The mental health field has seen a significant shift in the past decade toward including a neuroscience perspective when designing clinical interventions. However, for many play therapists it has been challenging to apply this information in the context of play therapy. Here, Theresa Kestly teaches therapists how to understand the neurobiology of play experiences so […]
In Einstein Never Used Flashcards highly credentialed child psychologists, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., with Diane Eyer, Ph.D., offer a compelling indictment of the growing trend toward accelerated learning. It’s a message that stressed-out parents are craving to hear: Letting tots learn through play is not only okay-it’s better than drilling academics! […]
Roger Caillois’ Man, Play and Games (1961) stands alongside Brian Sutton-Smith’s The Ambiguity of Play (1997) and Johan Huizinga’s Homo Ludens (1938) as a touchstone of play theory. In just a few years, today’s children and teens will forge careers that look nothing like those their parents and grandparents knew. Even the definition of “career” […]
A very short, free booklet that concisely covers the importance of play in childhood. Contains sections by leading experts on play and child development. Click the publisher link to download a PDF of the booklet.
Underpinned by substantive research on meeting the developmental and attachment needs of infants, this book offers constructive advice on how to encourage curiosity, confidence and emotional security in young children. Based on a philosophy of respect and sensitive observation of infants, it is appropriate for use in Sure Start programmes. The contributors offer a model […]
Distilled from Magda Gerber’s years of writing and lecturing, this book is a helpful and reassuring resource for parents of new babies and growing infants. It also includes chapters on applying Educaring® principles in group care settings. Short chapters make it easy to read and find information about life with newborns and later developmental stages […]
This is a reprint of John Holt’s controversial book about the rights of children and how adults and children can live and learn together more enjoyably and transparently by rethinking their relationships. Under the guise of care and protection, children are kept in the walled garden of childhood, outside the world of human experience, for […]
John Holt (1983–1985) is the author of How Children Learn and How Children Fail, which together have sold over a million and a half copies, and eight other books about children and learning. His work has been translated into more than 40 languages. Once a leading figure in school reform, John Holt became increasingly interested […]
Volume 2 shows homeschooling gaining ground in the public’s eye, and these articles reflect the grassroots nature of the movement. Stories about children learning over time; household chores and allowances; computers and television use; how to teach math, reading, and other subjects with patience and clarity, and more fill these pages. In addition, John Holt’s […]
Volume 3 covers a period when homeschooling was getting more local, national, and international media attention and the growth of the movement comes alive in these pages. Holt’s long essay in GWS 32, “Our Legal Situation,” addresses this growth and offers surprising advice to those who want to overturn compulsory school laws—don’t do it. Parents […]
The essence of John Holt’s insight into learning and small children is captured in Learning All The Time. This delightful book by the influential author of How Children Fail and How Children Learn shows how children learn to read, write, and count in their everyday life at home and how adults can respect and encourage […]
Today more than one and a half million children are being taught at home by their own parents. In this expanded edition of the book that helped launch the whole movement, Pat Farenga has distilled John Holt’s timeless understanding of the ways children come to understand the world and added up-to-the-moment legal, financial, and logistical […]
Perhaps because they were given to pioneers dedicated to opening a new Waldorf school, these talks have been considered one of the best introductions to Waldorf education. Steiner shows how essential it is for teachers to work first upon themselves to transfrom their inherent gifts, and to use humour to keep their teaching lively and […]
The most successful inventions often begin with an impulse of ridiculous and brilliant ideas. This book encourages people of all ages to engage themselves in the innovation process, sparking the intellect with undeniable, inspirational valor. With nearly 200 pages of hysterical, action-packed photos of the creatively crafted inventions in use, people can see how almost […]
Through engaging personal stories and essays, eight writers offer inspiration and encouragement for both seasoned and prospective unschoolers. This 2nd edition includes Jan Hunt’s “Ten Tips for New Unschooling Parents”. The book features writing by Jan Hunt, Nanda Van Gestel, Daniel Quinn, John Holt, Rue Kream, Kim Houssenloge, Earl Stevens, and Mary Van Doren. Edited […]
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WALDORF KINDERGARTEN: Baking, washing, sweeping, mending, singing, painting! Imagine the scent of bread baking, the warm sudsy water for washing the dishes, the muscle power of sweeping, the fine eye-hand coordination of mending and sewing. Imagine the visual education in the dancing watercolors. And if you have had […]
Respect. Honor. Esteem. These words aren’t usually associated with young babies. Yet it is widely agreed that these concepts are vital later in life. A child’s personality is largely formed in the first three years. Her outlook on the world is being shaped. Why not engage in a respectful relationship with your child as soon […]
“Big body play”―the sometimes rowdy, always very physical running, rolling, climbing, tagging, jumping, grabbing, and wrestling that most children love and many adults try to shut down―can and should be an integral part of every early childhood setting. Drawing from evidence-based practice and the latest research, this book explains the multitude of benefits of big […]
Hara Marano, editor-at-large and the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, has been watching a disturbing trend: kids are growing up to be wimps. They can’t make their own decisions, cope with anxiety, or handle difficult emotions without going off the deep end. Teens lack leadership skills. College students engage in deadly binge drinking. Graduates can’t […]
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