The Handbook of the Study of Play brings together in two volumes thinkers whose diverse interests at the leading edge of scholarship and practice define the current field. Because play is an activity that humans have shared across time, place, and culture and in their personal developmental timelines—and because this behavior stretches deep into the […]
Forward by Stuart Brown MD Playfulness has the power to reconnect us with our sense of self, and help us achieve growth and self-fulfilment. The author of this wide-ranging book explores the universal significance of play in the pursuit of happiness and authenticity. Providing a brief overview of the role of play in social, spiritual […]
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 […]
Occasionally an accident of research produces a book more engaging than the one the historian originally intended. While sifting through material for his Ph.D. dissertation, which dealt with an entirely different topic, Eisen came across a diary from the Vilna ghetto written by Zelig Kalmanovitch. His tone was sober, but not entirely so. The passage […]
A chronological history of children’s playtime over the last 200 years If you believe the experts, “child’s play”; is serious business. From sociologists to psychologists and from anthropologists to social critics, writers have produced mountains of books about the meaning and importance of play. But what do we know about how children actually play, especially […]
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 […]
Forward by Stuart Brown KaBOOM! is the powerful, uplifting journey of a man who grew up in a group home with his seven brothers and sisters and went on to build a world-class nonprofit that harnesses the power of community to improve the lives of children. In 1995, Darell Hammond read an article in the […]
“Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” was Haeckel’s answer—the wrong one—to the most vexing question of nineteenth-century biology: what is the relationship between individual development (ontogeny) and the evolution of species and lineages (phylogeny)? In this, the first major book on the subject in fifty years, Stephen Jay Gould documents the history of the idea of recapitulation from […]
The revolutionary book that teaches you how to use the cutting edge of human psychology to build high performing workplace cultures. Too often, great cultures feel like magic. While most leaders believe culture is critical to success, few know how to build one, or sustain it over time. What if you knew the science behind […]
In Potential Space, Farese implores us to protect the right of all children to dive into the primordial soup of free play, a key to a healthy life for us all.
Researching Play from a Playwork Perspective will appeal to researchers and students around the world working in the fields of playwork, childcare, early years, education, psychology and children’s rights. It should also be of interest to practitioners in a wide variety of professional contexts, including childcare and therapy. Play is of critical importance to the […]
While this book is not play oriented it does tell the story of how No Child Left Behind led to play based learning being removed from Kindergarten and pre-school classrooms. In this landmark book, Diane Ravitch – former assistant secretary of education and a leader in the drive to create a national curriculum – examines […]
What do students say about life at Sudbury Valley? This book is a remarkable series of vivid personal recollections of school, in the words of former students. Drawn from comprehensive, reflective interviews, each account presents a picture of school days from the unique perspective of a student, telling what they did, and how they felt […]
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 […]
Donald Hebb’s “The Organization of Behaviour: A Neuropsychological Theory” has been one of the most influential books in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. In this seminal work, Hebb proposed biological explanations of behavior and processes relating to the mind; most notably, Hebb’s Rule 1, also known as “Theory of Hebbian Learning.” Rule 1 says […]
This expanded second edition carries forward the initial insights into the biological and existential significances of animation by taking contemporary research findings in cognitive science and philosophy and in neuroscience into critical and constructive account. It first takes affectivity as its focal point, elucidating it within both an enactive and qualitative affective-kinetic dynamic. It follows […]
Traces the evolution of Steiner education and Waldorf schools as they have developed across the last century Analyses how its original philosophy has been maintained against competing global trends in education Examines how the schools retain their own distinctive identity and how alternative education can be viewed
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 […]
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The Institute wants the world to know:
A) Playing, being playful, is the healthiest way to spend your time (after feeding and housing yourself).
B) The activities that evoke playful feelings are unique to each of us.
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