Too much of "the cognitive child"

I just started reading A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool, a slim, dense but compelling book just out from Oxford University Press, and I'm struck by the foreword by Edward Zigler, professor emeritus at Yale University. His observations -- based on a long, influential life of scientific research in early childhood -- drive home the argument that we overly focus on academic achievements in children at very young ages.

He draws this dichotomy: The Whole Child versus the Cognitive Child. Today, he writes, parents and educators are trying to create cognitive children -- kids who can recognize letters, read earlier, see patterns and master pre-math skills. To Zigler, the barrage of electronic media products for young children -- DVDs, software -- and the emphasis on "educational" toys, has contributed to this cognitive myopia.

What get's left out, he writes, is the "whole child" approach that allows for play, physical activity and social engagement.

"It is time for a reconcilation between the two conceptualizations of the child," he writes. Sounds like a smart prescription. Where is this reconciliation already happening? Is the pendulum already swinging back again to incorporate more play in preschool? What programs -- and here I mean both teacher-led preschool programs and software/interactive programs -- do both well?