Play-Based Learning At Risk

12/29/2021

Expect that what you tend to will grow. Expect that what you feed with your care and attention, what you shine your light on, will thrive. Choose wisely.
Maggie Smith, American poet

A recent online article in The Guardian describes a study funded by the Lego Foundation that found that "children should learn mainly through play until the age of eight." The article explains, "A lack of understanding of the value of play is prompting parents and schools alike to reduce it as a priority, says Hanne Rasmussen, head of the Lego Foundation. If parents and governments push children towards numeracy and literacy earlier and earlier, it means they miss out on the early play-based learning that helps to develop creativity, problem-solving and empathy, she says."

In a recent video added to Exchange’s online video service, Ed.Flicks, Donna King, author of the book, Pursuing Bad Guys: Joining Children’s Quest for Clarity, Courage and Community says this about children’s deep need to learn through play: "When I started hanging out with kids and paying attention to what they were doing when they were free to choose, it was pretend play. That is the thing that I saw them doing all the time."

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