Education
Sandbox: Play to Learn is a blog about the value of play. My name is Sharon
Lloyd and I have been involved with play throughout my life. As a child, I can
remember dressing up and pretending to be Raggedy Ann, enjoying the out of
doors while making mud pies, playing tag with friends and a multitude of
crafts. I was playing to learn. I developed cognitively, linguistically,
social-emotionally, and physically. I learned from my experiences that sharing
and building relationships make play more fun.
In the
second grade, I played a teacher in the school play and knew what I wanted to
do with my life. I have followed that dream since that date. I was a day care
worker in high school, then onto college
and into the education field. I have been employed as an elementary teacher for
25 years. I enjoyed education prekindergartners and kindergartners. I also served math and
science resource teacher. I know the value of learning and am seeking my EdD
degree in Early Childhood Education from Walden University. Currently, as a
kindergarten teacher I incorporate play into the curriculum whenever possible
which is difficult with the accountability push.
Through
this blog I hope to share what I know about play-based curriculum and learn
from others. Can you remember a time when you benefitted from play?
Let me
leave you with this quote from Plato:
“You
can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of
conversation.”
First of all, I love your picture! You are correct in bringing up the accountability issue when it comes to being able to incorporate play into the school day. No Child Left Behind has definitely pushed academics and left out play, which is unfortunate with the amount of research that has proven the power that play has for helping kids develop in all domains.
ReplyDeleteI remember as a child playing all the time; some of my fondest memories are from playing with my twin sister, cousins, and friends. We were always outside playing baseball, basketball, tag, riding bikes, climbing on monkey bars, etc. My twin and I also used to pretend play when we were little. We would play house and dress our cats up in doll clothes; we would then push them around in strollers like they were our babies.
Thanks for sharing Dixie, It sounds like you had a childhood. Sharon
ReplyDeleteSharon,
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts were very though-provoking. Thank you for sharing your personal experiences about how much you grew from playing. I also completely agree with your quote from Plato. I believe we can learn a lot from playing with a child as well as watching them play. The research has shown that some children with special needs experience difficulty with tasks such as pretend play and social interaction. By watching a child play we can see warning signs of diffferent developmental issues as well as determine at which stages they may be at in their lives developmentally. Do they continually place items in their mouths, do they only turn a toy over and over in their hand, do they boss their friends around or do they simply explore the different shapes and openings and ways to maniuplate a toy? I have noticed the importance of watching a child play but also asking a parent to describe the characteristics of their childs' play to me in my profession.
As a child I can remember dressing dolls with my younger sister and making pretend castles and houses with sheets over chairs. Those were some of the most enjoyable years of my life and I have to admit that I learned a lot from playing with her for hours and hours. I believe I learned the importance of taking care of others from play because I always enjoyed dressing my dolls, doing their hair, cooking for them and doing many other things. To this day I still enjoy taking care of people (specifically my clients and husband:)
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteThank you sharing the value of observing children in play. It is true we can learn from the simple at of observing.
You mentioned making castles and houses with sheets as a child that is one thing my daughter has commented on as I shared the blog with her. I was having fun with my children making the houses, little did I know the impact.
Sharon
Hi Sharon I love the picture. I use to have a Ragged Ann and Andy doll as a little girl. I agree you can learn a lot from a person through play. I tell my parents all the time I can tell what is going on at home by the interaction of play with their child. When I was younger I said I will never be a teacher because of some of the horrible teachers I had. I worked at a prison for three years and saw young children entering the prison system, I said this can not happen anymore. Long story short I have been a teacher for over 17 years now.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog and personal experience narrative regarding the importance of play! I taught kindergarten for an NCaeyc accredited kindergarten program for ten years. I commend your philosophical understanding of the importance of play in the kindergarten classroom! I would enjoy hearing your viewpoints on the new Kindergarten Common Core standards?
Debi LaVine
Garner, North Carolina
Hi Debi,
DeleteI believe the Kindergarten Common Core standards are a method for standardizing curriculum across the United States and this can be helpful. I just hope educators use the standards as a guide for developing lessons that are developmentally appropriate and not push pencil paper tasks if the children are not developmentally ready. Due to prekindergarten, day care and stay at home children there is a wide variety of levels within one classroom ranging from no letter/sound knowledge to acquisition of all 26 letter/sound knowledge. Thus the need for grouping children and working from their knowledge base. The standards lay the foundation for guiding lessons.
Sharon Lloyd
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteYour comment is well stated. I agree on all points! Developmentally appropriate lesson planning is key to the successful learning, and teaching of the common core.
Thanks for your post!
Debi