Reviews for A child's work

The average rating for A child's work based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-12-25 00:00:00 Jeffrey Bennett More from Vivian G. Paley on the meaning of children's fantasy play. She is able to tell so much about kids from what they play. She has kids dictate their stories to her, then they act them out. It has strong influence on reading, writing, thinking, philosophy and self regulation. Some favorite parts: pg 72 - I used to have a punishment chair. Then I saw that, although the body was restricted, the child's mind entered many fantasies and behavior was never improved. I decided the approach does not work. What does? Patience. And then stories of good things happening, not bad. And making the child welcome into the play of others. I watched the children and saw that all these things work. She then uses a story to help a boy see how his playing in the blocks is bothering everyone. She calls the character "Good player" and has him do the acting in the story. pg. 74 conversations with children may arise out of a "last straw" annoyance, in other words, or from a sense of dramatic flow. They can come from concerns over decorum or from respect for our imaginations. Both approaches will manage a classroom, but one seems punitive and the other brings good social discourse, communal responsibility and may have literary merit. p82 Vygotsky said that in play a child stands taller than himself, above his age and ordinary behavior. It's as if he's climbing up a ladder and looking around at a larger area. Vygotsky's image of young children standing taller, above their average behavior, as they pursue ideas in fantasy play applies as well to their teachers who listen and try to make sense of the children's play and story telling. The pre-k teachers who are curious and begin to ask about the children's easy inventions of a timid wold and weeping river have begun to climb the ladder alongside the storytellers in their classroom.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-03-11 00:00:00 Geir A Moa After reading this book, I realized just how much pressure must be on Kindergarten teachers today. There are expectations put upon them to prepare children academically for first grade when so many of them were not prepared for today's Kindergarten in the first place. From then on, it's a snowball effect in which each subsequent teacher is trying to catch every child up on academic standards. What ever happened to preparing them for life? Einstein said, "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.", and this book follows that train of thought. As more time passes, play is devalued more and more... then people wonder why children have no critical thinking and problem solving skills. It's evident that so much can be learned through fantasy play and storytelling... much more than simply learning what you need to pass a test. Reading this book renewed my hope for what Early Childhood Professionals can do in classrooms to get back their roots in play. I highly recommend reading this if you work with young children or have children of your own!