Seriously?

Play is powerful. I posted about play in January (here and here), but it just keeps coming back. And this week's NYT article's tales of Junior Kumon, "Fast Tracking to Kindergarten," is disturbing. Who on earth thinks 3 year-olds need to go to a tutoring center to fill in worksheets?

I am stunned by the power of play in my home. At 3, Claudia has elaborate scenes with her bunnies and her baby dolls and dress up. She was just at the beach today (well, really making a beach scene on the big chair). She has smeared hand sanitizer all over the carpet with a hand towel playing Annie. She can recognize her name on her birthday cake. She "reads" books to herself: familiar ones and new ones, sings and tells stories- especially ones with big, bad wolves. She plays with cups of water in the sink, matches socks, and counts the stairs when she climbs. I just don't see what Kumon could offer her. She is already so busy.

And Fran hurried home from soccer today to continue working on his hockey scene: Playmobil men vs. superheroes. He has repurposed several sets of toys and boxes to create this play scene. It is very involved and he is quite busy with it. He came home all upset that fish (instead of pizza) was for dinner- then went to play and bounced back so well. His sustained play may look like a mess, but it's highly organized and purposeful.

Play is so important. And rigor is important. But the play has to come first. Kids need solid skills from play: exploration, discovery, inquiry, elaboration, stamina, self-direction, and the ability to engage with their own minds to meet the demands of rigorous (and, of course, process-based) programs with joy and enthusiasm.

Alphabet Bingo at home?  Sounds fine. (Games, glorious games!)  Making cards or a book for Grandma?  Sounds great. Cooking? Folding laundry? Riding bikes? Gardening? Good, good, good, good.  Hours spent on worksheets and homework- at age 3? I don't think so. Perhaps some fact or handwriting practice in elementary school- but minutes, not hours, so there is still down time for play.

The work of play for preschoolers is simply too valuable to be replaced with rote learning.

Rants you may have missed this year: The Harry Potter Manifesto, posts about the Millage, and of course The Baby Flashcard Manifesto, detailing my confusion and abhorrence with the "Your Baby Can Read" (quotes are intended to mock the program in addition to indicate the title) Videos and Flashcards Program and its subsequent lack of authentic activities and organic learning. 

More on Play

"It's interesting to me that when we talk about play today,

the first thing that comes to mind are toys.

Whereas when I would think of play in the 19th century,

I would think of activity rather than an object."

- Howard Chudacoff

I ran across an old interview on NPR that talks about play and it's recent focus on toys rather than activity and the resulting negative impact on self-regulation. Self-regulation is the greatest indicator of academic success, but I also think the social implications are important, too. Kids who can self-regulate feel good in groups- and alone. And this is important, too. Imaginative play really fosters growth in self-regulation. We must protect play.

It's interesting to me --as a classroom teacher and as a parent-- to see kids (and adults) who consistently can't fill time alone. Their play is about stuff; it's not about ideas. They need electronics, TV, structured activities, some outside stimulus.

Kids need less stuff. Kids need to have time and space for sustained play. Kids need breaks from screens (their own and their parents' cell phones, computers, TV). Kids need to breathe fresh air and to exercise their bodies and their minds. Kids need to connect- in person- with others and also themselves.

It's interesting to me that people will elevate play when facing studies that link play with academics, but, really, we should just have children playing because they enjoy it and it's what they are supposed to do.

I'm not sure if schools alone can "fix" this. If self-regulation isn't learned in play, it takes much longer to develop. How do we fix this? I think carving some time in lower grades for play, protecting recess and special areas, looking at supporting play in child-care environments, and by starting conversations with families about play in all it's simplicity and necessity would be a great start. Another great start is teaching grown-ups to personally embrace play: hiking, sewing, tap dancing, singing, joking, wine-tasting, pond skating, and coming together with others.

Maybe this rant isn't about protecting play. Maybe it's really about why I don't need to clean our basement. It's not a mess; the kids are just self-regulating down there.