Wanna Play?

At Bloom we have a play based program.  This means we believe, with confidence and joy, that young children learn best through play (rather than through direct instruction).  We spend a lot of time outdoors on our large grass, tree and garden filled playgrounds.  Both indoors and out, children are allowed lots of time for play - ideally undirected, uninterrupted play.  

“Decades of research has shown that play is crucial to physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development at all ages.  This is especially true of the purest form of play: the unstructured, self-motivated, imaginative, independent kind, where children initiate their own games and even invent their own rules.” - David Elkind

The concept of a play based preschool program can feel uncomfortable for some.  Sometimes it sounds good in theory (who doesn’t want their child to play?) but then the pressures of our fast paced, competitive world set in, and we begin to worry about what exactly the children are learning and whether they may lag behind their peers who are enrolled in more traditional programs.  We all want what’s best for our children.  If your friend’s child is coming home with papers upon papers (perhaps he’s colored in pictures of items that all start with the letter “A”) and your child comes home with grass stains, the insecurities may start to creep in.  It takes a confident parent to trust that their young child can learn more from a nature walk than from a computer game.  We need more self starters, more problem solvers, more respectful collaborators, more wonder and joy in learning.  I believe that a play based, child led program is the best possible way to give the children the foundation they need to become life long learners.

I came across an article today by Claire Caro, and I am just so thrilled by it.  She addresses the value - the importance - of free play and exploration.  She gives suggestions for how we as parents, teachers and care givers can be supportive of this play. She emphatically and repeatedly recommends that we "do not interrupt" and that we allow the space, time and freedom for the children to blossom.  

You can find this wonderful article here.  

Do you make time for "free play"?