Table of Contents

List of Figures

1. Introduction: Playce-Based Language and Literacy Learning in Early Childhood
Shelley Stagg Peterson and Nicola Friedrich

2. Valuing Rural and Indigenous Social Practices: Play as Placed Learning in Kindergarten Classrooms
Karen Eppley, Shelley Stagg Peterson, and Denise Heppner

3. Seven Directions Early Learning for Indigenous Land Literacy Wisdom
Sharla Mskokii Peltier

4. Sámi Children’s Language Use, Play, and the Outdoors Through Teachers’ Lens
Kristina Belancic

5. Young Children Exploring Identities, Languages, and Cultures in a Multicultural Place
Maria Cooper and Helen Hedges

6. Placing the Child’s Hands on the Land: Conceptualizing, Creating, and Implementing Land-Based Teachings in a Play Space
Lori Huston and Stephanie Michano-Drover

7. Negotiating a Place to Belong in an Aotearoa New Zealand Playgroup
Mary M. Jacobs

8. The Importance of the Land, Language, Culture, Identity, and Learning in Relation for Indigenous Children
Jeffrey Wood

9. If Writing Floats “on a Sea of Talk,” How Best to Harness the Waves and Currents of Place and Play?
Judy M. Parr

10. Scaffolding Community Literacy Practices in Kindergarten Classrooms
Nicola Friedrich

11. Children’s Engagement and Inquiry in Outdoors Contexts as Play- and Place-Based Learning
Gisela Wajskop

12. Enriching Learning with the Richness Around Us
Christine Portier

13. Exploring Urban Place-Based Play as a Stimulus for "Language in Action" and "Language as Reflection"
Janet Scull and Kim O’Grady

14. The Key Role of the Educator as a Conversational Partner in Play- and Place-Based Learning
Janice Greenberg and Sharon Walker

15. Language Learning in the Garden: Discoveries from a Collaboration in a North-Central Saskatchewan Indigenous Community
Laureen J. McIntyre, Laurie-ann M. Hellsten, and Tyler Bergen

16. Conclusion: Questions and Implications Arising from Playce-Based Learning in Communities across Four Continents
Shelley Stagg Peterson

17. Places and Players: An Afterword
Michael Corbett

Contributors
Index

About the Author

Shelley Stagg Peterson is a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto. Nicola Friedrich is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto.

Reviews

" The Role of Place and Play in Young Children's Language and Literacy is unique in many ways. First, it is about play, something that is finally not being taken for granted in early childhood. Second, it relates play to place and the environment children live in. Third, it is about children from Indigenous cultures and specific marginalized groups in four different continents. This is a book with great richness for all who are interested in young children's development and learning."--Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Gothenburg University
"These wonderful accounts of innovative, playful practice remind us that we must nurture children's roots if we want them to develop confident and respectful relationships with the natural world and with people from other places. 'Being there' provides a deeper density of knowing than words can capture but hearing and reading about other people's experiences can introduce us to a wealth of diversity beyond our own home, family, and stories. Tall trees need (and feed) rich roots." --Rod Parker-Rees, Visiting Research Fellow in Early Childhood Studies, Plymouth University
"The contributing authors bring a range of new perspectives to play from different cultures and communities around the world. This book is essential for informing the development of future and present teachers and practitioners in early childhood settings, and will be of interest to students and scholars of childhood and play. The authors unsettle and disrupt some entrenched assumptions about play, and offer hopeful activism and critique, based on practical examples and philosophies." --Elizabeth Wood, Professor of Education, University of Sheffield