Additional Information

The DCM Family Resource Center (FRC) includes favorite child-rearing and family resources. Here you'll also find information geared to a focus, which changes every few months to give you updated information on a variety of topics. Come by to look through our many resources, drop in for our scheduled programs or attend one of our lectures. This page provides an overview of the information we currently offer.

Did you know? Play is essential to development, contributing to all aspects—intellectual, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends play as the optimal way for parents to engage fully with their children (2007).

The following are some of our specialists’ favorite books highlighting play and learning:

	*Play=Learning: How Play Motivates and Enhances Children’s Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth*	By Dorothy G. Singer, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek
	*Awakening Children’s Minds: How Parents and Teachers Can Make a Difference*	By Laura E. Berk
	*Playful Parenting*	By Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D
	*Play in the Lives of Children*	Cosby S. Rogers and Janet K. Sawyers
	*Endangered Minds*	By Jane Healy, Ph.D
	*Children at Play: Using Waldorf Principles to Foster Childhood Development*	By Heidi Britz-Crecelius
	*Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder*	By Richard Louv
	*Your Child at Play series*	By Marilyn Segal

The following are some of our specialists’ favorite recent articles highlighting play and learning:

Take time for Play Alliance for Childhood
Playwork is Play Alliance for Childhood
“Play: Ten Power Boosts for Children’s Early Learning” by Alice Sterling Honig Young Children (September, 2007).
The Power of Play Zero to Three
El Impacto de Jugar Zero to Three

These favorites and other resources highlighting children and the arts are available to explore and/or borrow when you visit the DuPage Children’s Museum Family Resource Center. If you would like your own copy, most books are available online

Focus Sheets

The following Focus Sheets can be downloaded and printed for use at home or for review before your next visit to DuPage Children’s Museum:

Play at the Museum: Play to Learn
Just for Grown-Ups: Ten Reasons to Make Time for Play
Just for Grown-Ups: Play to Learn—Online Resources
Just for Grown-Ups: The Truth about Cleaning Up
Focus in Play: Complete Summary of Presentations ACM InterActivity PreConference Workshop held at DuPage Children's Museum in 2007--the podcast covers only the keynote speaker portion of this conference, provided here to give you an idea of the content included in the summary.

During your visit to DuPage Children’s Museum, make sure you pick up these additional Focus Sheets found in the Family Resource Center and exhibits throughout the museum:

Developmental Concepts: Play to Learn
Play at Home: The Importance of Play for Infants and Toddlers
Play at Home: Play to Learn
Play at the Museum: Play to Learn Infants and Toddlers
Play at the Museum: Play to Learn
Early Years are Learning Years: Toys-Tools for Learning
Illinois Early Learning Tip Sheet: Games for All Young Children

The Importance of Play Related to Early Learning

Did you know? National standards for developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood classrooms (Birth-3rd grade) highlight the importance of play. “Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting language, cognition, and social competence… Rather than detracting from academic learning, play appears to support the abilities that underlie such learning and thus to promote school success” (NAEYC, 2008).

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