Taking Play Seriously

“The right to play is a child’s first claim on the community. Play is nature’s training for life. No community can infringe that right without doing deep and enduring harm to the minds and bodies of its citizens.” (David Lloyd George)

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again:  Play is important!  (See What’s So Great about Play and Why Old-Fashioned Play is So Important. ) But don’t just listen to us:  so many education and psychology experts are stressing the key role of play in our children’s lives.   According to Dr. Richard Woolfson,  “A balanced diet of play is as important as good food or love.”

We’ve been finding more and more articles and references to the key role of play in learning, and decided to post links to a few of our most recent favorites.

Check out the article  “Why Preschool Shouldn’t be like School”.  Here, you’ll read about new research that shows that children must be allowed to explore, discover, play, and inquire.  It has long-term effects on their cognition and learning.

And in the April issue of The Atlantic, there’s a terrific article called “Leave those Kids Alone” with some intriguing history on adults’ impulses to interfere in children’s natural need for play.  And why we need to butt out!

Want some specifics on how play benefits learning?  Check out Gwen Dewar’s review of studies that show the positive effect of play on brain development.

Play is fun, natural, and necessary.  Seriously.

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