This Is Play: Environments and Interactions That Engage Infants and Toddlers

Slow down, tune in, and discover the very purposeful play of infants and toddlers. 

Addressing considerations like choosing interesting materials, setting up safe and inviting environments, and why you are the most important element of play for very young children, the authors come alongside to help you:

• Better understand what play means for infants and toddlers
• Read children’s cues and respond to their needs for more challenge, a break from interaction, or a play partner
• Support children’s physical, social and emotional, language, and cognitive development
• Adapt the way you play with children and what materials you offer based on individual abilities, interests, and needs
• Look at toddler behavior in new ways and use proven strategies to help children navigate play situations with peers

This book is a delightful, easy read, full of insights like how to provide play choices for even very young children and why sportscasting is not just for TV but for infant and toddler classrooms, too. With its spot-on ideas and delightful anecdotes, you’ll gain a new appreciation for infants’ and toddlers’ competence and curiosity and how important your role is in the birth-to-3 adventure. This is Play for very young children and for you. Come and explore.

Julia Luckenbill, MA, is the program coordinator for the infant-toddler program at the NAEYC-accredited Early Childhood Laboratory School (ECL) at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), Center for Child and Family Studies (CCFS). She is also a child development demonstration lecturer. A frequent contributor to NAEYC’s periodicals and blogs, she presents at NAEYC conferences and elsewhere on child development topics for families, teachers, and students.

Julia’s many interests including using puppetry to teach social and emotional skills, integrating LGBTQI families in early childhood settings, using photography to document children’s learning and coach adults, making farm-to-school connections, and integrating medically fragile children and child life practices in early childhood education settings. She lives with her partner and kindergartner and enjoys painting rocks in her spare time.

Aarti Subramaniam, PhD, is a research analyst for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources 4-H youth development program. Her work has supported youth development professionals and practitioners working with children and adolescents in learning programs that include garden-based learning, camp programs, environmental science, and youth leadership. Her areas of interest include learning environments that are empowering for children and young people, authentic assessment, and learning outside the classroom. She has authored articles in journals such as Journal of Youth Development and Children, Youth and Environments.

Janet Thompson, MA, is director of the Early Childhood Lab (ECL) School at the UC, Davis, CCFS. She has established the school’s outdoor spaces as a Certified Nature Explore Classroom and works with families, teachers, and college students on ways to design and use outdoor environments to enhance children’s learning and health. She has a particular interest in social and emotional competency and its contributions to early learning and is a strong advocate for active learning approaches that emphasize responsive adult–child interactions.

Janet was a primary author on social-emotional development for the California Department of Education’s Preschool Learning Foundations and Preschool Curriculum Frameworks and a contributing author for the California Preschool Program Guidelines.