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    A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play
    A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play
    A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play
    Ebook100 pages1 hour

    A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play

    By Vivian Gussin Paley

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    About this ebook

    The buzz word in education today is accountability. But the federal mandate of "no child left behind" has come to mean curriculums driven by preparation for standardized tests and quantifiable learning results. Even for very young children, unstructured creative time in the classroom is waning as teachers and administrators are under growing pressures to measure school readiness through rote learning and increased homework. In her new book, Vivian Gussin Paley decries this rapid disappearance of creative time and makes the case for the critical role of fantasy play in the psychological, intellectual, and social development of young children.

    A Child's Work goes inside classrooms around the globe to explore the stunningly original language of children in their role-playing and storytelling. Drawing from their own words, Paley examines how this natural mode of learning allows children to construct meaning in their worlds, meaning that carries through into their adult lives. Proof that play is the work of children, this compelling and enchanting book will inspire and instruct teachers and parents as well as point to a fundamental misdirection in today's educational programs and strategies.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateSep 15, 2009
    ISBN9780226644981

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    Reviews for A Child's Work

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    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed reading the children’s conversations with one another and the way the author contextualized them. It is a firm reminder that fantasy play is how children interpret, re-interpret, and process the world around them.
    • 4/5
      This is Paley’s swan song for young children’s play. There isn’t much of a driving force holding this book together other than that Paley thinks play is great. She is making the argument, however, that play is being challenged by rigorous academic instruction in the early years so I suppose this book is more a reaction to the times and trends than anything else. Most of the book contains snippets of conversations Paley has had with children over the years (whether in her own classroom or others), focusing on the stories that children create when playing with one another and when asked to make up a story for school play-acting time. The stories are cute, the way little kids can be, and are often humorous because of this, although the children also cover deep topics (for instance, 9/11 becomes a recurring theme for many children in recent years). Paley uses these example stories to show how children think, learn, and grapple with issues surrounding them on their own terms. The book is not very long overall and contains a lot of chapters that are each quite short, making this a quick read. While the book is geared more toward educators, it is also appropriate for parents or others who deal with young children on a regular basis. It is also of interest for those who study language and communication.

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