Over the years Jim Gill’s music and books have received, among other honors, five awards from the American Library Association. Librarians and early childhood teachers, however, are most interested in the fact that Jim Gill’s music play is created with a purpose, based on graduate studies in child development and 20 years of experience leading play programs for families with children with special needs.

In this energizing session, Jim Gill helps explain the purpose behind his play. His active music play provides a context for children to develop abilities, such as self-regulation, essential to school success. Jim’s clever word play and rhymes in the context of active movement games also provide broad opportunities for literacy development.

Librarians and early childhood teachers will leave the session with a repertoire of music play activities that can be put to immediate –and purposeful- use in their programming. Best of all, they will leave the session understanding the power of play to inspire, in children, agility in thought and a love of learning.