter 12: Play Materials
That Encourage Me to Explore and Make Music

Chapter 13: Play Materials
That Inspire Pretend Play and Dramatic Play

Summary and Reflection

 

Part
Four: Physical Learning and Development

Chapter
14: Play Materials That Build My Gross Motor Skills

Chapter
15: Play Materials That Enhance My Fine Motor Skills

Chapter 16: Play Materials
That Help Me Understand My Body

Chapter 17: Play Materials
That Stimulate My Senses

            Summary and Reflection

 

Final Thoughts

 

Appendix A: Highlights of
Learning, Development, and Positive Well-Being

 

Appendix B: On the
Bookshelf

 

References

 

Resources

 

Index

 

Acknowledgments

 





























































































About the Authors