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Learning Through Play by Jan Hunt

"The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity
in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives."

- Albert Einstein
 

My son Jason, now a young adult, has been unschooled from the beginning - we were fortunate to have discovered John Holt's books when Jason was two, and never looked back. Jason was a very inquisitive child, who loved learning new words and playing with numbers. He had an extensive vocabulary by 18 months, understood the concept of infinity at 2, and taught himself squares and square roots at 3. In spite of all this, I still wondered if I should use a curriculum, especially for math. It was hard not to worry when taking a path that was so different from the one I had taken in childhood. It was also hard not to be affected by my parents' doubts, even though I understood the reasons for their skepticism.
When Jason was 7, he asked for a math book as his special holiday gift that year (we had recently read John Holt's glowing review of Harold Jacobs' book Mathematics: A Human Endeavor, in Growing Without Schooling). The book proved to be as wonderful as John Holt had said, and we enjoyed it a lot. But a few months later, I noticed that Jason hadn't looked at it for a while. I decided to suggest reading a chapter per week together. Fortunately, I was busy that day and didn't get around to asking him. That evening, Jason came up to me, book in hand, saying "Let's play math." My first thought was, "Whew, that was a close one." Had I made my offer, he probably would have accepted it, and even learned from it, but where would the concept of math as play have gone?
When Jason was 8, my neighbor, who also had an 8-year-old son, asked me if Jason knew the times tables, and when I said he did, she asked me how he had learned it. Her son had struggled for months, and still had trouble remembering the answers. He was frustrated and worried about his grades, but none of her ideas had helped. I explained that Jason learned everything in a very natural way, as needed. For example, his dad had brought home a dart board, just for fun, a few months back. Scoring a darts game involves both addition and multiplication, and because Jason wanted to be the scorekeeper, he learned all the number combinations used for darts (and later learned other combinations as he needed them), though the dartboard had not been purchased with that in mind, nor had we ever used the term "times tables".
Now, Jason can do math in his head, unlike me. Having memorized formulas, I can solve most math problems, but always on paper, and I rarely understand the concepts involved. Jason can not only do the math easily but really understands the whole process. If he happens to need a new mathematical tool, he can easily learn it. He needed to know about sines and cosines when he converted paintings into graphics for my children's book A Gift for Baby. He learned this quickly and easily from the Internet. I could only look back and remember how much time I had spent memorizing calculus formulas, and though I passed all the tests, I really hadn't learned anything. I didn't understand how the formulas actually worked, or how to use them in the real world.
Jason has learned much of what he knows through play, and has the same love of learning he was born with. He learned about money by playing Monopoly, about spelling by playing Scrabble, about strategies by playing chess, Clue, and video games, about our culture by watching classic and modern TV shows and films, about politics and government by watching "Yes, Minister", about grammar by playing Mad Libs, about fractions by cooking, about words by playing Dictionary, and writing skills by reading P. G. Wodehouse. He learns about life through living it. But all of this learning has taken place more incidentally than intentionally, as part of the larger business of living life freely and naturally.
During a recent newspaper interview for an article on unschooling, the reporter asked me which techniques unschoolers use that could be used by parents of children in school. I explained that unschooling isn't a technique; it's living and learning naturally, lovingly, and respectfully together. As my friend and unschooling parent Mary Van Doren once wrote:

Raising children with an emphasis on intrinsic rewards is not a technique, a method or a trick to get them to do what the parent wants them to by subtler means, but a way of life, a way of living with children with real respect for their intelligence and for their being.

I feel indebted to John Holt and other unschooling writers for encouraging me to trust Jason to know what he needed and wanted to learn and how to go about learning it. But my best teacher has always been my son. For parents who went to school, unschooling can be a challenge, but it is also our best opportunity to learn to trust our children's natural love of learning.  I have also discovered some great educational toys, pretend play toys, and great classic toys at The Imaginative Child.

Great Article on the Importance of Recess and Play

Position
The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education takes the position that recess is an essential component of education and that preschool and elementary school children must have the opportunity to participate in regular periods of active, free play with peers.
Recess

The term recess refers to a break during the day set aside to allow children the time for active, free play. Schools vary in the number of recess periods given children each day, the length of the periods, and the environments available. Typically, recess occurs outdoors and in a designated play area. During inclement weather, schools may have recess periods in a game room, gymnasium, or inside the classroom.

“Recess is the right of every child. Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights states that every child has the right to leisure time. Taking away recess, whether as a disciplinary measure or abolishing it in the name of work, infringes on that right.” [Skrupskelis, in Clements (2000), 126]

Benefits to children

During the period of time commonly referred to as recess, learning occurs in ways not possible inside the regular classroom. An increasing body of research continues to indicate the benefits of unstructured play and specifically outdoor play for young children.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) describes unstructured physical play as a developmentally appropriate outlet for reducing stress in children (Appendix 2). This period of time allows children the opportunity to make choices, plan, and expand their creativity.

In allowing a mental change and release of energy, recess may facilitate subsequent attention to more academic tasks and minimize disruptive behavior once students return to the classroom; recess, therefore, becomes an important element of classroom management and behavior guidance (Bogden & Vega-Matos, 2000).

Recess contributes significantly to the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive (intellectual) development of the young child (Clements, 2001). Recess is one of the few places and times during the day when all these developmental domains are utilized in a context that children view as meaningful. Children must function in all the developmental domains if they are to successfully adapt to school and societal norms. The domains are empirically related and should be considered intertwined. For example, social interaction and physical activity facilitate cognition; recess (indoor and outside) offers the opportunity for this development. On the playground, children can be observed actively practicing the learning and cognitive skills acquired in the classroom.

The benefits of recess in each of the specific developmental domains, as identified by current research, are outlined below. The division of the benefits into domains is only for evaluative purposes. All domains are interrelated as children develop.

• Social Development: Social development begins at birth and continues rapidly throughout the early childhood years. Research from the last ten years suggests strongly that close relationships with peers contribute to both social and cognitive development. Recess is that period of time during the school day that allows children the opportunity to interact with peers in ways not usually possible in the typical classroom.
  
  A wide range of social competencies – cooperation, sharing, language, conflict resolution – can be actively practiced, interpreted, and learned in a meaningful context during recess. Through active, free play and peer interaction, children can:
  • develop a respect for rules,
  • gain self-discipline, and
  • construct an appreciation for other people’s cultures and beliefs.

An important educational and socialization experience is lost when children are not allowed to participate in free play with peers on a regular basis.

• Emotional Development: Recess may act as an outlet for reducing anxiety and serve as a means by which children learn to manage stress and gain self-control. During recess play, children also learn the art of expressing themselves to others, and begin rehearsing behaviors and practicing skills. Children learn about their own abilities, perseverance, self-direction, responsibility, and self-acceptance. They begin to understand which behaviors result in approval or disapproval from their peers. During the primary years, children should begin to develop real friendships and relationships with peers. If children are not given the opportunity and the support to develop these interactions, they may not learn how to maintain and sustain such relationships. A positive social and working relationship with peers helps children develop a sense of social and emotional competence.
• Physical Development: Recess provides young children with opportunities to move and participate in physical activities. Two theories on why physical activity improves children’s attentiveness and decreases restlessness dominate the research: the surplus energy theory and the novelty theory (Jambor, 1994). The surplus energy theory cites recess as a means for children to release excess energy that has built up over time, while they have been sitting in a classroom. The novelty theory claims that on-task attention can be increased by providing opportunities for diversion from boredom. As indicated by current brain research, if students are given the chance to move around and be active, they return to the classroom more attentive and able to concentrate on the tasks presented. This change enables learning to take place more efficiently (Healy, 1998).
  
  Physical movement is essential for healthy growth and development. Recent surveys have discovered that 40% of our young children have significant cardiac risk factors including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and an inactive life style. Many children are not getting enough exercise to develop healthy hearts and lungs. Another cause for concern is obesity. In October, 1999, the Agriculture Department released a report that revealed a record 10 million American children – or one in five – are overweight, and that a record 8% of the children are already overweight by preschool age.
  
  Through active play, young children learn about their bodies’ capabilities and how to control their bodies. One of the most apparent benefits of recess is the opportunity for sheer physical activity and the practice of physical skills, such as running, climbing, jumping, chasing, traveling, batting, kicking, catching, balancing, hanging, swinging, stretching, pushing, and pulling.
  
  Physical activity fuels the brain with a better supply of blood and provides brain cells with a healthier supply of natural substances; these substances enhance brain growth and help the brain make a greater number of connections between neurons (Healy, 1998). The connections make the brain better able to process a variety of information, thus leading to improved retention of facts, a greater understanding of concepts, and subsequently higher achievement.
• Cognitive Development: There are volumes of recent research substantiating the link between play and cognitive gains. Children learn through play. Children develop intellectual constructs and cognitive understandings through the hands-on, manipulative, exploratory behavior that occurs during play episodes and play opportunities. Play context provides the most appropriate support or scaffolding for children as they develop skills. “Children can remember more, focus better, and regulate their own behavior better in play than in any other context” (Guddemi et al., p. 5). After children practice skills in play, they become ready to utilize these skills in other contexts (Bodrova & Leong, 1999).
  
  Providing opportunities for active, free play with peers facilitates the encoding and decoding of social signals. The mechanisms involved are every bit as cognitive as math seatwork (Bjorklund & Brown, 1998). With the recent hypothesis that domain-specific brain modules may have evolved to process social information, it could be intimated that some cognitive benefits are a direct consequence of some types of physical play.
  
  Examples of content areas that can be explored in context outdoors and on a playground include:
  • the natural elements: experiencing wind, dirt, water, seasons;
  • physics: using a see-saw, merry-go-round, swings;
  • architecture and design: building with natural materials;
  • math and numbers: counting, keeping score; and
  • language development: explaining, describing, articulating, seeking information, and making use of oral language/vocabulary/word power.

Special Thanks to The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education

Analysis: Christmas Gloom for China Toymakers as Orders Shrivel

Analysis: Christmas Gloom for China Toymakers as Orders Shrivel. June 23, 2011 — Many Chinese toymakers have seen a 5-10 percent fall in pre-orders for the 2011 holiday season.

The Importance of Pretend Play

Young children learn by imagining and doing. Have you ever watched your child pick up a stone and pretend it is a zooming car, or hop a Lego across the table as if it were a person or a bunny? Your child is using an object to represent something else while giving it action and motion. But this pretend play is not as simple as it may seem. The process of pretending builds skills in many essential developmental areas.

• Social and Emotional Skills
  When your child engages in pretend (or dramatic) play, he is actively experimenting with the social and emotional roles of life. Through cooperative play, he learns how to take turns, share responsibility, and creatively problem-solve. When your child pretends to be different characters, he has the experience of "walking in someone else's shoes," which helps teach the important moral development skill of empathy. It is normal for young children to see the world from their own egocentric point of view, but through maturation and cooperative play, your child will begin to understand the feelings of others. Your child also builds self-esteem when he discovers he can be anything just by pretending!
• Language Skills
  Have you ever listened in as your child engages in imaginary play with his toys or friends? You will probably hear some words and phrases you never thought he knew! In fact, we often hear our own words reflected in the play of children. Kids can do a perfect imitation of mom, dad, and the teacher! Pretend play helps your child understand the power of language. In addition, by pretend playing with others, he learns that words give him the means to reenact a story or organize play. This process helps your child to make the connection between spoken and written language — a skill that will later help him learn to read.
• Thinking Skills
  Pretend play provides your child with a variety of problems to solve. Whether it's two children wanting to play the same role or searching for the just right material to make a roof for the playhouse, your child calls upon important cognitive thinking skills that he will use in every aspect of his life, now and forever.
  
  Does your child enjoy a bit of roughhousing? Great! Some researchers in early brain development believe that this sort of play helps develop the part of the brain (the frontal lobe) that regulates behavior. So instead of worrying that this type of activity will encourage your child to act out or become too aggressive, be assured that within a monitored situation, roughhouse play can actually help your child learn the self-regulation skills needed to know how and when this type of play is appropriate.
• Nurturing the Imagination
  Not enough pretend play at your house? Consider creating a prop box or corner filled with objects to spark your preschooler's fantasy world. You might include:
  • Large plastic crates, cardboard blocks, or a large, empty box for creating a "home"
  • Old clothes, shoes, backpacks, hats
  • Old telephones, phone books, magazines
  • Cooking utensils, dishes, plastic food containers, table napkins, silk flowers
  • Stuffed animals and dolls of all sizes
  • Fabric pieces, blankets, or old sheets for making costumes or a fort
  • Theme-appropriate materials such as postcards, used plane tickets, foreign coins, and photos for a pretend vacation trip
  • Writing materials for taking phone messages, leaving notes, and making shopping lists

LEGO Company Has Been Around Since the 1930s

The LEGO Group is based in Billund, Denmark, where it began. The modern LEGO company was founded in 1932 by the Kirk Kristiansen family. The business originally manufactured stepladders, ironing boards, stools and wooden toys. The company name comes from the Danish words "leg godt," meaning "play well." Later, the company realized that the word in Latin means "I put together."
In 1947, LEGO bought a plastic injection-molding machine for toy production. Among 200 other plastic toys, LEGO began building Automatic Binding Bricks, the forerunner of modern-day LEGOs. The LEGO System of Play was launched in 1955, and the first export of LEGO bricks was to nearby Sweden. It was not successful.
In 1960, the wooden toy warehouse was destroyed by fire, and wooden toys were discontinued entirely by the company. The next year, LEGO sets were first sold in the United States and Canada, licensed to Samsonite Corp.
Today, the LEGO Group is the world's fifth-largest toy manufacturer. According to the company, more than seven LEGO sets are sold every second.

Famous buildings

LEGO makes it possible to own some of the world's great architecture without that messy upkeep and mortgage nonsense.
The company's Architecture series offers models of nine landmark buildings in build-it-yourself kits.
Fans of Frank Lloyd Wright can indulge themselves with a model of Fallingwater, which maintains many of its architectural features while reducing the house over the waterfall to a 10-inch width.
Other models offered include Dubai's signature 2,716.5-foot-tall Burj Khalifa skyscraper miniaturized to a 16-inch height, the White House and the Empire State Building. Coming in July is Mies van der Rohe's minimalist glass and concrete Farnsworth House.  Each kit comes with a booklet offering information on the architect and the history and construction of the building. Depending on their complexity, the models are designed for children 10 or older plus their adult counterparts.

On to space

Those who live in households with LEGO lovers find the versatile blocks everywhere -- in the shag rug, in the laundry and even in the flower beds.
Now, through a partnership between NASA and the LEGO Group, they've turned up in outer space.
In May, the space shuttle Endeavor took LEGO kits on its final trip as part of LEGO's Bricks in Space program.
The astronauts were filmed using the kits to build models as a way to show kids the effect of microgravity on how simple machines work. To save time, the models astronauts constructed were partially assembled on Earth.
It's part of a joint outreach and educational program to inspire children to explore science, technology, engineering and math. The in-class portion of the LEGO Bricks in Space project will be available to educators starting in September.
Astronauts also were supplied with clear plastic boxes that allowed them to complete the project without having the blocks float about the spacecraft -- a convenience some Earth-bound parents might wish for.

Movie Stars

From ambitious re-creations of "Star Wars" movies to animations of Eddie Izzard monologues, LEGOs are stars on YouTube.
There also are looks at large LEGO projects, but the winners of the LEGO Academy Awards -- if they existed -- would be the film takeoffs.
"The Fastest and Funniest LEGOs Star Wars Film Ever Told," for instance, features a child's voice telling the basic story of the original "Star Wars" film over a LEGOs-constructed production with Han Solo space ships, a Death Star, and places such as Tatooine.
And it does all of that in a little more than two minutes with an electronic takeoff on John Williams' music.
But you can't stop there, because "Star Wars" LEGO films don't. Izzard does a piece about Darth Vader going to the cafeteria in the Death Star and having a hard time convincing the lunch worker he is more important than the head of catering. The LEGO characters seem perfectly suitable for Izzard's rambling style.
There are plenty of LEGO Goes to the Movies failures, though. "LEGO Detective," "LEGO Mission: Impossible"and "LEGO Secret Agent" don't quite make it.

Going Virtual

LEGOs have gone virtual with several choices of video games including "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Harry Potter," "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones" and "Batman."
"The Pirates of the Caribbean" game brings Jack Sparrow and other familiar characters to life and incorporates storylines, locations and characters from all four films, including the most recent. In LEGO Harry Potter, explore Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learn spells, brew potions and relive the adventures of the book and film series.
There's also a choice where you can play Batman and his sidekick, Robin, as you build, drive, swing and fight your way through Gotham City capturing escaped villains including the Joker, Penguin and Scarecrow. Then, jump into the story from the other side and play as Batman's foes.

Be sure to visit our toy store at http://www.imaginativechild.com/ and get the best prices on LEGO toys.

Choosing Wood Toys for Your Little Ones

Hi Everyone, Jesse here and I found this great guide for parents on choosing Wood Toys for your son or daughter.  Wood toys offer so many great benefits: durability, quality and safety.  We encourage each of you to visit The Imaginative Child and find the best wood toys on the market today.

Wooden peg puzzles, which are basically wood jigsaw puzzles with pegs or knobs on top of each puzzle pieces, are classic wooden puzzles. They are usually 1-piece puzzles, which mean there is only one piece per picture. One wooden peg puzzle can contain a few puzzle pieces.
For the littlest toddlers - around 12-24 months, get wooden peg puzzles which have pictures on the board which correspond to the pictures at the jigsaw puzzle pieces. This way, your toddler's job is just to match the pictures at the base of the hole with the ones on puzzle pieces, and then put the pieces back in the correct holes.
Hence, wooden peg puzzles are ideal starter puzzles which will enhance your toddler's picture matching ability, as well as fine motor skills.
You can see a decent selection of wooden peg puzzles made by Melissa and Doug here.

Once your toddlers are expert in completing wooden peg puzzles, it's time to move to wooden jigsaw puzzles which will not only challenge your toddler's fine motor skill, but also shape recognition ability and logic.
To increase your toddler's fine motor skills ability you need to get toddler wooden puzzles with no peg. Melissa & Doug makes wooden sound puzzles with no knobs or pegs which are ideal for toddlers this age.
When your toddler is ready for more challenge, get kid wooden puzzles which have no peg and no pictures at the base of the puzzle holes. This way, you challenge your toddler's fine motor skills and at the same time increase your toddler's shape recognition ability.
Magnetic wooden puzzle made by Melissa & Doug can be used to get your toddler to match shape of the hole and puzzle pieces. These magnetic puzzles are also good to enhance your toddler's fine motor skills because your toddlers are expected to take out and put back the magnetic puzzle pieces using either a tow, a bug catcher net or a fishing pole which come with the puzzles.