What
power does play have in the lives of children today? Despite growing mountains
of evidence that active, self-directed play is vital to young children’s
development, a surprising number of parents and other adults question the value
of time spent in play. We are seeing an unprecedented convergence of pressures
that endanger the right of every child to play freely: the push down of
academics and increased testing, the ubiquitous presence of screens and
technology, and increased fear of risk and litigation. In addition, the current
generation of parents may not have experienced the wonders of childhood play
themselves, so they cannot be expected to value the power of play for their
children without help.
The marked decline in play time
available to many children in the U.S is well documented by the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which believes that play is a vitally important
part of child development and is essential for every child’s health and well-being.
Their 2007 position statement on play addresses the wide range of benefits play
has for children, including socio-emotional health, physical health, social
learning, improvement of problem solving skills, and improved self-regulation
(Ginsburg 2007, 182). Other important indicators of future success such as
creativity, problem solving, and decision making skills are also benefits of
self-directed play. In addition, play is vital to fighting the childhood
obesity epidemic (Ginsburg 2006, 3).
The great disconnect between
this compelling research and the prevalent attitude among many adults of the
insignificance of play places a large responsibility on teachers to lead and
model appropriate play practices in their classrooms. As a professor of Early Childhood
Education, I personally feel a strong commitment to teach my students—part of
the next generation of teachers in America—the tremendous power of play.
Because of the growing
misunderstanding of the difference between “entertainment” and “play,” however,
many of my students come in thinking that video games, television, or other
screen activities are synonymous with the natural play of childhood. Since
teaching by example and experience is more memorable than mere instruction, I
try to find ways to model how they can facilitate self-directed, active play by
providing enough time, space, and appropriate materials. I show them how simple
recycled props such as boxes, stuffed animals, hats, clothing, and puppets
enhance the children’s play opportunities. I model the use of good children’s
literature to prompt meaningful play. Most importantly, following the methods
of John Dewey’s, “learning by doing,” I make time for my pre-service teachers
to actually guide meaningful play experiences with real children.
During the course of the
semester I have my students go out into the community to see real life play
experiences around our city. I have a long-running partnership with San Antonio
Zoo’s Tiny Tot’s Nature Spot, which was designed to provide highly interactive,
positive experiences for young children in nature. The students analyze and
document the kinds of cognitive and social play that they observe. They can
recognize all of Piaget’s cognitive play categories throughout the play space.
The campgrounds and indoor play center promote dramatic play; the tunnels for
crawling provide functional or exercise play; the sand area fosters
constructive play; and much more. The zoo’s play leaders model excellent
practices in guiding and inspiring nature-based play. And the children,
naturally engrossed in their play, demonstrate the great value of such
opportunities.
Another activity that serves to
teach the power of play and nature is planting a garden. Last year we worked
with the gardener in a community garden which adjoins the education building.
To get outside and dig in the dirt is such a simple thing and yet so powerful.
Most of my students had never planted anything before. I could not help but
think about the story in Robert Fulghum’s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten where he remembers a little seed
growing in a cup teaching important lessons of life. I want my students to see
firsthand the therapeutic benefits of working in the soil so later, as they
become teachers, they can strive to create such experiences for their students.
Perhaps the most important
component in teaching the power of play is the annual play day we plan for
local school children. Using only basic materials, the students prepare and
observe a day of play on our campus. Every year something magical happens, and
this year was no exception. The design utilized ordinary cardboard moving
boxes. Some quickly became tunnels, mazes, or receptacles for ball play. Other
huge boxes were opened to become the walls of a large outdoor art gallery for
the children to paint and repaint. Still other boxes formed the walls of a
castle, a restaurant, and a veterinary clinic. Nature materials were used for
art experiences. Sand and water provided unlimited play opportunities with
recycled containers. A treasure box of hats, capes, and other recycled clothing
items and props stimulated extensive dramatic play. Everywhere the students
looked they could see children running, playing, and talking to each other.
Active engagement certainly reigned supreme.
I knew my students were happy
with the day’s results, but I did not realize just how much they had learned
until I read their reflective papers about the day’s experiences. I was shocked
to see that several of my students had doubted that our plan for the event
would be successful. In fact, three different students mentioned that they had
felt the play day would fail because “we had nothing electronic or anything
else that plugged in.” As a result of what they experienced, my students
realized that the power of the day seemed to be in the simplest of materials
that were brought to life by the children’s imagination and ingenuity. The play
day had taught yet another group of young pre-service teachers to believe in
the magical powers of play. Now they understand that play is truly essential to
the fabric of childhood.
Perhaps Fred Rogers said it
best, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.
But for children, play is serious learning.” Isn’t the power of play hidden
inside the simplest of experiences? That’s what I want pre-service teachers and
all adults to see and value.
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