Presenting an argument about the long-term effects of play, this work urges researchers and practitioners to reconsider the ways play facilitates development across domains. It provides children with the opportunity to maximize their attention spans, learn to get along with peers, cultivate their creativity, and gain the academic skills. Contributors xi Why Play = Learning: A Challenge for Parents and Educators 3(12) Roberta Michnik Golinkoff Kathy Hirsh-Pasek Dorothy G. Singer Part I. Challenges to Play The Cognitive Child Versus the Whole Child: Lessons From 40 Years of Head Start 15(21) Edward F. Zigler Sandra J. Bishop-Josef The Role of Recess in Primary School 36(21) Anthony D. Pellegrini Robyn M. Holmes Part II. School Readiness---School Standards Standards, Science, and the Role of Play in Early Literacy Education 57(17) James F. Christie Kathleen A. Roskos Make-Believe Play: Wellspring for Development of Self-Regulation 74(27) Laura E. Berk Trisha D. Mann Amy T. Ogan My Magic Story Car: Video-Based Play Intervention to Strengthen Emergent Literacy of At-Risk Preschoolers 101(23) Harvey F. Bellin Dorothy G. Singer Narrative Play and Emergent Literacy: Storytelling and Story-Acting Meet Journal Writing 124(21) Ageliki Nicolopoulou Judith McDowell Carolyn Brockmeyer Mathematical Play and Playful Mathematics: A Guide for Early Education 145(24) Herbert P. Ginsburg Part III. Media and Computers Media Use by Infants and Toddlers: A Potential for Play 169(23) Deborah S. Weber Computer as Paintbrush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society 192(17) Mitchel Resnick Part IV. Play With Dysfunctional Children Pretend Play and Emotion Learning in Traumatized Mothers and Children 209(22) Wendy Haight James Black Teresa Ostler Kathryn Sheridan Play and Autism: Facilitating Symbolic Understanding 231(20) Melissa Allen Preissler Epilogue: Learning to Play and Learning Through Play 251(12) Jerome L. Singer Index 263