Play has the power to enrich lives at every age. Discover how open-ended play and hands-on activities help older adults improve cognitive health, encourage social connection, inspire creativity, and promote active, joyful aging in senior communities.
We often think of play as simply something fun and entertaining, but it is far more than that. Play is an extremely powerful force on child development – helping children learn important life skills such as problem-solving, negotiation and communication, creative and critical thinking, empathy, and emotional regulation. Let’s explore some of these ways that play can help build the foundation for these essential life skills.
Even before the popularization of the toy industry, children have always found ways to play. Sticks, rocks, and pinecones became the fuel for imaginations to run wild. While toys have certainly evolved, the core need to play has stayed the same.
It seems like every time I refresh my inbox there is a new email popping in with a report on why we need to do more of “this” or less of “that” to help our children developmentally.
Turn off the TV, don’t reach for the tablet- we have some fun activities that are completely kid powered and will keep them engaged for hours!
As parents, we want to give our children every opportunity to succeed in life. We research and enroll them in the best schools, activities, and programs available. But what if we’re overcomplicating what makes a child “successful”?
Play is the greatest teaching tool available to children with more benefits than you may know! Here are just a few scientifically proven reasons why play is important!
A Kindergarten teacher’s perspective on how play-based learning is helping with deficits today’s students face.
Raising toddlers has always been an undertaking not suitable for the weak- hence the stereotypes of the “terrible twos” and “threenagers.” However, the parents, teachers, and caretakers of todays’ toddlers are reporting a new level of tantrums, overstimulation, and clinginess as these “pandemic babies” begin to experience life outside of quarantines and social distancing for the first time.
Throughout their childhood, kids are tasked with learning about the world: how it works and what they can do within it. A safe place for them to do this is during free play time.
From the time they are born, your child is communicating. Crying, laughing, grabbing, eye contact. While not requiring the spoken word, your child is talking to you. This only becomes more effective once they start using their own words, words that they learn at home, on the street, at school, and during playtime, especially with block play.
A big part of being an educator is constantly finding new ways to bring life to teaching and to keep it exciting for students by always having something interesting in instruction. As a librarian, not only am I curating books and programs to create a safe space for students, but I also help teachers with their instruction and bring new innovative ideas to them.
