Big Body Play: Why Boisterous, Vigorous, and Very Physical Play Is Essential to Children's Development and Learning

"Big body play"--the sometimes rowdy, always very physical running, rolling, climbing, tagging, jumping, grabbing, and wrestling that most children love and many adults try to shut down--can and should be an integral part of every early childhood setting.

Drawing from evidence-based practice and the latest research, this book explains the multitude of benefits of big body play for young children's social-emotional, cognitive, and physical development.

Learn how to organize the physical environment, set rules and policies, and supervise the play to balance children's fundamental needs with our responsibility as teachers to keep them safe.

Frances Carlson teaches early childhood education in an associate degree program at Chattahoochee Technical College. Carlson has worked as center administrator for child care programs in Oklahoma and for the Department of the Army in Italy, the Sheltering Arms, Internal Revenue Service, Wachovia Bank, Turner Broadcasting Systems, and the child development lab school at Chattahoochee Technical College. She has led four child care programs successfully through the NAEYC Accreditation process.

Frances has a bachelor's degree in English from North Georgia College & State University, a certificate in Italian from the Defense Language Institute/Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, and a master's degree in education from Concordia University-St. Paul. Frances authored the NAEYC book Essential Touch: Meeting the Needs of Young Children (2006) and directed and produced the DVD Expect Male Involvement: Recruiting & Retaining Men in ECE (2009).

In her free time, Frances enjoys riding her bike, cooking for her family and friends, and going to movies.