tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post1262746484410371658..comments2024-03-26T07:07:14.304-07:00Comments on Teacher Tom: Play!Teacher Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606781724784785338noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-46036710634655453612010-01-22T03:52:59.080-08:002010-01-22T03:52:59.080-08:00Wow! Thank you for the great quotes. I will refer ...Wow! Thank you for the great quotes. I will refer back to them often :)Mariah@Playful Learninghttp://www.playfulearning.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-26362763078562968572010-01-21T02:13:10.545-08:002010-01-21T02:13:10.545-08:00Tom, I love all these quotes, they are a fantastic...Tom, I love all these quotes, they are a fantastic reminder to everyone about how play should be cherished! Thank you for sharing. A little boy in my school (aged 5) came to us with very little proper play experience. We had to work really hard on developing creativity, turn taking and communication skills as a result! (However he was very capable of using the computer and playing computer games - linked, perhaps?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-68175749191768010592010-01-20T20:02:46.368-08:002010-01-20T20:02:46.368-08:00If a parent is anxious about play curriculum, it c...If a parent is anxious about play curriculum, it can help to frame what they are seeing in academic terms. If you talk about development of executive function, and the stimulation of the frontal lobe, and the connection between social skills, oral language, and reading readiness, then you can help them see the value in play. I, too, can feel frustrated that some parents don't value play at face value, but I also feel that we who advocate for play, or emergent curriculum, or constructivist curriculum, etc, could do ourselves a favor with better marketing. A skeptical parent presents a teaching moment!Launa Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03732938187019993335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-67614977482767527262010-01-20T14:22:16.965-08:002010-01-20T14:22:16.965-08:00Thanks for the great post. Probably about 70% of ...Thanks for the great post. Probably about 70% of the parents who come to look around our preschool think it all looks amazing - great space, happy and busy children, nurturing staff, better staff : child ratios than usual - and yet they still need convincing that children spending all day at play is the way to go. "But will they still learn?" and "What if they stay outside all day?" and "What about a school readiness program" are the main questions.<br /><br />I think the free choice indoor / outdoor play scares a lot of them away. Its hard to get your head around learning happening outside.<br /><br />We struggle for numbers because parents are scared off with the 'progressive' label which is really frustrating because progressive philosophy and early childhood philosophy fit like hand and glove.<br /><br />I'd love to hear about other teacher's orientation process for new parents, and how they introduce them to the philosophy behind the program.jennyhttp://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-28227202258946449112010-01-20T12:35:16.522-08:002010-01-20T12:35:16.522-08:00Playing = learning!
Thanks for all the great quot...Playing = learning!<br /><br />Thanks for all the great quotes.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11397525011462974857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-40378881412456124462010-01-20T10:11:37.657-08:002010-01-20T10:11:37.657-08:00Tom, I know you're not a fan of applying busin...Tom, I know you're not a fan of applying business models to education, but one could argue that play-based curriculum actually establishes a strong foundation for the child's future workplace success. Who's going to get the promotion? The person who was reading at age 3, or the person with the better social skills? <br /><br />I remember hearing on a school tour that frontal lobe cognitive development happens during free play. But I guess that's more intangible than having your little one spit out the alphabet in Spanish or recognize a few sight words.<br /><br />Parents need to realize that there's no shame in having your child learn reading and writing in elementary school. My son started kindergarten this year refusing to write his name. Guess what? They didn't kick him out. They simply taught him how to write his name. Yes, he struggled with it for a few weeks. But now he knows how to practice, struggle, and succeed at something. Now the next time he's faced with something that doesn't instantly come easily to him, he'll know how to meet that challenge. <br /><br />Maybe that's where this push for "academic" preschool comes from in the first place. We parents tend to be an anxious bunch, and the thought of our children struggling with something or missing out on the slightest advantage really sets us off. So we spend all this effort moving obstacles out of their way, teaching them everything they're supposed to learn in kindergarten before they actually get there so they'll be "ahead." It's a hard impulse to resist.Floor Piehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06533240227865369012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-73132617319317623812010-01-20T08:27:09.447-08:002010-01-20T08:27:09.447-08:00Playing is vital! : )
I believe in play therapy fo...Playing is vital! : )<br />I believe in play therapy for children also. That is very controversial in some circles.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07874897254332872367noreply@blogger.com