“Children need [playful] adults in their lives, people who will model the importance of play to living.” -BONNIE NEUGEBAUER

In a recent study (commissioned by the Alliance for Childhood - download [PDF] *), figures show how schools and in particular Kindergarten’s are taking 2-3 hours a day to teach reading and writing. And 20-30 minutes a day either preparing for or testing these (very) young children.

Less than 30 min are left for play and fun stuff - sometimes no time is left for fun time at all.

“Many teachers don’t know the reasons why play is important.” -DIANE LEVIN

Does this matter? Need we as parents take notice, after all academic results are better than ever. Yes, play matters deeply in a child’s development and health. Play stimulates their imagination, creative and social and dextrous skills. Play matters for stress relief. Its how a child lets off steam. Play is fun - and that matters to all of us. More so for our children.

“Inappropriate labeling may have lifelong implications for children who are developing their self-image.” -DR. KENNETH GINSBURG

The Balance between Perspective and Control: Initiative and Input

In his book “Making It All Work” David Allen describes how GTD makes a difference. How too we are in a continual search to regain balance, or as David puts it: Perspective and Control.

“Faster is not better when it comes to early education.” -NANCY CARLSSON-PAIGE

Figure 1 Making It All Work (MAIW) David Allen

The same goes for our kids. A healthy and balanced child knows how to play with whatever they find at hand. And with a minimal level of encourgememt or supervision, children learn many different ways of playing. Creating the most amazing stories, games and events.

Figure 2 Research directly links play to children's ability to master such academic content as literacy and numeracy

Twelve Key Types of Play

In their report “Crisis in the Kindergarten. Why Children Need to Play in School” by Edward Miller and Joan Almon, www.allianceforchildhood.org the different types of play are described.

There are different types of play, and they often overlap in rich play scenarios. Knowing and watching for the broad types helps sensitize teachers and parents to the shifting landscapes children create. It also provides a tool for assessing whether a playful kindergarten is providing adequate opportunity and materials for all types of play.

1. Large-motor play

Children love to climb, run, slide, swing, jump, and engage in every type of movement possible. Such play develops coordination, balance, and a sense of one’s body in the space around it.

2. Small-motor play

Play with small toys and activities like stringing beads, playing with puzzles, and sorting objects into types develops dexterity.

3. Mastery play

Children often repeat an action in play and persevere until they master it, such as making dozens of “birthday packages” to learn to tie bows, or playing on a balance beam to become a “circus performer.”

4. Rules-based play

Kindergartners and grade-school children enjoy the challenge of making up their own rules and the social negotiation involved in adapting the rules for each play situation.

5. Construction play

Building houses, ships, forts, and other structures is a basic form of play that requires skill and imagination.

6. Make-believe play

This broad category incorporates many other play types and is rich with language, problem-solving, and imagination. It frequently begins with “Let’s pretend” and goes on to include anything children might have experienced or imagined.

7. Symbolic play

Children take an object at hand and convert it into the toy or prop they need through a fluid process of fantasy or imagination.

8 .Language play

Children develop mastery by playing with words, rhymes, verses, and songs they make up or change. They tell stories and dramatize them. They are fascinated by foreign languages, especially when they are presented playfully in story, verse, or song.

9. Playing with the arts

Children integrate all forms of art into their play, using whatever materials are at hand to draw, model, create music, perform puppet shows, and so on. They explore the arts and use them to express their feelings and ideas.

10. Sensory play

Most children enjoy playing with dirt, sand, mud, water, and other materials with different textures, sounds, and smells. Such play develops the senses.

11. Rough-and-tumble play

This fundamental form of play is found in animals as well as human children. Animals know how to play roughly without injury by rounding their body gestures and not aiming for dominance. Children can be helped to do the same if their play becomes too aggressive.

12. Risk-taking play

Children extend their abilities through risky play and learn to master challenging environments. They generally know how far they can go without actually hurting themselves. Regrettably, most current play spaces are designed to be as risk-free as possible, giving children little chance to assess risks and set their own boundaries.

Figure 3 The kindergarten continuum

Do you still play?

Play does not stop either when we grow older. It just develops into new directions of creativity and imagination. Whether its digging holes and burying each other in the sand. Climbing trees, hide and seek or running around and just chasing each other or catching a ball. I remember how much fun play is. Do  you?

In scripted classrooms teachers must follow a highly regimented and invariable routine in which some activities and words are required and others are prohibited. In scripted teaching, “adults are authorities who tell children what to do and what to think, rather than guides who assist children in puzzling through situations and deciding for themselves what they should do.” -LAWRENCE SCHWEINHART & DAVID WEIKART

I love Jamie Oliver and recipe boooks. But am most creative in the kitchen when I am playing. I love to play - a little more everyday. And you? Please share your play stories or enter into the discussion. Its Summer and time to play.

* Full PDF version: Crisis in the Kindergarten
8 Page PDF summary: Crisis in the Kindergarten [summary]

Sir Richard Burton

Please leave your questions or join the team and share your experiences here.