Play Time

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/garden/06play.html

Kids need to play in order to learn. I can say that my hosue is a pigsty, due to my daughter's constant desire to play 'let's pretend' and stuff like that. She does some stealth recon mission to acquire a mixing bowl and a large spoon, cuts up scraps of paper and mixes them in the bowl, pours the confetti onto a paper plate and hands it to me with a big grin, "I made dinner for you daddy!"

Then she'll run off and kill imaginary bad guys with a toy gun she made out of Duplo blocks, while wearing a princess dress.

Yeah, she's just a tad random. I only wish she would pick up after herself.

Any thoughts on children and proper playtime behaviors and settings, as related to learning and development?

Probably normal pretend. If you wanted advice on games, I'd suggest puzzle games.

I think she's normal, actually. She likes puzzles, and they often pull double duty as pretend cookeis, too.

I can't believe the question of how much a child needs to play has to be asked, much less why there needs to be a "movement" to bring back playtime. The entire thing is shameful.

Kids need to play. They're kids. That's what kids do. They need to make messes, exasperate their parents by coloring on things they really shouldn't, scoot around on the floor in a sleeping bag pretending they're a catepillar, etc.

Echoing the article where it mentions kindergarten: When I was in kindergarten it was toys, toys, learn to tie our shoes, let's see if we can figure out how to read "apple", color a while, Red Rover, gather around and pat the back of the kid who fell over and skinned their knee, learn to tie our shoes again because we forgot already, toys. For half a day.

When I was subbing it was... shit... full day of, and I quote, "keeping the kids working so they don't have time to horse around". Most miserable, confused little things you ever did see. They were like puppies who had been scolded for no reason.

edited 6th Jan '11 1:18:28 PM by Bur

Ah, good memories of the PVC building set and giant waxed-cardboard blocks my kindergarten had. Sometimes trips to the park across the street.

Not only do people need to get the stick out of their ass about children playing, a lot of adults could do with a shot of it too.

edited 6th Jan '11 1:33:24 PM by Pykrete

I miss those big cardboard blocks, man. They make couch cushion forts look awesome.

Bur, I know how you feel. My wife did some preschooling stuff for awhile, and is a strong believer in letting kids run loose, with just enough parental guidance that they don't set the house on fire, more or less. They had the preschool stocked with loads and loads of toys, puzzles and a sandpit. She liked working there. I was starting to think that we were giving our daughter too much leeway to do things, but after reading the article, I was pleasantly surprised that it's healthy to do so. I'm more strict with her than the wife is, though, she keeps having to gently remind me that "she's fine, let her be".

My daughter is among one of the more creative and imaginitive kids in her age group in church, as she's not constrained by having to play with soldiers like they're soldiers, or having to follow pesky things like rules (which can bite her in the butt, if she isn't careful). I feel for the little boy who isn't allowed to TOUCH anything that is pink. Of course, there are parents that think my kid is too wild - wanting to crawl under the chairs to go exploring some little house she made up, or climbing the worlds biggest mountain (another chair) or fight imaginary bad guys, while their child sits still for four hours with a PSP.

My kindergarten produced the legendary pairing Lt. Cutter / Skipper at the behest of the one girl who didn't think it was gross. It involved a foothold situation in a dollhouse.

edited 6th Jan '11 1:45:59 PM by Pykrete

Perfectly normal, what's the problem?

Not a problem at all, it was awesome once the rest of us got over the cooties.

Which reminds me: I don't think I ever saw kids giving eachother cootie shots when I was subbing either.

WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO?!

Never heard of cootie shots, but my daughter will on occasion say stuff like "I don't like [X], it's for silly BOYS!"

Then she'll grab a toy gun and search for monsters to shoot.

...

Yeah, I don't get how her mind works, either.

Over here when I was on work placement with school I worked at a school for young children, and they just kept running into each other and asking me for help with maths and stuff. It was cute.

edited 6th Jan '11 1:57:58 PM by JosefBugman

I think my class was too scared of needles to even make-believe about cootie shots

We had this little ritual where we'd draw a circle with a finger on someone's arm, poke inside the circle with two fingers, and then poke it again with one. Then it was okay to touch/talk to/play with boys because they wouldn't give you cooties for the rest of the day/next hour/until you decided your cootie shot had worn off and freaked out.

Bur: Oh, I get it now... I recall some girls in elementary school doing stuff like that during recess. It took you reciting the proper procedure to toggle my memory.

circle circle dot dot now you have a cootie shot

Yet more proof that Memetic Mutation starts at a young age and is perfectly healthy.

Yes, that! I couldn't remember the little rhyme.

Cooties (or some variant of them) made my elementary and middle school years a waking nightmare.

Just sayin'.

During middle school my friends and I played pretend; one of them had power over all E. coli. Therefore, you are weird, Wicked. WEIRDO

All I remember from childhood that involved circles was "Press down A & B and you have more chance of catching a pokeymon".

Put your kids in daycare where they can make a mess/blow shit up that you don't have to clean up for. Yaaaaay

As little tolerance I have for lax parenting...

Ms. Rosker has also campaigned, although unsuccessfully, to bring recess to her son’s elementary school. But school officials were too worried about potential injuries, unruliness and valuable time lost from academic pursuits to sign on to her idea and, she was surprised to find, many parents were similarly reluctant. “They said: ‘I’m not going to sign that. I’m sure there is a good reason why this is good for our kids — our school has good test scores.

This is bullshit and just leads to dullard children.

edited 6th Jan '11 3:04:30 PM by Tsukubus

...no recess. And parents don't see why it might even be a good thing. And are citing fucking test scores and potential injuries from falling down.

   ಠ_ಠ   

What the fuck is wrong with people?!

edited 6th Jan '11 3:21:33 PM by Pykrete

^ People are listening more to idiots in the psychology field and the morons on school boards than their own parents and grandparents when it comes to raising kids anymore.

My middle school banned tag. Ya rly.