The aim of this report is to see whether the graphic design of a game influences children?s will to play games. I am especially looking at minimalist graphic design and how well it works for a game aimed at children age 7-9. Does the style of the game design have any impact at all concerning the children?s wish to play the game or is the game mechanic all that matters.

This thesis is based on research and observations of children on a preschool when playing in the free-play. What do the children choose to play with, when they get to choose for themselves? And how do they play? Do boys and girls together or do they divide themselves up? How important is the free-playing for the development of the child? Genus is also an important element which is interesting to observe and to see different patterns in. The abidance?s have been made while the children have been playing, and from discrete observations notes have been taken.I have been working with material, and literature from distinguished researchers within the subject.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the children?s mathematics learning through play. The questions to be answered are: how can teachers facilitate children?s mathematics learning through play? How can play affect children?s math learning? Are the children aware of the role of play in their mathematics learning?My method is based on interviews and observations. My informants are three teachers who work in two different preschools.

The main reason for the study was to find out how much naturscience is used in the daily situation in the preschool/school environment with the younger kids. I have studied the teacher`s educations background, if this had any role in the teaching of naturscience. To get my answers I interviewed ten teachers with different teaching background.The result showed that science was present both in the preschool and school for the early years. Everything from teamwork to outdoor play and small experiments. To play out in the woods is most important part teaching in naturscience.My study showed that a teacher`s educations background had no part in the teaching of everyday life in the nature.Keyword: experiment, primary, school, science..

The main reason for the study was to find out how much naturscience is used in the daily situation in the preschool/school environment with the younger kids. I have studied the teacher`s educations background, if this had any role in the teaching of naturscience. To get my answers I interviewed ten teachers with different teaching background.The result showed that science was present both in the preschool and school for the early years. Everything from teamwork to outdoor play and small experiments. To play out in the woods is most important part teaching in naturscience.My study showed that a teacher`s educations background had no part in the teaching of everyday life in the nature.Keyword: experiment, primary, school, science..

The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the availability of construction materials affect children's constructions and play. Observations were made when the children were allowed to play and build with very little and much of the material play-doh dough in preschool. The study is aimed at children aged 3 ? 5 years. Interviews were also conducted with educators in departments where the children spent time to give support to this study.The result shows that the children create as many designs of any material amount.

The purpose of this study is to examine some after-school teachers? perceptions about the outdoor stay at the after-school care centre in the schoolyard and in the leisure- environment.Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with the after-school teachers at five after-school care centres in the Stockholm area.In the theoretical part presents the leisure- governance and ongoing research on outdoor learning, research on the school playground and kindergarten local environment affects children in their development and learning, and after-school teachers? professional identity.The theoretical foundation is based on the phenomenographic approach.The questions are:? What is outdoor education according to the after-school teachers?? According to after-school teachers, what educational opportunities are provided by the schoolyard and the local environment?? How do the after-school teachers use the schoolyard and local environment?The result shows that outdoor education can be a knowledge invigorating complement to the indoor teaching and a way for the after-school centre to supplement the compulsory schoolday. The play outdoors can help to increase children's social development, creativity and imagination. The after-school teachers used the schoolyard and local environment for various purposes which may be due to different circumstances, knowledge and experience to carry out educational activities outdoors. But it may also depend on whether the after-school teacher focuses on the regular school day or in the afternoon at the after-school care centre..

Abstract   In this thesis, my aim was to investigate how preschool teachers view their involvement in children's free play. In order to answer this, I chose to do semi-structured interviews with four preschool teachers in three different preschools. My interviews has revealed similarities and support for as how history of research looks at the involvement of educationists. Both research and my results stresses the importance of being active in children's free play and to be a supportive teacher, particulary in conflict situations. For those children who have difficulty entering into the free game its the educationists task to co-play and help the children find the game.

This study deals with play and the importance of meaning of play in the learning process. The aim is to look in to and analyze four preschool teacher´s beliefs and views about the importance of play for children´s learning and development. The study looks at two different preschools, one based on Reggio Emilia- and the other on Montessori- pedagogy, and the aim is to compare the different views and ways of working that the preschool educators have.The theoretical basis for this study is both rooted in a socio-cultural and constructivist perspective, and deals with the relationships between theoretical concepts mean as play, learning, way of working and pedagogy.The study is based on qualitative research methods that consist of interviews and participant observations. The person?s participants in the study consisted of four active preschool educators, who work in two different preschools.The results of the investigation show that the educators have similar views on the importance of play for the children´s learning process, and this also applies to their way of working.

In my study I have chosen to examine the mathematics in children's free play and everyday situations, with focus on sorting and classification. The purpose of the study was to see how children express their mathematical knowledge. I have chosen to use a qualitative method in my examination, here I did observations in a children's group where the children were between three and six years old. I also did interviews with the teacher's on the department to see how they relate to the mathematics and how they formulate the department to achieve as good a learning environment as possible.The result shows that the teacher's approach is incredible important to the children's learning ability and that they are always present to challenge and discuss together with the children. The observation indicates that children use mathematics all the time in their everyday situations and that it is the interaction between individuals and environment that affects children's development. .

Free play is a term that often common in educational activities. The definition of the term is difficult, but it is about the children themselves decides the scope, content and process in their play. On an after-school, this may mean that it is the children are given the opportunity to freely choose their own activity in the leisure constraints. Free play can be an alternative to other, more controlled activities where adults control framework. The purpose of this study is to investigate the variations in how some children perceive and experience the phenomenon of free play in the after-school and how the children perceive the teacher´s role in the free game.

?Think of the best for the child? that?s a sentence we been hearing before, but the question is, do we really? Does the child get the opportunities to develop to healthy, safe, creative, mobile,concentrated, invention, curious, harmony child? Preschool outdoors is about time. On a preschool outdoors, gets the child opportunities to shape materials and the place they are on, the environment on preschool outdoors is formable and the children fantasy is big. Nothing is decided on a preschool outdoors ahead and nothing is static, here is the place where the child creates together with the nature and landscape. The landscape has a central part in the child?s play and in the child development and there are often no limits.

Through observations of the childrens play, I have made notes of all activities at the pre-school playground. The intention of the observations was to see if the playground environment invites and stimulate the childs motorie development. The study will be a part of a future planning work of the preschool environment.The results show that the pre-school playground environment invites to physical activities that stimulate the childs motory development. The variation of activities is dependent on the design of the landscapes. The pedagogues taking part of the childrens activities are one of the factors which contributed to the childs choice of activity.The preschool plays an important part in the childrens development so it is important that all personnel have basic knowledge on the importance of outdoor activities.Keywords: Fundamental movement, motorie development, preschool playground, outdoor enviroment.

The aim of this study is to observe Swedish preschool children in their natural habitat and without any intervention. Four different observations are made and thereafter analyzed. Throughout the whole study the subject of interest is the children's communication in their play. Children can communicate with each other in various ways, for instance with speech and without speech, i.e. with their physical language, aesthetic and multi language.

The abrupt and early weaning of intensively kept lambs may have serious animal welfare implications, but relatively little is known about this. Weaning includes the breaking of the mother-young bond and abrupt replacement of milk by solid food, often coinciding with changes in the (social) environment. Altogether, these changes are likely to affect lamb welfare significantly. This study aimed to establish how strong and persistent lamb welfare is impaired following abrupt weaning by means of measuring behaviour parameters indicative of affective state. Also, we investigated the existence of a diurnal rhythm in play behaviour, which is considered an important indicator of positive affect and good welfare.