The Importance of Play

     Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul.  ~ Friedrich Froebel

     According to pediatric occupational therapist, Angela Hanscom, there are several reasons that young children are unable to sit still in school and have difficulty with social situations.
     In her study, she showed that  kids are behaving  differently. They get frustrated easier.  Children fall out of their seats, are less attentive, and run into each other and sometimes even run into the walls. Before academic rigor became so important, these types of behaviors were seldom seen.  Due to this academic pressure, early childhood education programs are feeling the pressure to limit free play more than is developmentally appropriate in order to meet the growing demands for academic readiness that was expected before children entered kindergarten. 
Research  points out that young children learn best through meaningful play experiences, yet many preschools and kindergartens are transitioning from play-based learning to becoming more academic in nature.  Teachers are pressured to document and justify what they do and why they do it, which leads to the relaxed playful environment being compromised. We continue to do what is best for our students, while trying to fit into the ever-growing restraints we must work within.
    Parents, too, are increasingly putting their young children into more organized and structured playtime activities.  Outdoor play is becoming a thing of the past.  Many of my own students spend more time in front of a screen (tablets, iPads, apps on iPhones, and the television) than they do outside.  Several go to bed each night with their televisions on in their bedrooms...at the age of five and six.  
     It is before the age of 7 years — ages traditionally known as pre-academic, when children need to have a wide range of whole-body sensory experiences each day in order to develop strong bodies and minds. This is best done outside where the senses are fully engaged and their little bodies are challenged by the very ground on which they play.
      Preschool years are the very best time for children to learn through play, and also a crucial developmental period. If children are not given enough natural movement and play experiences, they start their academic careers with a disadvantage. They are more likely to be clumsy, have difficulty paying attention, exhibit trouble controlling their emotions, utilize poor problem-solving methods, and demonstrate difficulties with social interactions. We are consistently seeing sensory, motor, and cognitive issues pop up in later childhood, partly because of inadequate opportunities to move and play at an early age.
    The thing about playing is that it's not separate from learning. It IS learning. In fact, if young kids aren't playing, chances are they are getting a fraction of the knowledge they would get if they were "just" goofing around. This will sound strange but instructing kids may actually backfire. 
     Here's an example from Peter Gray's book, Free To Learn: A researcher conducted an experiment on some 4- and 5-year-olds. She had a toy that you could make do four different things -- squeak, light up, buzz... whatever. She took a third of the kids into a room (one by one) and demonstrated how to make the toy squeak: You press this button here.
The second group she sort of ignored while she "played" with the toy and made it squeak, seemingly for her own fun.
The third group she simply handed the toy.
Later on, Groups 2 and 3 had discovered how to make the toy produce more effects than the Group 1 kids. Why? Group 1 was following instructions: They did what the teacher showed them. Groups 2 and 3 played. 
     The point??  By "teaching" children the traditional way -- sitting them down and spoon-feeding them information -- we are actually making them less curious, more passive and, finally, less educated, since all that gets into them is what the teacher tells them. We are shutting down their natural inquisitiveness.

     If children are given opportunities to play outdoors every day with peers, there would be no need for these special exercises or meditation techniques for the youngest of our school children. They would simply develop these skills through play. Something that doesn’t need to cost a lot of money or require much thought. Children just need the time, the space, and the permission to be kids.

     But substituting top-down "education" for free play isn't preparing little kids for college or careers.
It's preparing them to check out.