2 Introduction
planning, attention to the environment and materials, and coaching on the part
of the teacher to make it happen and to sustain it. Good teachers work hard to
do so.
In the third edition of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood
Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 (DAP) released by the
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (Copple
and Bredekamp 2009), there are many statements about the value and impor-
tance of play and teachers’ roles in enhancing play. Here are some of them:
• Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for
promoting language, cognition, and social competence. (Principle 10 of
the NAEYC Position Statement, 14)
• Active scaffolding of imaginative play is needed in early childhood settings
if children are to develop the sustained, mature dramatic play that con-
tributes significantly to their self-regulation and other cognitive, linguistic,
social, and emotional benefits. . . . Rather than detracting from academic
learning, play appears to support the abilities that underlie such learning
and thus to promote school success. (15)
• A wonderful cycle of learning is driven by the pleasure in play. A child is
curious; she explores and discovers. The discovery brings pleasure; the
pleasure leads to repetition and practice. Practice brings mastery; mas-
tery brings the pleasure and confidence to once again act on curiosity. All
learning—emotional, social, motor, and cognitive—is accelerated and
facilitated by repetition fueled by the pleasure of play. (Perry, Hogan, and
Marlin 2000, in Copple and Bredekamp 2009, 50)
Throughout this book, these statements and others are used to determine
the best strategies for guiding children to higher-level play experiences. As
teachers become more familiar with these principles, they will be able to com-
municate clearly to others about the importance of play, explaining rather than
defending the teaching strategies and curricular approaches that they know are
best for young children. They will be able to justify inclusion of play in their
curriculum rather than repeatedly explain to parents, community members,
and administrators that “It’s more than ‘just play.’ ”