In a school, just like an office, there can sometimes be a pecking order. When it comes to the teachers, the kindergarten teacher is somewhat separate. After all, the kids in kindergarten Play! The kindergarten teachers have to strongly resist efforts to turn kindergarten into Boot Camp for Grade 1. But we know that Play is the most valuable activity of all. In fact, it is so important that it is recognized by the United Nations as the right of every child. Play is critical for healthy brain development because it is how children interact with the world. To be prepared for school, children need lots of different kinds of play. Active, imaginative, organized, child-directed, structured, unstructured and creative amd more.
Here are some ways to play with your child throughout the day. In the kitchen, put some water in the sink and let your little ones play with some plastic containers and spoons. Older kids can check out what floats or sinks or pretend they are sea creatures or pirates. Do you have some empty boxes to stack and play with? What can you build: a castle, a store, a boat, a spaceship? Little ones are happy building up and toppling over. Add some dress-up clothes for more imagining. Pretending robots can turn housework to houseplay. Outside too: jump, hop, run, skip, or play with a ball.
As George Bernard Shaw said, “We don’t quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing.”