Just Hang Loose by Averil H. Merritt

Averil Merritt grew up in rural southeastern Iowa. Her first formal play experiences were with students primary through eighth grade in one-room schoolhouses south of Mt. Pleasant. After graduation from Iowa State College with a degree in Child Development, Averil began her long career in early childhood education. Through working many years with preschool children, she fulfilled her lifelong desire to help children work through their play.

What happens when a small-town Iowa preshool teacher takes meticulous notes for thirty years on the antics of her beloved students? You get a humorous look into the mind of a four year old that will make you smile and cringe at the same time.

Spend some time in the classroom with Averil Merritt, preschool teacher, at the River City Pre-School in Mason City, Iowa. Who learned more about life at this school, Averil or her students? You'll find your own childlike sense of wonder renewed by reading this book to find out!

Erika and Melissa are on the climber. Erika calls out, Look! I can just hang loose here! She grins at me, proud of her new discovery, and encourages her friend to join in. They both drape themselves on the climber in a wide variety of poses singing, Just Hang Loose over and over again. Anecdotes like this one, gleaned from over almost 20 years of being in preschool classrooms, fill this book. Play, as a childs work, is fully and compellingly illustrated in these stories, a gift from the daily lives of children.