play

Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul
$24.95
[...] I fell upon Stuart's book with great eagerness. I'm happy to report that this is one of the best overviews of the relevance of play's biological, evolutionary and psychological dimensions that I've ever read - extremely fluently and accessibly written, and with much practical advice arising from its researches.

My only problem with the book is the negative attitude it takes towards what Stuart calls 'screen play' - ie, play with networked or simulatory devices like computers, smartphones or video games. There's quite a contradiction in Stuart's complaint that these play experiences go against the 'embodied' and physical root of play - when he happily celebrates elsewhere in the book the playful power of storytelling and explorative imagination.

Yes, there is a technology that reduces children to muteness, stillness, even entrancement; is so compelling that it could keep them in their room - or stop them interacting with their mates - for hours; and which wraps them up in an abstract system of representation that reduces the sensuous world to a series of marks and iterations. Ban The Book! My point being that electronic entertainments are as much tools of our poiesis, our creative mark-making, as sticks and old fashioned toys and climbable trees. And with the growing mobility of these devices, surely there's actually the possibility of the re-enchantment of our lives and cities, the extension of games and playfulness into wider areas of life, rather than less [...].

Apart from this digital-age blindspot, Stuart has written is an important book in the growing legitimation of play as an input into the good society. I recommend it thoroughly to all readers interested in the topic.

The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally
$14.95
Great information, very interesting, awesome information for early childhood educators, teachers, and Naturalists. Important for parents to read and understand the need to let our children develop at thier own rate.

Replay
$12.98
I'd like this second work of Play!!! This album contains many catchy songs of pop music with good girls singers!!!! My favourite track is "Just a Little" (wow!)... before I known this song but I didn't know the singers.... ^_^
I'd like "Whole Again" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" too!!! They are very catchy songs, pleasant for listen and with an easy melody to remember!

Play-doh Burger Builder
$19.99
These food making toys from Playdoh really get the kids playing together and there are not that many toys that entertain them both. My son 7 and daugher 4 will make meals together and then serve them playing restaurant - so we break out the burger builder and ice cream shop and are served up some great food. It is a wonderful toy to keep them busy on cold or rainy days. The burger set is easier to make the food and there are some parts on the ice cream set that are hard for my 4 year old to do but she gets help from her big brother! Some parts are harder to clean but once the doh dries it all comes off easy...I will deal with this slight inconvenience for the fun it provides my kids!