Jackie Silberg presents concerts, workshops and keynote address at early childhood conferences all over the United States. She holds an M.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from Emporia State University in Kansas where she is a Distinguished Alumna. She is the early childhood leader of the Education Forum on Compuserve online service. Her other books include Games to Play with Babies, Games to Play with Toddlers, Games to Play with Two Year Olds, More Games to Play with Toddlers, 500 Five Minute Games and The I Can’t Sing Book.

Joe:
Jackie, I would like to welcome you to our cyber-interview here on Pitter Patter.

Your training and number of published books demonstrate your interest in early childhood education. How did you come to get involved in the field?

Jackie:
I have always been fascinated with young children. In the 70's, I started teaching a class called "Fun With Music" at a local community center. This class taught preschoolers about classical music. It was here that I realized how amazingly smart 3 year olds were. One thing led to another; TV shows, teacher workshops, books, recordings, etc. I hosted a local TV show for several years which afforded me the opportunity to create activities for young children, write lots of songs and learn more and more about early childhood. When I went back to school to get a Master's Degree in Child Development plus the graduate work in piano and composition, I was sure this is what I wanted to do forever.

Joe:
What inspired you to use the format of "games" in your books as the best way to help parents teach their children. Can you give some examples how basic research in early childcare came to be translated into some of the games that you offer in your books?

Jackie:
I published "Games to Play With Babies" myself in 1979. It contained the format as you now see it. I guess that I chose that format because I knew that parents and teachers wanted easy, hand on materials. When Gryphon House took over the publishing, they kept the same format ideas but improved on it.

We know that "play" is a child's work. No matter what the philosophy in early childhood is, the basics don't change. Children need experiences to develop listening and language skills, motor skills, cognitive skills and social and self esteem skills. Whether it's Piaget, Viogotsky (sp), Reggio, Montessori, and many, many more, you will find activities in my books that fit the various philosophies.

Joe:
Perhaps you can tell us a bit about your own children and how you used some of your ideas and techniques to help them in their development.

Jackie:
Raising two sons probably taught me as much as all the books that I have read. There is nothing better than hands on experience. I urge parents to pay attention to their instincts and trust themselves. Now that I have grandchildren, I see things about child development that I did not see as a parent. I try to point this out when I present my keynote speeches and workshops.