The purpose of this study was to develop an intervention for 2-year-old children to enhance play and language skills. The intervention was implemented over a 4-week period and included components of reading, modeling, and positive reinforcement of language and play. Specifically, children were read a story and played with a matching toy set.…

Infant-parent play with toys is an early form of social communication, and the toy features (i.e., affordances), as well as the child's language competence, contribute to the developmental level of the play and the types of play actions that occur. This research, conducted in cooperation with a toy manufacturer, investigated how the affordances of…

This issue highlights seven distinct studies. The first study examines the perceptions of early childhood educators and elementary educators concerning their beliefs about young children and how those beliefs translate to practice. The second explores joint book reading among parents and very young children. The third investigates the importance…

This study describes the application of Bakhtin's theories of dialogism to nineteen 5-year-old preschool children's communication strategies and the ways children appropriate meaning in block play. The observed frequency of communication strategies used in three different naturally emerging social relationships--1) individuals, 2) dyads, and 3)…

Reports findings regarding home language environments of children in the longitudinal Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development project. Data about family practices concerning book reading, toy play, elicited reports, and mealtime conversations were gathered. Cases support a multi-componential view of language. (BB)

Examined processes by which 4- and 5-year-olds initiate, organize, and maintain language play interactions. Found that as children voice incongruities of greater proportion, the emotional climate of play is heightened and ingenious verbal representations are provoked. Identified developmental features of hyperbolic language play. Contextualized…