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PLAY LIFH IN THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS PREFACE We purpose in this book to suggest the development of the spirit of play rather than the development of games. Under spirit of play almost every waking moment of the childs life could be considered. To cover such ground is, of course, impossible there are limits to knowledge, patience, and necessity. The first five chapters Part I deal with the way a child may play-educate his body, his mental life, his means of expression, and his ideals. The last four chapters Part II discuss the influence upon the childs life of his different surroundings home, nature, playground, institutions. An arrangement of plays under these headings will not result in lists which are mutually exclusive. The two parts necessarily cover the same ground, grouping the same plays into two classifications. In the first part they are arranged according to their similarity in response to some need of the child, in the second according to the circumstances in which they may arise. Even the material in the different chapters overlaps, espe cially in Part I. At the beginning of life, activity has but one expression it is only gradually that it becomes complex and capable of being differentiated into well-defined channels. Growth in one part of the organism necessitates change in all parts. A child cannot exercise his body without affecting in some way his mentality and morality. It is only possible in the various chapters to group games which seem to lay an emphasis on some particular aspect of play life. vi PLAY LIFE IN THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS Where the classification is made according to years, it merely implies that the average child of such age has reached the stage ofdevelopment when he will enjoy the listed plays. During infancy, the first period of development from birth to four years a child generally plays alone and in an impul sive, unorganized way during early childhood, the second period of development from four to eight years of age the plays gradually demand more cooperation and organization. L. A. P. CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION . ix PART ONE THE INDIVIDUAL CHAPTER I. PLAYS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BODY ... 5 Sense Plays . 6 Movement Plays . . 28 II. PLAYS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL RELATIONS . 40 III. PLAYS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TONGUE AS A HUMAN TOOL 73 Language Play . . 74 Song Play .... . . . . .105 IV. PLAYS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HAND AS A HUMAN TOOL 120 Manual Play ... . . 120 Ball Plays 155 V. PLAYS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERPRETATION OF LIFE 163 Dramatic Play 163 Finger Plays . 1 77 PART TWO. THE ENVIRONMENT VI. THE HOME 185 VII. NATURE 230 VIII. THE PLAYGROUND 250 IX. INSTITUTIONS 256 SUMMARY 264 BIBLIOGRAPHY 271 INDEX 279 vii INTRODUCTION Some years ago it was my privilege to know Miss Palmer, first as a student in Teachers College, and later as director of the experimental kindergarten in the Speyer School under my supervision. Here Miss Palmer proved her ability to work with a genuine experimental attitude of mind. In her studies under others she was truly the student in the intel lectual hospitality which she offered to her instructors but this was always accompanied with a sincere desire to put her own theories as well as those of others to the test of demonstration with the children under her care. In this work with the children all experiments were most carefully guarded, observed, and analyzed, and no onewas readier than she to forswear her own theories, or to acknowledge the validity of those held by an opposing point of view, when put to the test of practice and demonstration. The materials presented in this volume have been drawn from the most catholic sources and give evidence of an almost incredible amount of patience and labor in going over a wide field in her search for the best. As a result, Miss Palmer has brought together from these widely scat tered sources a goodly array of songs, games, stories, nature materials, and manual arts...