Kristine Mraz - Purposeful Play: A Teachers Guide to Igniting Deep and Joyful Learning Across the Day

361 Hanover Street

Portsmouth, NH 038013912

www.heinemann.com

2016 by Kristine Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review, with the exception of reproducible pages, which are identified by the Purposeful Play credit line, and may be photocopied for classroom use only.

Dedicated to Teachers is a trademark of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file at the Library of Congress ISBN: 978-0-325-07788-8

Editors: Zo Ryder White and Katie Wood Ray

Production Editor: Patty Adams

Cover and Interior Design: Monica Ann Crigler

Cover and Interior Photographer: Jesse Angelo

Typesetter: Kim Arney

Manufacturing: Steve Bernier

e-ISBN: 978-0-325-08678-1

CONTENTS

Wed like to thank

Our editors, Zo Ryder White and Katie Wood Ray who believed in our project from the very beginning and cheered us on every step of the way. Thank you for your insightful advice and steadfast encouragement. Wed also like to thank the in-house team at Heinemann, particularly Patty Adams, Eric Chalek, Monica Crigler, and Pam Hunt, for making our book beautiful and for supporting our vision along the way.

Our profound respect and thanks to Adele Schroeter, principal of PS 59 in Manhattan, for being the kind of leader who puts kids first and always makes sure there is time for play. Thank you for pushing us to be better for our children and for allowing us to use PS 59 as our playground for this work.

Thank you to all of the teachers at PS 59. We feel fortunate to be a part of such an inspiring community of professionals who have the utmost respect for kids and teach us to outgrow ourselves each and every day.

We feel fortunate to have worked with a number of teachers who have created joyful and playful classrooms, particularly Cara Biggane, Rebecca Ravski, Kathryn Cazes, Jung Choe, Jennifer Frish, Michelle Hernandez, Lizzie Kimmel, Katie Lee, Joe Weaver, and Nekia Wise. Thank you for opening your doors and for going along on this joy ride with us.

We each have a very special connection to the Teachers College Reading and Writing Projectwhere we all metand are grateful to all of our colleagues there for helping to shape our beliefs about teaching and learning and for inspiring kids and teachers across the world. In particular, we thank Lucy Calkins, whose extraordinary vision and leadership makes so much possible; Kathleen Tolan, who embodies the meaning of passion; Laurie Pessah, who buoyed us; Shanna Schwartz for her generosity of spirit, and Amanda Hartman, whose vision of social justice and equity inspires us.

We thank Jennifer Serravallo, who always believed in this work and who encouraged us to write the book for Lola, Vivian, and all kids. We also thank Kathy Collins for her humor, joy, and the play she infuses in every interaction.

Our deepest gratitude to our photographer, Jesse Angelo, for capturing children being children across the beautiful pages of this book and for infusing it with energy and joy.

Thanks to Marjorie Martinelli for being a devoted friend and colleague, one whos willing to labor through a bibliography. Thank you for your diligence, timeliness, and attention to detail.

Alison would first like to thank her coauthors, Kristi and Cheryl, two of the most brilliant kindergarten teachers she has ever met. She is honored to have written this book with you. To all of Alisons former kindergarten students from Guilderland and Armonk, NY, who taught her the importance of making time for play each day. To Alisons dear friends and primary colleagues from her time at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, particularly Dahlia Dallal, Christine Holley, Monique Knight, Jory Lieber, Beth Moore, Marika Paez Wiesen, and Sarah Picard Taylor, who taught her so much about collaboration, hard work, and joyful teaching. Alison thanks her family for encouraging and inspiring endless hours of play while growing up, from putting on shows and building forts to doing the coffee break. Finally, she would like to thank her husband, Tomthank you for your constant love and support and for being the kind of father who encourages playfulness and curiosity. And to her son, Preston, the best gift life has given her. You are a joy to watch at play.

Cheryl would like to thank her co-authors, Alison and Kristi. She is in awe of their wisdom, insight, humor, and passion for creating schools where kids are able to imagine unlimited possibilities. She would like to thank the wise teachers of PS 277 in the South Bronx who used the inquiry rooms to pave the way and infused the joy of play throughout the day: Adele Cammarata, Laura Zatkowsky, Tiana Silvas, Stacy Schellhaas, Ruairi Gribbon, Ali Siotkas, Robyn Levy, Joe Weaver, Jenna Campbell, William Seward, Danielle Feuer, Cara Biggane, Michelle Hernandez, Rebecca Ravski, Jessica Stillman, Nickie Coleman, Laura Heisler Cogan, Marcia Reidy, Kristin Smith, Mike Ochs, Lauren Perovich, Caitlin Mahoney, and Denise Capasso. Cheryls deepest thanks go to her colleagues and partners in learning at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, in particular, Beth Neville for her wisdom and sage advice, Julia Mooney, an extraordinary writer and friend, Angela Baez, Lindsay Barton, Ryan Candelario, Rebecca Cronin, Celena Larkey, Lindsay Mann, Rachel Rothman, and Katie Wears for their passion for play and wise counsel. And then there are those friends who just make life interesting, joyful, and playful: thanks to Jacqui Getz for her fearlessness and humor, Susan Felder for her steadfastness, Lucy Malka for her limitless wisdom, Joe Yukish, who lives a life of purpose and play, and Dylan, the wisest, kindest friend a mom could ask for.

Kristi would like to thank her coauthors, Cheryl and Alison, for being a source of thoughtful conversation, reflective questioning, and constant laughter. She could not have asked for a better and more joyful collaboration. She would also like to thank the families and children she has worked with the past few years who have taught her there is no greater learning than that which happens through play. Friends and teachers like Valerie Geschwind and Christine Hertz provided brilliance and sanity checks throughout the entire process. Chris Lehman, Kristin Ziemke, Kate Roberts, and Maggie Beattie Roberts inspire with their very being, and Kristi would like to thank them for every laugh, every talk, and their way of being fully and joyfully in the world. Finally, she would like to thank her family. First, to her sister, who endured hours of playing Little House on the Prairie in a dark and musty basement, and to her husband, Geoff, a talented writer and comedian, who has never failed to make her laugh.