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In Arizona, the weather allows children to enjoy outdoor play year-round. No matter what outdoor activities attract children's attention, I often notice the same pattern-boys play with boys, and girls play with girls. One morning, most of the boys gather around the large toy dump trucks, and a group of girls prepares for a birthday party in the sandbox. As the girls make cakes out of wet sand, a boy drives his truck over and stops to watch. Observing his interest, I wonder what I can do to help bring these preschoolers together.
Children thrive in inclusive settings where each child is an important part of the community. When differences are celebrated and similarities discovered, children learn to value themselves, appreciate their peers, and develop meaningful and significant relationships with one another. A sizeable body of research indicates that promoting positive contact and cooperation between people of different groups (e.g., different ethnicity, race, developmental ability, or gender) can improve intergroup attitudes and relationships (Cameron & Rutland 2008; Gaertner et al. 2008).
Often the preschool years mark a child's introduction to the world of peers and peer relationships. Research supports the notion that children benefit in many ways from positive peer interactions. In early childhood programs, friendships foster a sense of connection and security and build self-esteem and self-confidence, helping young children adapt more readily to the preschool setting (Dunn 2004; Ladd 2009). Friendships provide important opportunities for children to learn and develop.
During the early years, friendships might appear to be constantly changing. We see 3-year-olds show preferences for playing with particular classmates, but at this age a friend is pretty much anyone with whom a child spends time. Three-year-olds might seek out a peer who is playing with something of interest or be attracted to outward appearances. Sometimes a friendship is motivated simply by physical proximity. We notice children bonding as they sit together at snack time or even when they find a classmate wearing similar clothing. Four- or five-year-olds tend to select friends with common interests and spend time together absorbed in an activity. Older preschoolers are curious about others and make efforts to connect and engage. During this stage, children participate in complex peer play more frequently and for longer stretches of...