DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET You can learn more about this in our book Let Them Play: An Early Learning (Un)Curriculum. What are the four Ts and why are they important? The four Ts are: yy Tasks—what children choose to do to engage themselves yy Time—how children choose to spend their time yy Technique—how children choose to perform tasks yy Team—who children choose to associate with The four Ts are important because by giving children control of these ele- ments, you show them they are trusted as capable, thinking, engaged learners. Author Daniel H. Pink argues in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us that adults who have control of the four Ts are happier and productive workers. The same goes for children—the four Ts are empowering. How will this book help me support social development and other learning? The activities and projects in this book are social lubricants that stimulate play, interaction, and conversation. These things lead to learning. As children engage with the ideas we put forth in this book, they also engage with each other and the world around them—which leads to learning. What ages are the projects and activities in this book designed for? We recommend them for kids in the two-and-a-half to six-year-old age range. Slightly younger and older kids will enjoy them as well, although you may need to make modifications based on the developmental level of the children. How should the projects and activities in this book be introduced to kids? We recommend simply plopping the opportunities into the children’s environ- ment. We introduced the term plop in our book Let Them Play. Plopping is the act of placing an activity, opportunity, or idea into an early learning environment Introduction: Social Play      3 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL