Summary

Game types: rhymes, rope-skipping, ball-bouncing, counting-out, autograph custom albums
Alternative game types: skipping games, language play, choosing games

Article titled 'Folklore in the Schools' written by Dr Dorothy Howard and published in New York Folklore Quarterly in 1950. Dr Howard considers the place of folklore in school curricula. Using examples from schools in Maryland, she demonstrates that folklore should exist not as an independent subject, but as a process integral to educational programs seeking child growth and development. Dr Howard describes the schools' demographics, in which the folklore of numerous countries is still evident but not publicly celebrated. She demonstrates the role of folklore in early childhood development in preschool years. From their children's infancy, she claims that parents use folklore activities, such as rhymes, rope-skipping and ball-bouncing, to assist the development of physical coordination and language development. She argues that the application of folklore processes to school curricula is a logical progression, which builds on existing ways of learning. Citing examples of the use of rhymes to foster interest in poetry and oral stories to inspire creative writing, Dr Howard suggests that folklore processes can be used as a bridge to academia. The successful application of these processes is dependent on the teacher and their training.

One of a collection of publications about children's folklore written by Dr Dorothy Howard. Dr Howard came to Australia in 1954-55 as an American Fulbright scholar to study Australian children's folklore. She travelled across Australia for 10 months collecting children's playground rhymes, games, play artefacts, etc. The original fieldwork she collected during this period is held in the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC) at Museum Victoria and includes index cards, letters and photographs.

Physical Description

Photocopied article with typed black text on paper. Ten, unbound pages printed on one side only including title page.

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