Throughout 2011, bullying has been on the rise at all levels of education. In an effort to combat this growing problem, the nation’s leading preschool, The Goddard School^®, is reaching out with a renewed vigor to help families discover the benefits of playful learning in early childhood education and how it can help prevent bullying. With their proprietary FLEX™ Learning Program, designed to build children’s self-confidence through play, The Goddard School hopes to break the cycle of bullying and halt a national trend.

According to Dr. Kyle Pruett, child psychiatrist, published author and advisor to The Goddard School, the success and enjoyment that preschool children experience through playful learning contributes to the development of self-confidence. Confidence, along with strong parenting and learning to interact in a social group, are important factors in helping children manage bullying.

“Confidence comes from competence, and there’s no better way for a child to discover competence than through play-based learning,” said Pruett. “When children learn through play, they become independent thinkers capable of solving problems themselves instead of seeking help from parents or teachers. That’s a huge self-confidence booster.”

“The children in our schools are the leaders of tomorrow,” added Sue Adair, Director of Education at Goddard Systems, Inc., parent company of The Goddard School. “Our teachers nurture each child’s self-confidence and foster their lifelong love of learning by incorporating teacher-planned and child-directed learning activities into each day. When children enjoy learning, they gain not only knowledge of the task or concept but a sense of personal accomplishment that prepares them for a successful journey through life.”

“Goddard Schools across the nation are hosting the Goddard Community Games on February 11, and all of the families are invited,” added Adair.  “There will be a variety of activities for children and their parents, and the focus will be on learning about playing well with others and accepting each other’s differences.”

Visit The Goddard School online at www.goddardschool.com/games.

To grown-ups, these are some of the daily tasks that just have to get done. However, to a child, it’s a chance to role-play or imitate grown-ups. Children who participate in family activities at a young age may even feel an added sense of accomplishment, greater self-confidence and greater sense of value within their family.

Here are a few ideas for including your child (while supervised and/or as developmentally appropriate) in daily chores:

• Matching socks—also great for learning colors, comparing, etc.!
• Carrying in the mail (add an occasional letter or postcard for your child for extra fun)
• Setting the dinner table
• Clearing their own plastic dishes and utensils after mealtime
• Helping to pack lunches into lunchboxes
• Dusting
• Watering the plants
• Selecting their outfit for the next day
• Filling a beloved pet’s water bowl
• Vacuuming

How do your children participate in family chores?

Like a scavenger hunt, create clues that will send the treasure hunters from one hint to the next, eventually ending at the “buried” treasure! Have fun and be creative when writing your clues—use riddles or rhymes—but don’t make them too hard for young children to figure out quickly.

Once you’ve created your clues, set up your landmarks for the treasure hunt. You could use stuffed animals and pretend they’re “wild dingos,” build a totem pole out of empty boxes or fill a small kiddie pool with sand (outside, of course) and encourage the children to dig for their next hint. The possibilities are endless! Be sure to set boundaries, and keep all landmarks and treasure chest within your home or backyard where you can easily supervise.

Cardboard treasure chests can be found in most party stores, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you could make one using a few supplies from your local craft store.

Are you shopping for a preschool-aged child this holiday season? Look no further! Children and educators from select Goddard Schools–leaders in early childhood education–have announced their top toy picks for infants through children six years old for the 2011 holiday shopping season. The Goddard School^® Toy Test is the only national toy test designed exclusively for children in the preschool age range.

The Goddard School is dedicated to providing an environment where teachers support the nurturing and learning children want and need. It is with this focus that Goddard Systems, Inc., named the number one childcare franchise company for the tenth year in a row by Entrepreneur magazine, has released its fourth annual list of top toy finalists.

After a national call for submissions, Goddard School educators and children evaluated entrants based on a number of criteria, including:

• Interactive, child-initiated play focus
• Creative, social or engaging
• Appropriate for infants through children six years of age

“Goddard Schools are recognized nationally for our learning through play philosophy and our play-based FLEX^™ Learning Program, which focuses on the value of playful learning,” said Sue Adair, Director of Education at Goddard Systems, Inc. “We feel that our Top 10 Toys list will serve as a great resource for parents, grandparents and other family members as they enter the gift-giving season.”

Top 10 Preschooler-Approved Toys (in alphabetical order):

Animal Sounds Hay Ride (Learning Curve)

A fun tractor and hay wagon ride with farmer and animal figures. The figures are removable, with a bonus application of matching the animal figure to an image within the hay wagons to be rewarded with the correct animal sound.

(Suggested Age Range: 18 months & up) 

Bristle Block® Stackadoos® (B. Toys by Battat)

Chunky, soft pieces are easy to connect and feel good in little hands. A booklet filled with building ideas keeps the fun going.

(Suggested Age Range: 2 to 6 years)

Citiblocs Camouflage 100 Piece Set (CitiBlocs)

Eco-friendly; builds strength in little fingers and improves eye-hand coordination. Learn and practice math skills by grouping, adding, subtracting, matching and sequencing in a new camo color design.

(Suggested Age Range: 3 years & up) 

Citiblocs Little Builders Rattle Blocs (CitiBlocs)

Eco-friendly; builds strength in little fingers and improves eye-hand coordination. Practice fine motor skills, problem solving, imagination and experimentation. A great first block set for children!

(Suggested Age Range: 2 years & up)

Count Your Chickens!™ board game (Peaceable Kingdom)

The perfect ‘first’ board game for children. Cooperative games emphasize play and not competition. 100% Green.

(Suggested Age Range: 3 years & up)

Elemenosqueeze (B. Toys by Battat)

Chew on them, toss them in the tub, learn the alphabet, build your masterpiece. Keeps children busy for years! Or at least minutes. Rich colors inspired by the toymaker’s international heritage.

(Suggested Age Range: 6 months to 3 years)

Hoot Owl Hoot! ™ board game (Peaceable Kingdom)

A color-coded cooperative matching game. Cooperative games emphasize play and not competition. 100% Green.

(Suggested Age Range: 4 years & up) 

Little Shopper Playset (Earlyears)

6-piece playset is full of activities. Each food features a different texture plus crinkles, jingles or chimes. Perfect for fill and spill and take along fun.

(Suggested Age Range: 6 months & up) 

Sassy® Sensory Ball Set (Sassy)

Sassy’s Oppenheim Award-winning sensory ball set comes with 3 balls, each featuring high-contrast patterns, graspable areas, textures or noisemakers for play and sensory development.

(Suggested Age Range: 3 months & up) 

Soft Chime Garden (Lamaze)

Colorful and musical textured flowers encourage baby to reach, tug and bat, developing hand-eye coordination and teaches cause and effect. Also straps to car seats and strollers.

(Suggested Age Range: 6 months & up) 

For more information on the Top 10 Preschooler-Approved Toys, visit www.goddardschools.com/toys. To learn more about The Goddard School, families are encouraged to visit www.goddardschool.com or call 1-800-GODDARD.

The Goddard School believes in the power of play for learning, as well as the importance of providing a healthy, active lifestyle for all children. In an effort to spread the word to families in their community, the educational preschools will sponsor The Goddard School Block Party event from Monday, September 19 through Saturday, September 24, 2011. The event will engage children and their families in a variety of exciting fitness, nutrition and playful learning activities based on the core curriculum and enrichment programs that are an integral part of the FLEX^™ Learning Program offered at The Goddard School.

In addition to The Goddard School Block Party event taking place in our Schools, Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI), franchisor of The Goddard School, is the exclusive preschool sponsor of Play for Tomorrow’s Ultimate Block Party: The Arts and Sciences of Play, a powerful global movement designed to recognize and celebrate the power of play for learning. The Ultimate Block Party will take place Sunday, October 2nd, at Rash Field in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore, MD and will feature an amazing day of play for families and children, designed to bring playful learning back to the forefront. At the event, GSI and the Baltimore-area Goddard Schools will host the Let’s Play Café. Children will enjoy manipulating play dough, shopping at a pretend farmer’s market and participating in a series of engaging pretend restaurant activities while learning about nutrition, counting, sorting and other important lessons through play.

To gear up for the big celebrations, Sue Adair, director of education at GSI, offers five tips for parents to help their children partake in healthy activities:

• Make it into a game. Create a game out of everyday tasks such as chores, cleaning and gardening. Think outside the box to create activities that are active and stimulate the mind. Play helps children learn to solve problems, promotes flexibility and motivation, teaches regulation of emotions and builds resilience and confidence.

• Get outside. Preschoolers need plenty of time and space to run around and play.  Taking your child to a playground or park is a great way to release energy and exercise! Play outside with your child and teach hand-eye coordination by showing the basics of throwing, catching and kicking a large, soft ball.

• Add music to the activity. Play “Statues” by playing up-tempo music.  Have your child move while the music is playing and freeze into a statue when you pause the music.  Encourage creative dancing.

• Be active with your children. Support young toddlers’ mastery of walking by allowing them to be active!  Play with them as they learn to run, hop, dance and throw.  Have them chase bubbles or invent a silly walk — play becomes exercise.  Remember to provide encouragement to your child as they build self-confidence.

• Get active inside, too. When weather interferes, get out the large balls, exercise mats and Twister^® games, or do some stretching and balancing exercises together. Limit TV, video game and computer time to encourage your children to become active.

“Focusing your child’s physical fitness on fun activities will increase your child’s ability to move with confidence and competence,” Adair said.  “At The Goddard School, we also work closely with our families to help guide healthy activities, because exercise increases overall metabolism; builds a healthy heart and lungs, strong bones and muscles; and improves coordination, balance, posture and flexibility.“

To learn more about The Goddard School Block Party and The Goddard, parents are encouraged to visit www.goddardschool.com/blockparty or call 1-800-GODDARD.

For the second year in a row, Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI), franchisor of The Goddard School, is the exclusive preschool sponsor of Play for Tomorrow’s Ultimate Block Party: The Arts and Sciences of Play, a powerful global movement designed to recognize and celebrate the power of play for learning. In addition to The Goddard School Block Party event taking place in our Schools, GSI will participate in the Ultimate Block Party (UBP) on Sunday, October 2nd, at Rash Field in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore, MD. The UBP will feature an amazing day of play for families and children, designed to bring playful learning back to the forefront. At the event, GSI and the Baltimore-area Goddard Schools will host the Let’s Play Café. Children will enjoy manipulating play dough, shopping at a pretend farmer’s market and participating in a series of engaging pretend restaurant activities while learning about nutrition, counting, sorting and other important lessons through play.

To gear up for the big celebrations, Sue Adair, Director of Education at GSI, offers five tips for parents to help their children develop healthy learning habits:

• Encourage play. Playing alone and with others not only builds brain development, it also helps children develop social skills and a sense of ethics. The most effective play is free of evaluation and correction (after all, throwing a ball shouldn’t be “right” or “wrong”), while promoting autonomy.

• Play together. In addition to their ABCs and 123s, preschool children are learning and developing life skills that will shape who they grow into as adults.  One of these building blocks is learning to play well with others and accepting one another’s differences.

• Get adequate sleep and proper nutrition. Your child will do their best if they get to sleep early and eat a healthy breakfast each day before school. A daily diet of junk food is not compatible with learning. It can cause listlessness and hyperactivity, which can impair a child’s ability to learn. Skipping breakfast, especially, is a detriment to a child’s education.

• Continue year-long education. Routine provides structure, which is often lacking during the summer months when children all too quickly become detached from the lessons they learned throughout the school year.  Maintaining a schedule throughout the summer supports an environment that is less of a contrast to the classroom and provides a healthy balance between building skills, play and rest.

• Turn off the screens. The American Academy of Pediatrics urges parents to avoid television and other electronic media for children two years of age and younger. Time spent in front of a computer, TV, video game or other similar devices can interfere with schoolwork, physical activity, curious exploration, social interaction and play.

“Play is the natural way to learn. It helps children learn to solve problems, promotes flexibility and motivation, teaches regulation of emotions and builds resilience and confidence,” says Adair. “It is also essential to the development of the child’s brain, forming the basis of healthy cognitive function and mastery of the child’s physical world.”

To learn more about The Goddard School Block Party and The Goddard School, parents are encouraged to visit www.goddardschool.com/blockparty or call 1-800-GODDARD.

Start by creating a space in your living room or play room that can be used as the “beach.” Have your child wear their best beach outfit, complete with flip flops and sunglasses, and lay beach towels on the floor. If you have beach balls or other beach-related decorations, bring them out to add to the fun.

During their day at the “beach,” encourage your child to use their imagination to pretend they’re swimming, surfing in the waves, or the lifeguard watching over all the swimmers. Read your child’s favorite beach-related books together, eat lunch picnic-style on your beach towels, play a game of beach ball catch and even take a nap on the “beach.”

Zoo or Aquarium

Zoos and aquariums introduce children to thousands of new animals and species. The majority of zoos and aquariums use creative ways to involve young children in what is usually considered a ‘look-but-don’t-touch’ environment.

• Opportunities to pet and feed the animals will allow your child to explore and discover in a hands-on way. Children may or may not recall something that is told to them, but if you allow them to do it and touch it, it will make a lasting impression.
• Make sure the zoo or aquarium offers educational programs that target young children.
• Ensure that the zoo or aquarium has a strong commitment to safety, including several first aid stations and ample security.
• Visit the zoo or aquarium Web site before finalizing your trip to make sure that it will be an appropriate fit for your young child.
• If your child is a journal writer, encourage them to journal their experiences and feelings.

TIP Read a book about animals/aquatic life with your child before your zoo or aquarium visit – this helps build excitement about the upcoming trip. Providing children with a little background regarding animals they may experience may produce a higher probability of knowledge and experiential retention.

Beach or Lake

If you are near a beach or lake, make it a day! Children love to explore sand and water–let them play in it!

• Bring a plastic magnifying glass so your little trekker can become a geologist, analyzing the sand and shells.
• If the beach you are planning to visit has a bay area, or if you are visiting a lake, rent a canoe for an afternoon and take your child for an aquatic adventure. This is a great opportunity to teach your child the importance of water safety and aquatic life – always wear life jackets.
• It is imperative to re-apply your child’s sunscreen every two hours. Shade your child from extra rays and use an umbrella and hats.
• Maintain eye contact on your child at all times, regardless of the presence of lifeguards.
• Consider painting your seashell treasures when you get home. These personalized memories are wonderful gifts for grandparents, aunts and uncles.

TIP Bring a large make-up or powder brush (with talc) for an easy, pain-free way to remove sand before sunscreen application or at the end of the day.

Museum

Museums are a great attraction for family trips.  Children’s museums focus on learning through play, where children are encouraged to explore with their senses.

• Museums generally allow your little explorers to participate in activities such as working with fossils, climbing tree houses and even performing on a TV set or an opera house stage.
• Exploration centers, imagination factories, sensory stations and education-based play spaces are common attributes in many museums. Even your infant will enjoy learning.
• If it looks like a mini-supermarket, understand that to your toddler or preschooler it is a supermarket. Allow you little one to explore this environment as if it was a ‘research and development’ project.
• Does your museum display art? If it does, ask your child open-ended questions: What do you see? What colors did the artist use? How would you change this painting/sculpture?
• After your museum adventure, take a few moments with your child and draw or sculpt (with dough or clay) a memory.

TIP Allow your child to explore every facet of the museum. The museum’s design is based upon research in child development; even the ‘silliest’ activity may improve a developmental skill.

How do you and your family get silly together?

By Dr. Michele Borba

Okay folks, I’m concerned. Over the last few weeks I’ve been reviewing studies involving children and play. “Shocked” and “disturbed” are the two words that describe how I feel when reading those reports.

Every study reaches one sad conclusion: Good old-fashioned play is quickly becoming an endangered pastime for today’s plugged-in, over-scheduled kids.

Worse yet, play is not only disappearing from our homes and neighborhoods, but our schools as well. And this comes at the same time when reports show that stress is mounting to  new heights in our kids while their mental health has plummeted to a twenty-five year all-time low. A good old fashioned childhood of cloud-gazing, leaf-kicking, and hill rolling is disappearing to be replaced by screens, earplugs, flashcards and tutors.

Facts About Today’s Play-Deprived Kids

• Since the late 1970s there’s been a 25% drop in our children’s free play and a 50% drop in unstructured outdoor activities

• Since the late 1970s kids time in organized, adult-supervised sports have doubled and the number of minutes devoted each week to passive leisure, not including watching television, has increased from 30 minutes to more than three hours

• The average U.S. child is now “plugged-in” to some kind of digital device–not including cell phone and text–71/2 hours a day

The loss of play and even skepticism about its value may be partly due to a more competitive, “no-child left untested era” (don’t get me started on that one…), our increasingly hurried, quicker-pace life style, and the belief we have to schedule our kids with activity after activity to stretch those IQ points. Now Tiger Mom–and every media outlet our there appearing to quote her–is urging every so-called “Western” mom to halt those play dates and any child-chosen activity.

Whatever the reason, today’s kids are playing less and many experts–and the kids–are crying, “Foul!” and with good reason. Dozens of studies prove that play is not just a luxury but essential to our children’s healthy development.

12 Scientific Benefits of Play

We’ve always known that “kids and play” are just a natural combo. But new research also shows that letting kids engage in self-directed play has immense value for their social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth. Here are just a few of the proven scientific benefits of letting our kids get messy and doing something besides clicking those darn keypads and video controllers and paper and pencil tasks:

1. Play boosts children’s creativity and imagination. Play gives children the chance to invent, build, expand, explore and develop a whole different part of the brain.

2. Play stretches our children’s attention span. Playing outdoors just 30 minutes a day increases child’s ability to focus and pay attention.

3. Play and rough-housing boost boys’ problem solving abilities. The more elementary school-boys engaged in rough-housing, the better they scored on a test of social problem solving. (Don’t ya love that one!)

4. Play boosts self-confidence and self-regulation. Kids learn to become masters of their own destiny without an adult directing, pushing, managing or scheduling.

5. Play forges friendships, strengthens social competence and teaches social skills. Undirected play allows kids to learn how to work in groups, share, negotiate, communicate and develop core social skills they need not only now but for the rest of their lives.

6. Play helps kids learn to enjoy just being in their own company, entertain themselves and develop identity. Ease that guilt when your kid says, “I’m bored, Mom!”

7. Play reduces children’s anxiety and diminishes stress. A study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry shows that play is also critical for our children’s emotional health because it helps kids work through anxiety and reduce stress.

8. Play creates joyful memories of childhood. Come on, no kid is going to remember the car pools and worksheets but the swings, jumping in leaves, playing leapfrog in the mud, blowing bubbles, building forts–those are the unforgettable childhood moments. Sigh!

9. Play boosts physical health and reduces risk of obesity. Henry Joseph Legere, MD, author of Raising Healthy Eaters points out: “Rises in screen time have led to the rise of a sedentary lifestyle for our children. In 1982, the childhood obesity prevalence in the United States was actually less than 4 percent. By 2004, that number had grown to about 30 percent.”

10. Play expands our kids minds and neurological development. Self-initiated play improve skills such as guessing, figuring, interpreting and is important to brain development and learning

11. Play builds new competencies, leadership skills, teaches lifelong hobbies, and develops resilience. “Play is what allows kids to manipulate their environment,” says a report written by Kenneth Ginsburg, M.D. of the AAP, “And how you manipulate your environment is about how you begin to take control, how you begin to develop your senses, how you view the world.”

12. Play nurtures the parent-child bond. Child-driven play also improves our parent-kid relationship.Play offers a wonderful opportunity for parents to see the world from our children’s eyes as well as strengthen our relationship when we join in.

In fact, playing with our kids is one of the few times when clocks stop and stress fades. There’s no judgments, schedules or time constraints that worry us. It’s just a glorious opportunity to give our kids our full presence, be in their space and enjoy each other’s company, and build those wonderful childhood memories. Keep in mind folks, there’s no rewind button when it comes to childhood!

So parents, why not just this week push pause and tune into your kids’ schedule? I dare you: take a Reality Check and see just how how unstructured, unsupervised time your kid has. While you’re at it, here are a few questions to help you assess if play should be added to the “Endangered Species List” at your home.

Reality Check: Could Your Kids Be ‘Play Deprived’?

How much are your kids plugged into some kind of a digital device?

How often are your kids glued to that TV or clicking that keypad?

How much free time do your kids have that is unscheduled, unplanned, unsupervised?

How often do your kids go outdoors to just recompress?

Do your kids know how to entertain themselves solo an adult, coach, teacher, or you whether it be indoors or out?

Do your kids enjoy the great outdoors?

How often (if ever) do your kids see you throwing off your shoes and joining in the unplanned, spontaneous fun with them?

Do your kids know outdoor age-appropriate games and have the equipment for those activities whether it be hopscotch, jump rope, Red Rover, I Spy, basketball, freeze-tag, kick the can, skateboarding?

Do your kids know how to self-entertain and do activities that would nurture their creativity or imagination on a regular basis?

Do you set a rule that when friends come to the house a minimum or no plugged-in devices are allowed?

Would your kid say that you encourage them to play unstructured?

How do you respond when your kids get messy? (Just asking…but remember letting your kids get messy every now and then is actually a great way to teach them that nobody’s perfect, accidents do happen, and teaches them to enjoy themselves and their own company).

Let’s remember: Play is an essential — not a luxury – for our children’s well-being. Thirty years of solid child development research confirms that play is crucial for our children’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive growth.  So check into your kids’ lives and make sure at least  a bit of “free time” is a part of their waking hours.

What do you think? Are our kids becoming play-deprived? And if they are, what do you see as the disadvantages?

Dr. Michele Borba, Parenting Expert.  You can also refer to my daily blog, Dr. Borba’s Reality Check for ongoing parenting solutions and late-breaking news and research about child development.