Just Play - by Miriam Beloglovsky (Paperback)

About the Book

"Play is crucial in adulthood because it fosters adaptiveness, creativity, role rehearsal, and mind-body integration. Just like children, when adults engage in play and creative endeavors, they can find that childlike center that cultivates happiness and joy. They will be equipped to work with children, design effective curricula, understand children and increase empathy, create playful leadership opportunities, and make significant changes to their programs and organizations"--

Book Synopsis

Reclaim the joy of play for yourself with Miriam Beloglovsky, coauthor of the best-selling, award-winning Loose Parts series.

Play is crucial in adulthood because it fosters adaptiveness, creativity, role rehearsal, and mind-body integration. Just Play specifically targets adults' play and explains how the adults' shift toward creativity can influence children. If adults can reharness their playful capacities and reap all of play's benefits, they will be equipped to work with children, design effective curricula, understand children and increase empathy, create playful leadership opportunities, and make significant changes to their programs and organizations.

Just like children, when adults engage in play and creative endeavors, they can find that childlike center that cultivates happiness and joy. Play is affirming because it allows us to enter a natural, safe, and caring environment in which we freely explore our inner thinking and desires.

The book will guide educators, administrators, and faculty through a series of comprehensive steps that will shift their thinking surrounding adult play. It is designed to give administrators, associations, and community agencies a blueprint to redesign programs to increase creativity and innovation, and ultimately drive system change.

Review Quotes

This should be required reading for any early childhood education student. For those teaching early childhood education, it should be an essential resource. If you provide professional learning, this book should be at your side at all times! Just Play: Inspiring Adult Play: In Early Childhood Education is a gift to all. We need more playful pedagogy in all teaching and learning experiences. I appreciate that Miriam's work is grounded in research. It is rich in reflection possibilities and has transformative potential in creating more playful ecosystems. You can't help but imagine possibilities and opportunities for playfulness when reading this book. It will inspire many aha moments as you connect with your own inner child and consider the importance of play for everyone. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to cultivate a culture of playfulness. This is where friendships will flourish.

 

--Diane Kashin, RECE, EdD, author, Cultivating Professional Friendships in Early Childhood Education

About the Author

Miriam Beloglovsky, MA, is a professor of early childhood education at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, California, and has had the pleasure of advising and guiding students for over twenty-five years. She is a strong advocate for children, youth, and families, and consults and supports a variety of family, children, and youth programs, including THRIVE Family Development Network and My Street of Dreams. She has served as a keynote speaker, presenter, and board member to a number of organizations and conferences. Miriam is the coauthor of the popular award-winning Loose Parts series, Early Learning Theories Made Visible, Design in Mind, and author of Loose Parts for Diverse Abilities.