In a nutshell, play is defined here as activities children engage in solely for having fun and not for a specific purpose. Generally, the play that children engage in is not guided by an adult and is more self-directed.[1] Children may play independently or in a group, but the key is that they decide the rules and focus.
Schools Need More Play Time
Play may also have an important role in intellectual development, according to Harvard educators.[6] When children are given time to play, they experience growth in memory, language, and symbol recognition skills.[8] Playtime is also linked to learning readiness, which means that students can feel more engaged and prepared in class.[5]
If you are distance or hybrid teaching, it can be tough to make time for play in your classroom schedule. Educator Madeline Rogin recommends emphasizing with families that unstructured playtime is just as crucial as learning time so they make room for both at home.[13]
With the benefits so well-established why don't more schools engage more outdoor time for recess or nature-based learning? While the benefits of outdoor time are well established, taking kids outdoors is Far from being mainstream. It seems your child has to be a part of a specially funded program to boost outdoor learning in cities or underserved communities or in a private school to get outside to learn.
One in five teachers worldwide said poor playground behavior could stop children going outdoors for recess or learning (despite consistent research worldwide saying more play leads to better behavior). In the UK over one third (36%) of teachers reported that children had been kept inside for poor behavior. One in five (19%) of US children were kept in from playtime to catch up on lessons, compared to less than one in ten (9%) in Canada or Australia (8%).
Perhaps most disconcerting and revealing, teachers in the US were alone in reporting specific restrictions from going outdoors imposed by the administrator of the school or district. The recess crackdown, as many schools are taking away recess to fit in an ambitious curriculum in an effort to boost testing scores. 'Per district guidelines, we are only allowed to take students outside for 20 minutes on non-PE days and there are limitations on time and the number of students that are outside at one time.' (Teacher in the US)
As your child grows, their attention span and physical skills develop and the way they play will change. Your child will get more creative and experiment more with toys, games and ideas. This might mean they need more space and time to play.
When children have time and space to play without restriction, their imaginations can roam and they can explore ideas. You can try adding simple materials like cardboard boxes to an existing space. This can inspire pretend play, even in small spaces.
Ideally, children should get four 15-minute recesses every day, says Debbie Rhea, a professor of kinesiology at Texas Christian University in Forth Worth and director of the LiiNK Project, which advocates for outdoor play in schools.
But when it comes to allocating those precious school-day minutes, recess has rarely been a priority. Starting in the early 2000s, many schools cut back or even eliminated recess in favor of more instructional time. Since 2001, average weekly recess time has declined by 60 minutes. Only nine states require schools to offer a daily recess, and most districts don't have a formal recess policy.
It is so important for kids to have unstructured, free play time. In these days of schedules, routines, and many demands and responsibilities, it is increasingly important for children to be allowed to just play.
4. Public schools throughout the United States continue to reduce the amount of time allotted to free play. For example, in response to No Child Left Behind, many schools increased their focus on reading and math by decreasing the amount of time allocated to recess and the creative arts. Ironically, play helps children adjust to school and improves their readiness to learn. When children are allowed to play without being told what they specifically have to do, they become more focused, have greater attention spans, and improve their academic skills.
6. Children learn how to share, resolve conflicts, make decisions, be assertive, and work in groups through unstructured play. Although some children are more apt to have these skills than others, most children are able to develop these great social skills through playing with other children. Even playing alone can help a child gain self-confidence, assertiveness, decision-making skills, and much more.
That said, it is important to note that preschoolers need socialization. It is key to their development. Trips to the playground and park are great ways to encourage this as are games like tag, red light/green light, and Simon says.
A lot is changing when it comes to school and this has showed us that schools can operate remotely if needed. While that option worked for some, it also showed us that the current education model has a lot of areas that could be updated or improved.
One of the strongest positions for lengthening the school day is that it would give more time for instruction. Schools used to focus on basic academics like reading, writing and math. However, today we know that students need to be immersed in science, technology, math and engineering subjects. We also know that students need time to practice social and emotional skills as well as other non-academic skills like critical thinking and communication. These skills are highly sought after by employers. Therefore, adding instruction time during the day would allow students to be more prepared for college and careers.
In many schools, recess is being cut to a bare minimum. Even in the youngest grades where children learn both academics and social skills through play, recess time is diminishing. This is all in favor of additional academic learning time. As standardized testing and learning becomes more rigorous, teachers must cut down on the time that students spend playing.
However, most people agree that play is important for child development even for older children. Having free time during the school day allows the learning to develop and gives students a time to rest. With additional time in the school day, more time for play, recess and mindfulness this could be built into the daily schedule of students.
Whether students go directly into a career after high school or go to college in order to prepare for a career, they will likely be expected to work eight hours a day on the job, if not more. Extending the school day helps students prepare for their expectations when they graduate and join the workforce. The current six-and-a-half-hour day was structured around students having to leave school and work on their families' farms and ranches at the end of the day. This calendar based on an agrarian lifestyle no longer make sense or prepares students for what they will need to know in the information age.
In order to lengthen the school day, the school budget needs to be much higher. Teacher salaries would need to reflect the increase in time that it takes not only to deliver up to two hours extra of class work but also to plan and prepare for it. In addition, lights, air conditioning and heating units in school facilities will run for longer hours. There may be other places where schools could find efficiencies but simply making the school day a few hours longer would be costly.
Students would be spending most of their waking hours at school if the school day was extended. They are already there for six and a half hours of their time. On top of that, they probably have around an hour or so of homework each night. Students who participate in extracurricular activities do so because they enrich their lives and build their talents. Lengthening the school day would mean that students need to forgo these extra activities in order to go to school and complete their homework.
During play, kids stretch their imaginations. They create make-believe games or get lost in pretend worlds. Children act out different solutions while boosting their confidence. They make their own rules and learn how to follow or adapt those rules as needed. These are helpful skills for navigating life and developing relationships with others.
When adults feel overwhelmed, we retreat into activities that soothe us. We go to the gym, sing karaoke with friends, walk around the neighbourhood, weed the garden or play a board game. These activities are more than a distraction. They are a way of bringing play back into our lives and connecting us to the things in life that help ground us.
As kids enter school, play continues to be important. Research shows students pay more attention to their work after an unstructured play break. 5 Play enhances curiosity and a curious mind is ready to learn.
Solitary (Independent) play is as important as learning how to play with others. It helps children develop a stronger sense of independence. Children comfortable with solitary play also feel more capable of tackling other tasks on their own and figuring out how they fit in. Developing those skills even contributes to future socializing within a group. Children playing alone can learn social cues by observing group interactions from afar.
With so many competing priorities, it becomes easy for educators to intentionally or unintentionally cut recess to focus on academic instruction. However, research is clear on the developmental need for young children to play. Unstructured outdoor recess provides kids with an outlet to take a mental break from learning and to exercise and expend energy, which ultimately enhances focus during instruction.
Perhaps more importantly, children also learn critical social, emotional, and cognitive skills through play with their peers. Unstructured play is one of the most valuable ways that young children learn and practice skills such as problem solving, creativity, emotional and behavioral regulation, collaboration, perspective taking, and compromise. 2ff7e9595c
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