By all accounts, the 92nd Street Y’s 2nd Annual Wonderplay™ Early Childhood Learning Conference was a huge success with an international audience through the use of live satellite and webcast technology. The theme this year was “The Importance of Play, Imagination, Curiosity and Creative Thinking” and sessions were led by leading experts in the field of early childhood education. In the video clip above, Dr. Edward Hallowell, child and adult psychiatrist who specializes in ADD/ADHD and co-author of the book Delivered From Distraction, talks about the wide range of connections that are important to make with your children.

David Crary reports on the event for the Associated Press:

In one classroom, a group of preschool teachers squatted on the floor, pretending to be cave-dwelling hunter-gatherers. Next door, another group ended a raucous musical game by placing their tambourines and drums atop their heads.

Silly business, to be sure, but part of an agenda of utmost seriousness: To spread the word that America’s children need more time for freewheeling play at home and in their schools.

“We’re all sad, and we’re a little worried. ... We’re sad about something missing in childhood,” psychologist and author Michael Thompson told 900 early childhood educators from 22 states packed into an auditorium last week.

“We have to fight back,” he declared. “We’re going to fight for play.”

After his keynote speech at New York’s 92nd Street Y, the teachers dispersed into dozens of workshops, some lighthearted, some scholarly — but all supporting the case that creative, spontaneous play is both vital and endangered.