The Power of Playful Learning

Go green in your classroom! This collection of playful activities will support and complement your classroom curriculum, and the games and activities can be made almost entirely from common household recyclables. Each activity includes simple instructions for creating the game or toy and a list of educational and developmental benefits. Activities are organized into five chapters based on skills being applied, and skills in number sense, objects in motion, and speaking and language are developed along the way. Estimating, measurement, and graphing Planning and development Putting things together Sequencing, making connections, and spatial relationships Developing a greater understanding of objects in motion

Joyce Hemphill has a doctorate in developmental psychology from The Ohio State University and 30 years experience teaching infant-child development, cognition, and learning. She organizes community play events, gives workshops on safe ways to play using recyclables materials, and serves on the board of the American Association for the Child s Right to Play. Joyce retired from the University of Wisconsin School of Education in spring of 2012.

Laura Scheinholtz received her Ph.D. in learning sciences from the University of Wisconsin and has since spent her time promoting the importance of play to healthy child development. She is most interested in playing with science and how everyday items may be playfully repurposed. She also has a passion for playing in the kitchen.

Heather Von Bank is an associate professor in the Department of Family Consumer Science at Minnesota State University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin where she discovered her passion for teaching the benefits of play to pre-professional educators. Heather s young sons contribute to her playful state of mind.