The art of play : recess and the practice of invention / Anna R. Beresin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beresin, Anna R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

School recess breaks.

Play--United States.

Play.

United States.

Child development.

Physical Description:

viii, 189 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 2014.

Summary:

What can art about play teach us about the art of play? Showcasing the paintings of more than one hundred Philadelphia public elementary schoolchildren, folklorist Anna Beresin's innovative book The Art of Play presents images and stories that illustrate what children do at recess and how it makes them feel. Beresin provides a nuanced, child-centered discussion of the intersections of play, art, and learning. She describes a widespread institutionalized fear of play and expressive art and illustrates the transformative power of simple materials like chalk and paint. Featuring more than one hundred paintings and several surreal photographs of masked children enjoying recess, The Art of Play weaves together the diverse voices of children and working artists with play scholarship. This book emerged from Recess Access, a service-learning project that donates chalk, ropes, balls, and hoops to under-resourced public schools in Philadelphia. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Erasing Children's Expressivity

Chapter 1 "We Don't Have It" 25

Chapter 2 "Kids Don't Know How to Play" 40

Part II Master Players

Interlude A 55

Chapter 3 Chalk 57

Interlude B 69

Chapter 4 Ball 71

Interlude C 88

Chapter 5 Rope 93

Interlude D 102

Part III Balancing Acts

Chapter 6 "We Invented It"/"We Taught Them" 107

Chapter 7 The Paintlore of Children 126

Chapter 8 Art Advocacy/Play Advocacy 145.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781439910931

1439910936

9781439910948

1439910944

OCLC:

843858401