The Art of Play

Resources

Picture
Grant & Madeline at Scioto Park, Dublin, Ohio
Books
Natures Art Box, Laura C. Martin- From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere.
Playing to Learn, Learning to Play, Charlie Steffans- Games and activities to teach sharing, caring, and compromise.
Painting with Children, Brunhild Muller- This essential, practical guide for parents and teachers is filled with colorful examples and shows that painting with children is more than just a form of self-expression. 
Art and Creativity in Reggio Emilia: Exploring the Role and Potential of Ateliers in Early Childhood Education, Vea Vecchi- This book explores the contribution of and art and creativity to early education, and examines the role of the atelier (an arts workshop in a school) and atelierista (an educator with an arts background) in the pioneering pre-schools of Reggio Emilia.
The Role of Play in Human Development, Anthony Pellegrini- Reviewed by Sherri McCarthy, Yolanda Mora, and Albertina Aros, here.
The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education, Carolyn Edwards, Lella Gandini, George Forman- The Hundred Languages of Children offers a comprehensive exploration of the Reggio Emilia approach. It provides a unique forum in which noted Italian and North American educators and administrators who are involved in or studying the program examine its origins, explain its rationale and practice, and demonstrate how its principles can be applied in American classrooms. 
Arts and the Creation of the Mind, Elliot Eisner- Eisner presents strong arguments for the inclusion of aesthetics as a core element of the school curriculum for all children. 
The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions: More Than 65 Wild and Wacky Concoctions, John E. and Danita Thomas


Websites
Crayola- Home to 1,000 Coloring Pages, Crafts, and Lesson Plans
10 Lessons the Arts Teach, Elliot Eisner

The Reggio Emilia Approach to Pre-School Education, Joint website of European Networking Preschools
Green Art- Green Art Education/Green Arts & Artists
Empowered by Play- Helping families and teachers protect and promote imaginative play in our way-too-busy, consumer-driven, media-filled world.
Ultimate Block Party- A small group of educators, business leaders, authors, researchers, formed Play for Tomorrow to champion the importance of play in the lives of children.  
The Race To Nowhere- A movie about our culture's obsession with overachievement and students being pushed to the brink.  

Supplies
Nova Naturals-A Waldorf based supplier of natural toys and craft supplies. 
Dick Blick- Art supplies and lesson plans
United Art & Education- Thousands of products for educators

Articles
The Case For Play, Tom Bartlett
The Importance of Original Play in Human Development, Original Play, LLC
The New First Grade: Too Much Too Soon, Newsweek
The Museum-University Connection: Partners in Early Childhood Art Experiences, Katherina Danko-McGhee
The New Republic: The U.S. Could Learn From Finland, Samuel Abrams
Can We Play?, David Elkind
The Garlanded Classroom, Graham Bowley
The Creativity Crisis, Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman
Want to get your kids into college? Let them play, Erika & Nicholas Christakis
The Worksheet Dilemma, The Benefits of Play Based Curricula, Sue Grossman
What Should I Draw Today?, Christine Marme Thompson
Reggio Emilia, A Focus on Art & Curriculum, Marjorie Schiller
Aesthetic Codes in Early Childhood Classrooms: What Art Educators Can Learn from Reggio Emilia, Patricia Tarr
Under Construction: Images of the Child in Art Teacher Education, Christine Marme Thompson


Recipes
Recipes for Sidewalk Chalk, Play Doh, and Slime