Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/taking-play-home/5015108/
Each day, children walk through the door of your preschool or child care center, and you have two hours or four hours or even a whole day with them. As an early childhood educator, you work hard to create a playful, stimulating learning environment for the children in your care. You observe them playing and learning all day long. And then they go home.What happens there? How do parents feel about their children's play and how do they support it? Or do they impede it, either intentionally or unwittingly? How can you encourage parents to incorporate regular doses of healthy, constructive, and fun play into their children's lives outside the classroom?
Let's take a look at how today's parents feel about play, as reported in recent surveys:
- Most parents (91%) believe play is an important contributor to their children's development and well-being.
- Almost a quarter of them (21%) believe that their children have less time to enjoy play than they did as a child.
- Almost half (47%) say that our educational system is too grade-oriented and too competitive (Applied Research & Consulting, 1999).
If you are committed to play-based
learning in early childhood, this sounds like good news. It implies that you can expect understanding of ...