The formal operational stage is the last of four stages proposed by Jean Piaget to describe the cognitive development of infants, children, and adolescents. The formal operational stage occurs with children from 12 years into adulthood. Emerging abstract thought and hypothetical reasoning mark this stage of cognitive development.
Dramatic play is a form of symbolic play where a child pretends to take on a role of someone else, imitating actions and speech from earlier observed situations. The elements of reality and make-believe are involved as children imitate real-life people and situations they have experienced.
Pickleball is a sport played on a court that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. The rules of the game have been designed to not include fast serves or spiked volleys so players of all ages and abilities can play together.
Jean Piaget was a noted theorist in the field of developmental psychology and in the study of human intelligence. Play is an important element in Piaget's theory. It is a vehicle for the child to understand the world around him as well as an indicator of the child's cognitive development.
The organized camping movement was a distinctively American solution of the larger child-saving movement of the late 19th century and early 20th century. As the cities swelled with displaced families, undesirable child labor and crowded living conditions fueled several movements to save the children and raise a moral generation of citizens.
Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul describes the significance of play in the lives of animals and humans and how free play develops the social and locomotive skills in children that are necessary for creative thinking later in life.
Kindergarten is a classroom program typically for children from 4 to 6 years of age. It is designed to be a transition for young children from home into the traditional school environment.
Marbles are small perfectly round objects that have been played with by children down through the ages. There is evidence of marble games being played by the ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Romans, and Greeks. Although some early games may have been played with stones and nuts, there have also been small clay balls found in many prehistoric ruins.
Spatial awareness is the knowledge of how much space the body occupies and how to use the body in space. It is one of the perceptual motor skills that children develop to be able to interact with the environment by combining the use of the senses and motor skills.
M. Paul Friedberg is a landscape architect who has influenced urban design of playgrounds, parks, plazas, and outdoor malls to encourage opportunities for play. Paul believes that, "Design is not the ultimate goal. It's the vehicle by which the ultimate goal is play."
