The Importance of Being Playful - Elena Bodrova and Deborah J. Leong

Annotated Bibliography
In the article "The Importance of Being Playful" Bodrova and Leong argue that allowing and encouraging children to engage in mature play enhances their ability to perform well in the classroom, academically in subjects such as literacy, but also in social engagement and classroom behavior.

My Thoughts
The idea that encouraging mature play happens when children interact with older peers is interesting. There are classrooms that include a mix of 2 or 3 grade levels. I wonder if studies have found results in those classrooms mimic the findings of classrooms where teachers provide support for mature play.

Regarding interaction design, the article supports the notion that providing young children with structured materials or games with rules inhibits learning and growth that could come from mature play. This implies that educational materials created for young children shouldn't have rules, but should be more free form and imaginative. This is something that is not always the easiest to program, so I believe there are more programs that involve rules than not. What would a less structured design look like? Something like a paint program? It seems the real world is much more suited to this type of play since it's easier to manipulate real world objects in novel ways.