Let's PLAY!!!

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning....They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.”            Fred Rogers

     I think that play is very important in the lives of young children. I didn’t know that children actually are learning while they are playing. All I know is that the more children play, the more frustrated their parents will be. Parents nowadays emphasize more on the academic area whereby they believe that they sent their children to kindergarten to learn to write and to read. They want their children to score all A’s starting from kindergarten all the way to college/universities. Therefore, parents search for academic-based kindergarten rather than play-based kindergarten. I think that parents should change their mindset and be open-minded. Parents should let their children play as much as possible because play is where children make sense of the world around them. You might think that what can they learn just by playing some blocks or Legos? Or maybe just playing with ruler that they found on the table? Well, what youdon’t know is that just playing with blocks, children learn about problem-solving as in how to build the tallest tower without making them fall, they learn about cause and effect when they put a small block to be the base of the tower, the tower will fall. Children are able to use or enhance their imagination just playing with a ruler, they imagine the ruler is an airplane and it can even be a car. Parents should always encourage their children to play whether it’s in school or at home. In fact, parents should provide different kinds of materials or toys for their children to explore and play.

  

     As a matter of fact, parents should play together with their children. Playing together as a family can promote a stronger bond and a better relationship among family members. It’s a healthy interaction and good clean fun to be enjoyed together. I wished that my parents could have played with me when I was young, I could imagine how fun was that. Even just playing blocks together, playing charade or just by washing car together, it definitely will be so much fun and the bonding between each other will be so unbelievable. By playing as a family, children can learn self-esteem, confidence, leadership, teamwork, cooperation, and so much more which they can carry into their growing years. All I’m saying that play is important! No matter what children are playing, how they are playing, where they are playing, when they are playing, and who they are playing with, as long as they are playing. Play is magical for young children!


                                                      Crystal Hislop