Kids everywhere have lost the ability to play (defined as a game or activity initiated and directed by children). This excellent piece in the NYT explains why it’s so important they get it back.
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Thanks so much for posting this on your site. As the owner/teacher of a play-based preschool, I spend much time teaching adults how important play is for young children, and how intrinsic it is to learning. While the children certainly enjoy some of our more structured activity times, Free Play is when I am able to stand back and observe their true personalities unfolding as well as truly being able to see where they are developmentally. This time is so informative for me as a teacher; it’s a shame that recess has receeded so far in priority as to what parents deem important during their child’s school time. It’s also too bad that so many parents are hesitant to go out in wet or cool weather. In our neck of the woods, I can’t imagine raising a child without a raincoat, rain pants and puddle boots, because outside time is so essential.
This article provides some hope, but also confirms what I hear from so many other frustrated teachers, who understand the importance of play. Bruno Bettelheim’s “A Good Enough Parent” is another great resource in understanding why play crosses so many realms in a child’s development and why it is so essential to support open-ended playtimes for kids.
Hazel M. Wheeler
Plumtree Nursery School