Pathfinder Toys play online

Professor Trawick-Smith: Studies have looked at the impact of peers, teachers, families, and classroom and home environments on play interactions. But few studies have looked at the effects of individual toys on playactivities. This is surprising, since about 90 percent of preschool childrens play in the United States involves a toy. So, our center conducts an annual study in which we observe children playing with a variety of toys-nominated by teachers, parents, researchers, and even childrenin a free play setting in preschool classrooms. We code childrens use of the toys in three areas, using a coding instrument that we have developed: thinking/learning/problem solving, social interaction, and creativity.