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Strollerderby
Play helps kids learn.
In a column at CNN.com, two Harvard educators make a case for play-based education. Their case is simple: favoring free play in preschool over early academic training will give kids an edge academically.
Erika and Nicholas Christakis have taught kids ranging from preschoolers to Harvard undergrads. They know what they’re talking about. And what they see are college students who can’t thrive in a rigorous academic environment because they haven’t had enough playtime.
These kids fidget. They don’t know how to share, and dominate otherwise good conversations. They can’t control their impulses. These are all skills learned through play-based education, that these students are missing out on.
A play-based curriculum for preschoolers, and even for older kids, lets them learn the social skills that essential to support deep academic learning at the college level. Without the ability to play, the ability to learn becomes hampered.
Childhood is supposed to be the happiest time of our lives. Through the rose-tinted glasses of memory, most of us look back fondly on our early years as a time of simplicity, contentment and joy. Sure, maybe some bad things happened to us. But we were basically happy.
Children laugh many times more frequently than adults do. Little ones especially bubble over with giggles at the slightest provocation.
What about kids who aren’t happy? Can depression emerge early in childhood? Even in preschool?
An increasing number of psychiatrists and social scientists are saying yes. Preschool depression isn’t an accepted DSM diagnoses yet, but it may be on its way. In the meantime, cutting edge researchers and doctors are treating kids as young as 3 for depression.
Interactive books with pop-up pictures and pull-tab features give kids more to do with a book than just look at a page. But while it would stand to reason that with more to do, a child would be more engaged and therefore more likely to learn something from a book, experts say that’s just not the case. In fact, new new research finds that all that popping up and pulling open is actually a distraction and that these interactive books are inferior to traditional ones when it comes to imparting lessons to pre-readers. Continue reading »
Dora the Explorer, the beloved star of Nickelodeon’s hit cartoon, turns ten this Sunday. And while her preschool-age fans might not know it, this backpack-toting, adventure-loving girl is truly one of a kind. Continue reading »
My girls, ages 5 and 2, so far show no signs of precocious genius. Neither of them can read, write more than a few words or do long division in her head. They don’t play violin, perform Shakespeare from memory or beat me at chess.
Next to a lot of my friends precocious little geniuses, they look kinda dumb. And I’m OK with that.
MomLogic has a great piece on the annoying toddler parents who simply do go on about what brilliant, accomplished people their two-year-olds are. I’m sure I’m guilty of any number of parenting sins, but at least teaching my kids a lot of Stupid Human Tricks isn’t on the list.
There is, I think, a fine line between wanting to give your child every opportunity you can and going overboard with tutors, coaches, and trainers just because you can. If a child is having difficulty or has a disability, it makes sense to get them help. But can there be such a thing as too much help? These days, it seems, well-to-do parents in New York are hiring occupational therapists to make certain their precious little snowflakes hold a crayon correctly. Before they even start preschool.
Here’s an interesting question: What is kindergarten for?
People’s beliefs about that pretty much fall into two camps: It’s either to learn through play and exploration, or it’s to prepare children through pre-academic activities for first grade and beyond.
An interesting article in the School Issue of the New York Times Magazine, published yesterday, dives into the different views of both camps. It also discusses an emerging school of thought Continue reading »
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