Outdoor play is a priority for our family. I consider outdoor play more important than formal schooling for toddlers and preschoolers.
A few weeks ago, I made a controversial statement on The Golden Gleam's Facebook page. Basically, I was upset that the United States is moving towards universal preschool yet I am discouraged that I don't see many preschoolers playing in our parks and playgrounds.
I lost a lot of fans by making that statement. Understandably, those who work in preschools or send their children to public preschool have a right to feel offended by it.
I am not against preschools or preschool teachers.
I am against keeping our youngest children indoors for hours at at time, almost every day of the week.
I am against preschools not considering unstructured outdoor play as a pivotal part of their preschools' curriculum.
I am against the idea that parents are encouraged to think that academic learning is more important than unstructured play for our youngest children.
This is what I view as the troubling norm. Sure, there are wonderful exceptions, but it seems more and more people don't understand the vital importance of free play in our preschoolers lives.
And why am I against the trend of prioritizing academics in preschool over unstructured play?
I am against these things because they are unnecessary.
It is more likely our children will develop the behavioral habit of self discipline that is needed for academic success if they have plenty of time for outdoor free play.
Wait, what about the academics? How will they succeed without becoming academically prepared for kindergarten?
First off, it doesn't take hours a day to teach a child the basics for kindergarten readiness. If it is taking hours a day, the child probably isn't developmentally ready to learn those concepts yet.
Most importantly, if children don't have the self discipline needed for school, they won't be able to learn.
How do I know this? As a former elementary school teacher in the inner city, it was much easier to teach a student who knew how to behave in school versus children who were unable to make good choices about following school rules.
Sometimes children behaved so poorly they disrupted other children from learning. It wasn't the lack of academic preparation that made teaching difficult. It was a child's inability to manage his own behavior.
I believe success in school has everything to do with self discipline.
And the best way for our preschool children to learn how to control their own behavior is by making unstructured outdoor play a part of the daily schedule. At least an hour a day, hours a day would be better.
At the next Outdoor Play Party, I will be sharing how my children are developing positive behavioral habits like self discipline by playing outdoors.
I invite you to make unstructured outdoor play a priority for your family. Don't worry, they will develop the behavioral skills they need to succeed in school with unstructured outdoor play.
Featured Outdoor Play Party Posts about Free Play
Free Play with Grandma by Like Mama Like Daughter
When You Take Your Kids Outside by Curly Birds
Adventures Outdoors by Mummy Mishaps
Children Can Fly Too by Flights of Whimsy
Now, it's your turn to share how your children having been playing outside.
26 comments:
Brilliant post Rebekah. I know exactly what you meant & I actually agree 100% there is no point in all young children attending preschool if it of a poor quality or far too sedentary. Just this week I had a parent with a child with SPD tell me how vital our whole outdoor set up has been for her child. Her OT actually siad, she needed no therapy this year because she was getting all she needed in the playground. As a teacher this is heartening to hear as I'm not one for foloowing an academic curriculum. I know they will be taught all that in the next stage. Love, this post & off to share it far & wide. xx
I agree with a lot of your comments above, I didn't see the statement you mentioned but will go find it.
Teaching parents how to play and connect with their children and the world around them during these early developmental years would foster a closer bond but instead parents are left feel inadequate at providing for their children's needs, which I think is so sad.
I am so with you on this. Outdoor play carries on being important along side academic work and with it as children grow up too.
I've read and commented on your FB posts already. I think that too much stress is placed on academics prior to entering elementary school. In my opinion, as a pre-k teacher, children need to be emotionally, socially, and developmentally before entering kindergarten. Those areas are so much more important than academic readiness when it comes to getting ready to start kindergarten!
Great post Rebekah. I couldn't agree more...unstructured outdoor and indoor play is so important for our children. Well said.
Well it goes without saying that I love this post Rebekah, and all I have to say is hear hear!
As a Montessori teacher and parent, I agree that both structured activities and unstructured play both have value. I don't see them as opposites but as two very important parts of a whole. Just for that awesome "controversial" post, you gained my "like" on FB! :)
I'm nodding!
I completely agree with you! As a homeschooling family (the oldest is in K) it only takes 2 hours tops to do all our formal schooling. The rest of our day is dedicated to indoor play, art, outdoor exploring/play, music, etc. which is how I remember K being 20 years ago.
I loved this. I am a preschool teacher and a grandmother of a 2 year old and I believe playing outside and unstructured play is so important. The preschool dept I work for is being pressured into going from play-based learning to spending more time on worksheets. I hate this idea. My granddaughter is learning so much more at home playing, digging, running, planting, painting, etc.
I hear you. Pre-school was very important in both of my kids' lives but we chose a play-based program. I purposely avoided "academic-based" programs. The school had lots of center-play and outside play which I loved. They did learn their letters and to write their name but it was secondary to developing social skills. That was the environment that worked for my kids. I wish that our elementary schools had more outside time, as well. I also think that different children respond to different stimuli. My daughter really needed more structure than I was able to give her. Preschool provided her things that I couldn't. She thrived in that environment in a different way than my son. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I'm sorry that anyone felt the need to slam you for expressing your views.
Traci
I agree! My kids are very lucky to go to a preschool where they have a lot of time for unstructured play - and we make time for even more unstructured play at home!
Love the photo for this post.
Amen sister! My 4 year old attends an exclusively outdoor preschool - that means 3.5 hours outside, and we live in Seattle. I consider us so blessed to have the opportunity.
That's why I love my daughter's playschool ... a key ingredient of her curriculum is unstructured outdoor free play :)
Great post - so agree with you.
Under-5s learn so much more from play than they do from sitting down because they are hard wired to explore and discover at that age - Alice x
As a mother and preschool teacher I say,
Right On!!!!
@Kierna C So great to hear the support from a preschool teacher. I worried about posting this since I did seem to upset them on facebook before.
How wonderful for that student of your's and the family. I have a strong suspicion my oldest had sensory issues as a baby and toddler and one of the few times she would be calm and happy at that age was when she was outside. The outdoors is so beneficial to our kids health and well being.
@Nanette What a profound statement, Nanette. Yes, more parents need to feel and be supported in raising their kids. A parents love and nurturing and the home environment is more than adequate for our youngest children. I wish more people understood this.
@Coombe Mill Yes, it is shame that outdoor play is vanishing in our older children's lives too. My kindergartener (5 year old) only gets about a half an hour of outdoor play during school hours. Thankfully, I try to make up for it when we come home.
@Mary Catherine Agreed! And those skills are so much more challenging to learn too. Most kids will catch on to academics but social skills is forgotten as part of the curriculum and really shameful it is being pushed out of preschool education.
@Jen Farr Yes, indoor and outdoor free play is so important. Not many people live in climates like our's where you can spend a lot of time outdoors year round.
@jenny Thank you, Jenny!
I was reading and saying YES with each statement. And then pleasantly surprised to see you featured one of our posts! Thanks!!
And thanks for sharing! Please join us again this week at Eco-Kids Tuesday! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/2013/03/nifty-thrifting-at-eco-kids-tuesday.html
Really looking forward to your next post about self discipline and the outdoors.
Well, if you lost fans on facebook because of that post, here's one Mama that BECAME your fan and follower, just based on this one post! I could not agree with you more!
Have you read "Last Child in the Woods?" I just finished it; it's a fantastic book covering the amazing things nature does for children (effective treatment for ADHD and depression, anyone?) You should really check it out.
I completely agree with you about the importance of unstructured play for a child. Academic success is actually built upon it, which most people cannot seem to grasp. I'm not so sure what I think about the need for it to be outdoors, though. I'll have to think about it some more. I do agree that it's important for kids to get outdoors to be in nature. And the earth is a much more forgiving surface to fall on than floors or concrete!
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