Let's Pretend!

I don’t know about you, but some of my favorite memories from my childhood, are of pretending with my brothers, and my cousins! Little did we know, as we explored and searched for adventure, we were honing a wide variety of skills and knowledge, which would serve us well in our adult worlds later on in life.

For us, pretend play encompassed so many ideas and scenarios.  In a matter of about 10 creative minutes, we could design and build an airplane, made out of a saw horse, some planks, and a tin pail. As we collaborated and problem solved we gathered blankets, boards, cardboard, and a variety of broken down furniture, to create an amazingly strong and safe fort to defend the ‘western frontier’. Playing school involved organizing a wide variety of ‘school-like’ activities and always required some type of performance, whether for the Christmas concert, or other show providing chances for leadership and helping develop our confidence. Our childhood was a smorgasbord of pretend play choices: stores, hospitals, winning/loosing the ‘big game’, treasure hunts, museum building, hunting bears, sea voyages on our rafts down the river, and camp-outs at the beach, filled our days, enriched our lives, and unbeknownst to us, helped to prepare us for later success in life.

Pretend Play, or Make-believe Play, is an integral component of early childhood development. Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, Jerome Singer and Dorothy Singer define pretend or make believe play as “the acting out of stories which involve multiple perspectives and the playful manipulation of ideas and emotions. They add  that this play “reflects a critical feature of the child’s cognitive and social development. The article provides a summary of some of the research related to the Need for Pretend Play in Child Development. The authors quote psychologist Sandra Russ, indicating she has identified a number of cognitive and affective processes that are associated with pretend play. The authors state that over the last seventy-five years a number of theorists and researchers have identified the values of such imaginative play as a vital component of the normal development of a child.

An article provided by Scholastic, describes the learning benefits of pretend play; stating "Young children learn by imagining and doing. They use objects to represent something else by giving it action and motion."  The author states "this pretend play is not as simple as it seems, and the process of pretending builds skills in many essential developmental areas, such as: social and emotional skills; language skills; thinking skills; and nurturing the child’s imagination".

Lauren Lowry, a Hanen Certified Speech Language Pathologist provides us with the How and Why of Encouraging Pretend Play.  Ms. Lowry describes the connection between pretend play and language. She states pretend play is also known as ‘symbolic play’ because it involves the use of symbols. "When we use something to stand for something else, such as when a child is playing and uses an object to stand for something else (e.g. using a spoon as a hairbrush or a tablecloth as a cape)." Lowry clarifies that, "this type of symbolic thought is also needed for language, as our words are symbols. Our words stand for our thoughts and ideas. Therefore, pretend play and language both involve the same underlying ability to represent things symbolically." In addition, language development is closely linked to learning to read and comprehend what has been read. This author provides information about why we should encourage pretend play, the stages of the development of these skills, and she includes valuable ideas for ways to encourage pretend play.

Pretend play is so important for so many different reasons! Some of the positive benefits of pretending include: helping children to gain practice using symbols, strengthening your child’s pretend skills, language skills, and later reading skills; exposing children to new vocabulary that they might not be exposed to in everyday life.  When you play with your child, you help them learn to play with others. Eventually your child will start to pretend with other children, where he will learn to take turns and collaborate. When children take on a pretend role, they imagine what it is like to be another person, which helps develop their ability to take another perspective and develop empathy.  Pretend play is fun! When you play like a child letting your imagination lead, you and your child will never run out of things to play. Can't you almost hear your childhood playmates calling you to come and play!? Join your little one as they pretend........magical, not to mention immensely valuable experiences await! 

~JR

Stay To Play ~ A pilot Project

After 4 years of spreading the word about the importance of the early years and  implementing the only preschool program of it’s kind in the community for 3 & 4 year olds, the BELA team decided we needed to start even earlier! Why? Because “new research is shedding scientific light on what most of us always suspected from the start: playing with young kids isn’t just a fun way to pass the time. It actually changes their brains in ways that affect their health for a lifetime. And that has consequences for our families, our communities, and future generations. Positive interactions repeated through a young child’s life are the bricks that build a foundation for all future development. That means it’s important to get the early years right, because even as adults, our well-being has a lot to do with the way our brain architecture was shaped early in life!” (brainstory.org 2017)  For many years, Jody our Director of Education has stressed the importance of the early years, especially ages 0-8 to staff,  parents, grandparents and pretty much anyone who will listen! We decided it was important to step into a role where we can teach,  model and help parents implement strategies with their children even before they are of preschool age, optimizing those early years even more.

Parents are a child’s earliest and most influential teacher, so we thought, why not start there? It was simple:  invite parents to bring their little ones and stay...to play! And they did!

We asked parents what they wanted to get out of these sessions and we heard a resounding...."Let’s get them ready for preschool; teach them to share, take turns and follow directions and a daily routine!" " And how about some colors, and numbers and shapes! Oh and don’t forget about fine motor skills and self-regulation!”

So, with the combination of a strong research based background and the valuable input from our parents, BELA staff designed the sessions to combine learning opportunities and playtime for parents with their child; while BELA staff model developmentally appropriate activities for parents, giving them the opportunity to participate, observe and engage in learning opportunities designed just for them.

  

This little afternoon pilot project has blossomed into a vibrant, fun, interactive program, rich in learning opportunities for the children, as well as their parents! With the unique opportunity of having the added comfort of their parent close by, these BELA littles had the opportunity to slowly dip their toes into pre-school life. As the weeks went by the staff noticed that the children's’ confidence grew and each and every child in their own way, adjusted to the daily routines, and began to adapt to the classroom environment and the expectations of their teachers. Our parents feel that they have increased their own learning regarding early childhood development; and feedback across the board indicates that the children's early learning skills have improved and that there has been significant progress in preschool preparedness. After observing the growth of these little people over the past few months, there’s no doubt in my mind that these future students will come back in September eager to listen and learn, and ready to fill buckets!

~Ashley Williams

** Catch one last session of Stay To Play before the school year is over! Details & Registration here: Stay To Play at BELA

Let's Move! The Importance of Gross Motor Skills

Parents of young children may know what gross motor skills are, because of the awareness of milestones children achieve as they grow. Other times, people may not be exactly sure what we mean when we mention the importance of gross motor/ large motor skills. I like to tell people that gross motor gets you to where you need to go and fine motor helps you do what you need to do, once you get there. For instance, if your child wanted to do a craft, they would walk to the table and sit down (gross motor) and then they would fold or cut or colour the paper (fine motor).

Gross motor skills are movements that involve using the large muscles of the body. The development of gross motor skills begins as soon as a child is born. As children mature, their gross motor abilities continue to develop and improve. Boys usually develop gross motor skills sooner than girls, with the exception of skills that involve balance and precise movements, like skipping and hopping.

Gross motor skills are important because of:  

Health:  Any sort of exercise promotes obvious benefits of exercise to the body and mind.

Confidence & Self Esteem: Gross motor skills allow children to feel comfortable and confident during activities like group sports and games. 

Ability to Assess Risk: Another important life skill, not only with physical well being but with taking risks in life with decision making. 

Energy Release: This helps in all domains of physical, social, and emotional well being. Energy release allows our children to focus on tasks, impacting their learning in all areas. 

Brain Development: The early years lay the foundation of brain pathways for lifelong motor skills and aid in learning, especially learning skills that require advanced thinking and mental dexterity.

We are very fortunate at BELA to work with the Occupational Therapists and Assistants at Sensational Kids. They not only provide assessments for our students but they also provide our staff with resources, support and professional development, and step in to work with our students when necessary.  You too, can benefit from their knowledge by taking part in BELA parent workshops and by following them on Facebook for relevant resources!

Nowadays a lot of our gross motor development has  taken a back seat, because of things like iPads, game consoles, tv, etc. Some children would much rather sit in front of some sort of electronic device, than get up and move or  go outside. In our role as teachers, mentors, and parents, it is important to discourage this and encourage at least one hour of outside play everyday. It doesn't have to be anything fancy! Outside play can be as simple as a walk or bike ride, a game of catch in the back yard, or a trip to the playground.

Inside play can also develop gross motor skills as well, you just have to use your imagination. For the Gross Motor presentation that Mrs. Blake and I facilitated, we provided parents with easy ideas and strategies to use at home that are fun for the whole family. Here are some examples that you can implement today:

Yoga is a great exercise to do at home. Its fun, relaxing, can involve the whole family, and is a great opportunity to work on self regulation.

Rolling a ball back and forth to each other is another good exercise that you can easily make into a fun game. It also encourages coordination and turn taking. This activity can be expanded to further develop these skills, to tossing and catching a ball, depending on the developmental level of your child.

Hide and Seek is a great game for all members of the family. Trying to find a tricky place to hide will definitely promote some good gross motor movement and it's fun!

“Simon Says” is another fun game that everyone loves. Not only does it promote gross motor movement, it’s a great listening and direction following game. You can make the movement requests as tough or as easy as you would like.

Core strengthening is essential for the progression of other developmental skills. The core is the centre of control for everything else the body does. It’s difficult to balance, perform coordinated movements on both sides of the body, sit up straight in a chair, hold a pencil, control scissors, or jump if you don’t have a strong core. We know that decreased core strength commonly contributes to other issues like W-sitting and delayed motor skill development. And we also find that more and more children are having difficulty with maintaining functional posture at home and in the classroom and with overall body strength.

Everyone  has core strength and muscles that they don’t even know are there. The trick is to teach everyone, especially children, to ENGAGE their core muscles.
Once they learn how to do that, many things improve like their posture and balance.

Here are some core strengthening exercises you can try at home:

Bridging:  lifting the hips as high as possible. You can alternate this a little by trying to pass a ball underneath then have it get ‘stuck’ so as the child lowers the bridge, they have to lift back up again.

Superman position: have the child lay on their stomach and using their core, life arms and legs up as if they were flying. This is pretty difficult for some so try getting them to hold it for a short time, release, and then do it again.

Plank position: make this a time contest. Set a goal and work towards it. Have the child raise up on hands and toes and try to be straight like a board; ensure back and legs are straight like a board also.

Knock the wall over: when children have to stand still,  wait their turn, or need a break, give this exercise a try. Have the child place both hands on the wall and try to achieve a good lunge and see if they can knock it over.

Preschool children reap psychological benefits as they expand and refine their gross motor skills. Children become more self-confident when they challenge old boundaries related to their gross motor abilities and meet with success. Gaining gross motor proficiencies permits preschool children to take part in a variety of active recreational activities, which can promote psychological well-being. Core strength is necessary to develop all sorts of skills from posture, balance, endurance, coordination, and stability. All of these together create strong gross motor skills and healthy children.

These exercises were fun to introduce to the parents who joined us for the workshop at BELA and we are happy to share them with you through the blog! Your children will love trying out these activities with you. Fun , exercise, increased gross motor skills and confidence! Sounds like a win to me!

* For more great info / resources regarding gross motor skills check out the following websites:

http://theinspiredtreehouse.com/

http://www.pinkoatmeal.com/

~Lacey Flynn 

Stay To Play....A New Program at BELA!

At BELA, we are inviting you to, Stay to Play, and learn together! “Children the world over, from those living with the most sophisticated families in big cities to those living in remote villages in developing countries, spend much time 'just playing.' Of course, only grown-ups would put the word 'just' in the previous sentence, implying that somehow play is an indulgence only the very young are entitled to and that nothing much is happening when children play.

Nothing could be further from reality, however,for a great deal happens when children are 'just playing.' They are developing skills and habits and attitudes that will stay with them throughout their lives. As they play they learn to cope with frustration, to continue to try to improve, to share with others, to give vocal expression to their thoughts and fantasies. They literally 'play for keeps.'” (Dr. Bettye M. Caldwell, Importance of Play In Early Childhood, 2016)

Research indicates that children learn best in an environment which allows them to explore, discover, and play…It is also closely tied to the development of cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical behaviors. (Jill Englebright Fox, Early Childhood News, 2016)

“If we are to save play, we must first understand its nature. Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child. It is refreshing and enlivening. It is a natural part of the make-up of every healthy child. The child’s love of learning is intimately linked with a zest for play. Whether children are working on new physical skills, social relations, or cognitive content, they approach life with a playful spirit…. But is it work or play? In childhood there is no distinction.

Adults are convinced that we need to “teach” young children. It is certainly true that we need to set an example in all kinds of activities. We also need to create appropriate spaces where children can play and learn, and we need to lend a helping hand- and at times even intervene when things are going wrong. But mostly we need to honor the innate capacity for learning that moves the limbs and fills the souls of every healthy young child”. The Nature of Play (Joan Almon, The Vital Role of Play in Early Childhood)

With this understanding, that play is vital to the healthy development and learning of children, we recognize, “Parents are the most important people in their children’s early lives. Children learn about the world and their place in it through their conversations, play activities, and routines with parents and families. Parents can also support children’s learning in out-of-home settings, such as childminding settings, crèches, playgroups, pre-schools, and primary schools. By working together parents and practitioners can enhance children’s learning and development.

Parenting involves giving children the care, education and attention they need to learn and develop. Parents provide children with their first learning experiences and they help ensure that children reach important developmental milestones such as sitting, walking, becoming toilet-trained, talking, cutting, doing up buttons, cycling, reading, and so on. As children go on to spend time in out-of-home settings parents continue to support their learning and development. This is more effective when parents complement children’s experiences in a particular setting. Likewise, learning is more meaningful when practitioners use information from parents about children’s interests, skills, abilities, and dispositions as a starting point for new experiences." (Building Partnerships Between Parents & Practitioners)

At BELA, we recognize and honour the important role that parents play in the early learning of their children. Kenneth Leithwood, well known Canadian educational researcher, and author, tells us we need to shift our focus from ‘how to get more parents into our schools, to how we can support them at home’. As we sought information regarding the importance of co-learning, capacity building, and efficacy for families, it became apparent that parents feel that learning through play is important for their children.
The Child Care Information Exchange (Oliver & Klugman) tell us “91% of parents believe play is an important contributor to their child’s development and well-being. Almost a quarter of them (21%) believe that their children enjoy less time to enjoy play than they did as a child.” However, “Nearly three fourths (72%) of parents believe early academic learning is important and over half strongly believe that academic success is essential for life success. These numbers suggest that parents will make choices- sometimes misguided- that they feel will promote school success.” Information such as this, indicates schools have an important role to play in supporting capacity building and the efficacy of parents to support their child’s learning, through an educational partnership between home and school.

At BELA, we are excited to offer our new program, “Stay to Play”, a partnership, designed to share collective knowledge and expertise; highlight individual family’s strengths and talents; and support families through the use of community strengths and assets; in order to support continuous learning by both families and school staff, that will in turn support continued high quality learning for children in our community.

We invite families in our community to bring children ages 2-5 and join us each week to Stay to Play!, where BELA staff and participants will share ideas, and model learning through play experiences, with the children and their family participants. We will be offering 2 sessions of this 10 week program. Stay To Play is Tuesday afternoons from 1:30-3:30 , is open to children ages 2-5 and is offered free of charge via BELA and our community partners BCIS & the Medicine Hat & District Child Care Association. All the information including eligibility and registration for the program is on our website. Just follow the link to learn more and get registered: Stay To Play
~Jody Rutherford
Director of Education & Programming

It's the Journey, Not the Destination....A Post by Mrs. McClelland

You know that old saying, “It’s the journey, not the destination….”? That’s what keeps running through my mind as I remember a Fall day 11 years ago….

My son Ty who was just  three at the time comes running up to me  after school saying enthusiastically “Mommy, Mommy, look what I made!”

He lifts his circular paper plate creation still damp and dripping with white glue up for me to see. “Oh beautiful, Ty!” I say, while  trying to decipher what his preschools art project was that day. As I realize it’s a bear’s face made on the paper plate, I say, “Oh I love this fuzzy cuddly bear you made, I can’t wait to put it on your bulletin board in your room”. While we walk hand in hand to the car I’m thinking to myself, does the bulletin board have any room left? I’ll have to sneak an old craft down during nap-time again to make room for this new creation!

I’m sharing this story about my son, Ty’s bear craft to illustrate that a craft is much more than a just a craft.  It’s so much more than the cute little fuzzy bear face that every child made that morning at school.  

Children learn by doing. It’s a great way for us early childhood educators to tie in a concept or theme we’ve been working on by giving children hands on experiences.

The process of creating the craft for preschool children is far more important than the finished product. It’s the journey! Or in this case, it’s the process not the product!

With the process on my mind, I recently set up my own version of Ty’s bear craft during center time at BELA. Using this craft as an example, I can “paint a picture”, (sorry,  pun intended!)  of what I would encourage during the process of creating this bear and share with you what the children would be learning as they build their masterpiece!

From the pictures, you will see that I set out a variety of materials on the table during center time. The only explanation I gave the children was that the materials were there for them to make bears. You will see the difference in each child’s creation. In this case we are focused on the process and what the children are gaining from each experience they are having as they make the bear.

This approach differs from what is known as structured or ‘cookie cutter ‘ crafts. With structured crafts they might be provided with each piece of the bears face, with things chosen for them, pre-cut or pre-colored. There are times to use structured crafts as our approach when we are using them to facilitate the learning of a certain skill. For example if we are working on fine motor or hand strength we may choose a structured craft where they have to pick up small buttons using their pincer grasp repeatedly to glue to certain areas as they follow a predetermined craft design.

When we choose to focus on process crafts we are using a distinctly different approach, one that gives the student a different experience and allows them to  achieve different learning outcomes. They are experiencing the process so much more than when they are  being provided with all the exact same pre cut eyes, nose, mouth, fur and ears. This approach is  more likely to retain their attention, as they have to think about and decide what they will use for the different parts of the bear’s face.

Now that we have considered the differences between the educational purposes of cookie cutter crafts, and those crafts that are process focused, let's look at specific examples so you can understand what the educator would be encouraging (and how) and what the student would be gaining!

Sensory Exploration:Students are getting to feel the texture of the fuzzy bear fur, touching and manipulating the smooth plastic buttons. The children will inevitably experience the sticky glue feeling on their hands since we know preschoolers love to squeeze out white glue in epic proportions! All part of the process!

Imagination: 

We can pretend to roar like bears as we make our craft! All the while the children are deciding to use as little or as much fur as they want. They can decide what colors the bear’s fur will be. Who says bears need to be brown or black?  The biggest joy of crafting is getting to imagine and then create what was imagined.  Maybe a child is imagining a green bear or a rainbow one.  Maybe they are imagining their bear might have big eyes or small eyes or one of each. Or maybe even triangle or square eyes instead of round. We, as Early Childhood Educators, and parents can foster children’s vivid imaginations by providing a variety of materials and the freedom for children to be able to bring to life what is in their imaginations during craft time.

Fine Motor Skill Development: 
Preschoolers work on their pincer grasp to pick up the pieces of fur and buttons. They are building up the muscles of their hands by overly enthusiastically squeezing that bottle of glue! Then using eye hand coordination to precisely stick the buttons and fur onto the paper plate. 

Concentration and Focus: 
While children are working on their masterpieces, they are learning to concentrate and minimize the distractions around them while learning to master the use of crayons, placing objects and gluing . It takes a lot of concentration for little ones to complete a craft . This helps to build up their attention span.

Following Directions: 
Being able to understand and follow directions is a skill needed and used throughout life. Giving the children simple instructions, while giving a visual demonstration of the steps is imperative to a successful craft time.  

For example: I instruct children to color their plate first as I demonstrate coloring one; next I would show the children how to glue on the bear’s eyes, nose and mouth, lastly gluing on the fur. During the visual directions I would encourage the children to use whatever shape or size buttons they like or choose what color of fur they’d like their bear to have. This way, children are free to make their own creative choices but are given the basic instructions of what needs to be done.

Social Emotional: 
Children will feel a sense of accomplishment and a boost in their self-esteem from finishing their creation and will be proud of themselves that they’ve made their bear all by themselves. This extends to bonding with their parents as parents oooh, awe and praise their child’s masterpiece when they get to take it home that day.

Vocabulary: 
We can choose to target specific words to expand children’s vocabulary during craft time.  While making the bears some words I might focus on would be soft/hard,  big/little, the names and identifications of colors and shapes, roar, growl, the facial body parts; eyes, nose, ears, fur & head. The list of words we choose to focus on can be as big as children’s imaginations are.

Extended Learning: 

As Early Childhood Educators and parents we can extend and carry over our craft into another time of play.  Once the bears are dry, we can take our bears and hold onto them while acting out the actions to the song, “Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around.”  We can play with toy bears in our block centers and can end our day reading a book about bears.  

In the end it doesn’t matter if one child made a bear with just fur and no facial features, or that one child made a blue bear with one triangle eye and one square one. It matters that they had the freedom to use their imagination while creating and learning and most of all have fun doing it!

Do I still have the bear Ty made over a decade ago? I sure do! It made the cut for his memory box, but there were hundreds of crafts my boys created over the years that  didn't make the cut and ended up in the garbage.  
Were they a waste? No, because  I know they  had hundreds of meaningful experiences that enhanced their development by having the opportunity to explore, create and master important learning tools and skills through the process of creating their masterpieces. 
I know they enjoyed the journey and I enjoyed it with them!!

~KM

For more information regarding the importance of process vs. product see:

earlychildhoodnews.com

naeyc.org

theallianceforec.org

Welcome to our BELA Family....

As September draws to a close, we are settling in to our new school year, excited to welcome back our families whose children have previously attended BELA, and meet many new families and get to know their children!  

As we prepared, with our staff, for the opening of our fourth school year, we paused to examine recent data and research and reflect on the mission of the Brooks Community Enrichment Foundation.  “ The Brooks Early Learning Academy, founded by the Brooks Community Enrichment Foundation, is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of early learning, and to providing high quality, play-based, early learning programming accessible to all children in our community.”  

Current research regarding the importance of the early learning years, and the birth rates for Brooks & the County of Newell, indicated that our community was definitely in need of additional spaces for children to have high quality early learning opportunities.  Our Foundation was determined to provide these important learning opportunities for all children in our community, regardless of their learning needs or the socio-economic status of their families.  Since our initial year, Alberta  Education & Alberta Human Services partnered in a project, the EarlyChildhood Development (ECD) Mapping Initiative, to collect data across Alberta utilizing the Early Development Instrument (EDI) to gather information about children in Kindergarten.   The EDI developed by McMaster University, is utilized across Canada, Alberta, and Brooks & the County of Newell.

In Canada, the national norm for Canadian children indicates 25.40% of children are experiencing great difficulty in one or more of the 5 early learning developmental domains.

 The 5 year Alberta EDMap results (2009-2014) indicate that 28.9% of children are experiencing Great Difficulty in at least one of the 5 Developmental Domains.

In Brooks & Newell County (2010) the following data was collected: 32.7% of kindergarten children are experiencing difficulty in one or more developmental areas,  including 39.7% experiencing difficulty or great difficulty in Communication skills & General Knowledge; and 29.9% experiencing difficulty or great difficulty in Language & Thinking Skills

As we reviewed the mission of our Foundation and current data, and reflected on our programming, we established our goals for the up-coming year:

·      to provide programming for over 85 students at BELA
·      to increase the number of children enrolled, who are Early English Language Learners; and

·      to continue to provide programming that supports individual

learning needs, and recognizes developmental levels of all children

The BELA Learning Team is excited that we are beginning a new school year and are looking forward to sharing and supporting the learning growth and development of all of our children at BELA this year!   Our year will be filled with active, hands on learning activities, fresh air and daily exercise, science and numeracy activities, field-trips, and an environment which is rich in early literacy activities and support for the children’s character development.  Parents are the children’s first, and most important teachers, and we will celebrate with our families as the children evolve as early learners, who are excited to learn and have fun with their friends, and their teachers at BELA – Where We’re Learning & Loving It!

~JR

" Please Mom (Dad, Grandma, Grandpa) would you play with me?"

If we are lucky, we get to hear this request often, and should take it as a compliment!  Most children only ask people to play with them, who they think are fun to play with.  But parents, and grandparents, are often unsure what their role is when asked to play.  Are we there simply to keep them safe, as supervisor?  Do we act as a referee, to make sure everyone plays nicely?  Should we tell them what to do, and organize their play?  The answer to these questions is yes,  sometimes, all that & so much more!

Psychologists suggest that play is the ideal context for acquiring social skills & forming friendships.  Trawick-Smith, in the book, Interaction in the Classroom – How Do We Facilitate Play? describes three important types of play: make believe; group games; and outdoor motor play; all of which are important in the development of social skills and forming friendships.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (1986) summarizes the benefits of play, “Knowledge is not something given to children as if they were empty vessels to be filled.  Children acquire knowledge about the physical and social world in which they live through playful interaction with objects and people.  Children do not need to be forced to learn; they are motivated by their own desire to make sense of their world (p.20)”.  

Trawick-Smith tells us there are developmental benefits to play:

·      stress reduction & reduction of anxiety

·      ideal context for acquiring social skills and forming friendships

·      important contributions to cognitive development & intellectual growth

·      problem solving ability

·      language development

·      creativity

·      healthy personality development

·      early reading skills

 So how do we capitalize on this natural desire of early learners, to play, learn, and make sense of their world?  There are 4 important times to play with children:

·      when a child doesn’t play; by playing with or around a child who doesn’t

interact with materials or peers, an adult can offer gentle invitations to participate, increase social contact, promote friendships and enhance social skills

·      when children need support; Yawkey, Smilansky et al (1987, 1968) found

 that it is not enough to simply provide more opportunities and materials to engage in social pretend play, only when adults joined in the play, were gains achieved in play and language development

·      when a teachable moment arises; when opportunities arise as children

 are learning a new concept, or are thinking about a problem in a new way, an adult may intervene and take advantage of the moment by adding new information to an exploration, give hints to help solve a problem, or ask questions to guide thinking.

·      when a child invites you to play; an adult who joins in the play has the

opportunity to learn more about a child’s social competence, their anxieties, concerns, or interests.  It is during play that children show us what they know, and how they think.

So the answer to the question about how we can enhance and extend the play of our children, is to see ‘play’ as their ‘work’, and be present.  Be present, to watch and observe, to invite or join in, ask questions, make suggestions, share in their joy and celebrate their eagerness to grow and learn. 

Anita Wadley’s poem “Just Playing” provides a wonderful reminder of the importance of play!

‘When you ask me what I did today,

And I say, “I JUST Played”,

Please don’t misunderstand me.

For, you see, I’m learning as I play.

I’m learning to enjoy and be successful in work.

I’m preparing for tomorrow.

Today, I’m a child and my work is play’

In response to questions from parents at BELA , our staff  have devoted our Professional Learning time this year to learning more about effectively facilitating play.  April 20 @ 1:00- 2:30, Ms. Flynn and Mrs. Parenas will be offering a workshop for parents designed to provide information about facilitating play, and opportunities to practice different ways to facilitate play with your own child. Please join us!

- JR

Jody Rutherford

Director of Education & Programming