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In-Class Activities

Child Development: Play

Author: Sara Lindey, Ph.D.

Related Videos:
Mister Rogers: Curiosity
Ellen Galinsky: Play as the Work of Children (PDF Transcript)

Show the following video clip from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, “Mister Rogers: Curiosity,” and have students discuss their own remembrances of childhood play, including role-playing and games.  Brainstorm how that play helped them negotiate childhood feelings and issues in their own lives or contributed to their own development of personhood.

For comparison, consider how adult growth and development differs from children’s.  To start the discussion show the video clip from the Fred Rogers Oral History Project interview of Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of the Families and Work Institute and author of more than thirty-five books about education, work, and parenting.  In this clip, Ms. Galinsky discusses how role-playing and pretending helps children make sense of the world in contrast to adult sensibilities. 

Show the PBS one-hour documentary Where do the Children Play?  This documentary examines how restrictive patterns of sprawl, congestion, and endless suburban development across America are impacting children’s mental and physical health and development.  Discuss how environment and class have affected the students themselves, their communities, and the children in the documentary.

Complementary Materials:
Ashiabi, G. (2007). Play in the preschool classroom: Its socioemotional significance and the teachers’ role in play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(2), 199-207.

Campbell, C. (1993). An overview of Mr. Rogers and his work with children. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 28(1), 4.

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