Posts Tagged ‘Child’s play’

What Our Children Teach Us

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Infant Girl ClappingOur children come to us with a fresh look at life, full of uniqueness, purity and innocence. Each and every day, our children take joy in learning from us—not just the big life lessons, but the nuances, too. As grown-ups, we often rush through life, caught up in day to day tasks. In a blink, babies become preschoolers, and before we know it we’ll be cheering for them at their high school graduation.

Consider what our children can teach us, or remind us of, if we only let them. Our children can remind us what love is—true, unconditional love. They can remind us what it means to really apologize, to not just say “I’m sorry,” but to mean it. They can remind us what pure, raw emotion is—happiness, in its most genuine form, and sadness, too. They can remind us to look for joy in the smallest places. They can remind us to laugh and to laugh often—it lowers stress and it’s good for the soul.

What does your child teach you?

Tags: , ,
Posted in Family, parenting | 1 Comment »

The Goddard School Announces the Top Five Preschooler Approved Toys for 2010

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Childcare franchisor highlights toys that encourage learning through play

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 children ages two to six years old for the 2010 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 ninth year in a row by Entrepreneur magazine, has released its third annual list of top toy finalists.

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

  • Interactive, child-initiated play focus
  • Creative, social or engaging
  • Appropriate for children from two to 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 guided play,” said Sue Adair, Director of Education at Goddard Systems, Inc.  “We feel that our Top Five Toys list will serve as a great resource for parents, grandparents and other family members as they enter the gift-giving season.”

Baby Stella & Baby Stella Car Seat (Manhattan Toy Company)

The Baby Stella Soft Doll collection has lifelike toes, belly buttons and plump tummies with a wide variety of adorable outfits and accessories. Baby Stella gives children the chance to learn how to nurture and care for their loveable dolls and valuables.

(Suggested Age Range: 1 & up) Manhattan Toy Company

Baby Stella Cute Comfort Car Seat provides a soft carrier for your child’s favorite Baby Stella doll. This fun accessory supplies your child with a new way to play and take care of their Baby Stella doll so he/she can go anywhere your child goes.

(Suggested Age Range: 3 & up) Manhattan Toy Company

Citi Blocs 200 Piece Hot & Cool Colors Sets (Citi Blocs)

CitiBlocs inspire open-ended play and creativity. Start low and wide, and then stack them high and narrow. Whatever your preference, the CitiBlocs 200 piece set will keep the enthusiastic builder flexing his or her imagination while developing fine motor skills.

(Suggested Age Range: 3 & up) CitiBlocs

Kid K’NEX Railroad Pals Building (K’NEX)

The Railroad Pals Building Set includes an idea sheet with 20+ building ideas to inspire creativity and a handy storage container for easy clean-up. Build fun train cars, engines, cabooses and more!

(Suggested Age Range: 3 & up) K’NEX

Medium Classic Dino ZipBin (Neat Oh, International!)

The Dinosaur Zipbin’s dramatic exterior identifies the contents and will look great in your child’s room. When the bin is unzipped, it becomes a dinosaur island Playscape™! This activity mat is perfect for playing with dinosaurs, animals, vehicles, boats, action figures, etc. Fantasy play is encouraged by a prehistoric world featuring a volcano, a river, a tar pit and a mysterious cave.

(Suggested Age Range: 3 & up) Neat Oh, International!

Slimy Squishy Polymer Fun (DuneCraft)

Just add water to unleash the Slimy Squishy Polymer Fun in this set today. Hydrate Silly Squares and try to stack and build with them, watch your Slipper Spheres grow over 100 times their size in a matter of hours! Throw them, roll them, bounce them and watch their colors blend. Make your own multicolored slime however you like it, thick or thin, chunky or smooth! Grow your own multicolored miniature icebergs with JellyStones. Mix the polymers together and make your own creation!

(Suggested Age Range: 4 & up) DuneCraft

To learn more about The Goddard School, families are encouraged to visit www.goddardschool.com or call 1-800-GODDARD.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Goddard News | No Comments »

The Goddard School Promotes the Power of Play for Learning

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Art - Painting Infant & TeacherPlay for Tomorrow’s Ultimate Block Party is coming, and The Goddard School hopes that it will change the way you think about play forever. In a national event on October 3 in the Bandshell area of New York City’s Central Park, and in Mini Block Parties at Goddard Schools nationwide during the preceding week, the organizing team, Play for Tomorrow, will join forces with The Goddard School and non-profit organizations, government agencies and large corporations to kick-off a powerful new, global movement designed to recognize and celebrate the power of play for learning.

“Playful learning has always been at the heart of the curriculum at The Goddard School,” states Sue Adair, Director of Education and Quality Assurance for Goddard Systems, Inc. “It’s been clear to us all along that children learn best when new skills are presented to them in a playful and engaging way, and now there is a whole body of research to back us up.”

Play for Tomorrow is the consortium behind the “playful learning” movement. The Ultimate Block Party is the premier event in a national education movement, co-founded by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D, Professor of Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, who believes that how we play as children helps us succeed in school and shapes who we become as adults. “The workforce of 2040 is in our preschools today,” says Dr. Hirsh-Pasek, “and we must ensure that, as a nation, we are well equipped to thrive in our global economy.” Together with its partners, Play for Tomorrow is committed to building a public groundswell for the importance of play in fostering lifelong learning and to help enact change in policy and education.

“The Goddard School has been selected as the exclusive national preschool sponsor of Ultimate Block Party because of its long-standing commitment to the importance of play in early childhood education,” states Adair. As an activity sponsor at the Central Park event, and in Mini Block Parties ranging from a single day to a full week at individual schools, Goddard will invite children and families to join in fun-filled, playful learning activities designed to make learning an engaging and hands-on experience.

As part of the culmination of the events leading up to the main Ultimate Block Party in Central Park, on October 1, at 10 am local time, all Goddard School children will participate in a nationwide game of “Simon Says” and then join in singing the Goddard School Play Along song, written exclusively for The Goddard School. The song’s final chorus sums up the spirit of the Play for Tomorrow movement: “Goddard’s power of play makes learning fun, and we’ve only just begun.”

Parents will also ask their children to take a “Play Pledge” that states, “We believe in the Power of Play. Our family pledges to encourage playful learning. We recognize that play helps children explore and discover and is the foundation of creative and confident learning.” Beginning September 2, families also can take the “Play Pledge” on Goddard Schools’ Facebook, and download The Goddard School Play Along Song and helpful play tips by visiting www.goddardschool.com/blockparty.

“Many of the critical life skills that contribute to success in the workplace are actually developed on the playground and in the playroom,” says Adair. “Play time helps children develop creative and problem-solving abilities, encourages them to work cooperatively and builds their self-confidence. These are the skills that we need in our government and business leaders of tomorrow.”

To learn more about playful learning and The Goddard School, families are encouraged to visit www.goddardschool.com/blockparty.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Activities, Development, Learning through Play | No Comments »

Ready-Set-Play at The Ultimate Block Party: The Arts and Sciences of Play

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

At The Goddard School, we take play very seriously.  Play is the foundation for learning, fostering self-confidence and developing skills for collaboration, cooperation and problem solving. Play is the first step in a lifetime journey of discovery because it teaches a child about his or her capabilities, strengths and even weaknesses.

That’s why we’re so excited about a great event that’s being planned for October 3, 2010, in New York City’s Central Park.  At The Ultimate Block Party – The Arts and Sciences of Play, families will experience firsthand the vital role play has in learning.  Families can play, discover, cooperate, collaborate, have fun – and begin to understand how play builds important skills for learning.

The Goddard School is proud to be a sponsor of The Ultimate Block Party (UBP), which is the brainchild of a distinguished group of educators and childhood development specialists who have one important goal in mind:  spreading the word that children who build a strong foundation of social, logical and behavioral tools through play will be better equipped to learn and to lead in the future.

While the intent of the day is serious, the focus is on fun with activities ranging from the world’s largest game of Simon Says to sing-alongs and an obstacle course.  Check back with us to find out more about these activities, to discover ways that you can get involved and to learn about resources you can turn to for more information about the “whys” and “hows” of making play a priority for your child.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Development, Goddard News, Learning through Play | 1 Comment »

The Symbols of Play

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Excerpt from Me, Myself and I

Think about it.  Play helps children understand that things can stand for other things – that keys or shoes can stand for “Daddy,” that her purse or lipstick can stand for “Mommy,” that a leash or collar can stand for “dog.”  It is quite amazing, really, because there is no way we can ever achieve that for our kids.  They simply have to sort it out on their own.

Dramatic PlayHow?  As a child rummages through the bottom of the closet and pulls out a familiar pair of big, old shoes, someone who takes notice in the sequence of the child’s play will say the word “Daddy,” and probably more than once.  The child plays (with pleasure) as she pairs them up, hefts her weight, maybe even struggles to put on those size 12s.  And the “power” word she hears in this whole scenario is “Daddy.”  After the memory and pleasure centers in the brain connect with the word heard for this experience, the experience gets filed (pleasantly) under “Daddy” or “shoes” or “smelly feet” – probably all three.

But more importantly, the experience gets remembered (learned), and soon the play starts to symbolize the child’s experience with any or all of the parts of this scene.  Which experience is hard to predict, be it remembering her father when he is gone, classifying pairs of things that belong together, or the raw joy of exploring.  But the experience now has some kind of symbol connected to it, thanks to play.

Moreover, experience gets symbolized and images fixed through play in a way that the child can create new symbols over time.  He combines and reshapes old ones, or uses them in novel ways.  This capacity to manipulate and change them gives him wonderful new tools for elaborating his own experience and understanding of the world and his place in it.  This remarkable capacity it what we call “imagination.”

Tags: , ,
Posted in Dr. Kyle Pruett, Learning through Play, Preschool | No Comments »

Playing With Your Child

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Excerpt from Me, Myself and I

The best way to know what your child thinks about his world before he can tell you directly in words is through playing with him.  It is right there, in their play sequences and manipulations that we see and hear what they understand and think about the world we share.

Remember, however, that this is his play, not yours.  You are a partner and a facilitator, occasionally a “go-fer,” but you are not playwright, producer or director.

  • When you play make-believe with your child using simple dress-up (hats alone are great), narrate her play: “And now you get on your hat.”  Describe what you think she is feeling: “Don’t you feel fancy (snazzy, cool…)?”  And listen for when you are not quite on track: “So, then what?”  Children often love to have you with them in these imaginary explorations of role and role-play and usually will do their best to keep you from getting lost along the way.
  • Use reflecting surfaces (mirrors, windows) as you play peek-a-boo with your child’s image and then yours, or add a little face paint or make-up as he explores what happens to his face as he, or you, add a dot here or a line there.  It helps him define who he is by enjoying the reflection of his face and feelings back and forth between you.  Doing this together just feels different and better and usually more important.
  • Sit together in the dark with a flashlight and give your child a sense that he has some control over what appears, reappears, and disappears into the darkness.  Narrate the experience with him, and match his level of emotional interest, as you share the job of turning the flashlight on and off together.  Sara, at 22 months, loved this game and called it the “good-bye light game.”  She seemed to be sorting out the comings and goings of important things and people as the lights went off and on.

There are countless other ideas available from books and magazines.  Borrow, invent, and reinvent games just for the two of you.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Dr. Kyle Pruett, Learning through Play | No Comments »

Child’s Play in a Grown-up World

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Find ways to involve your children in the richness of your ‘grown-up’ life.  Be creative and patient because the results are worth your effort!

For young children, play is a lot more than entertainment. It is central to their development.  A wonderful way to play with and teach children is to bring them into your world, where ‘real-life’ happens.  Children love to do ‘grown-up’ things and to imitate you.  And when they contribute, they see themselves as players and get a well-earned self-esteem boost!

Children also learn about important values and concepts from watching you.  They see the result of practice and perseverance, and they come to know that learning is a lifelong process. They see that everyone, even a grown-up, can make mistakes and can learn from them.

There are two easy and enjoyable ways for your children to play in the grown-up world: you can let them help with your chores and you can include them in your favorite pastimes.

Work as play: Include your children in your household routine.  There are countless safe ways for children to help with meals, laundry, shopping or cleaning.  They can help mix recipe ingredients, pick fruit at the grocery store, water the garden or pack their lunch.  These activities are fun learning experiences, especially if you are teaching informally along the way.  The chores may take a little longer as they learn the ropes, make mistakes, and work at a snail’s pace, but the value for their learning and their self-regard are more than worth the extra time.

Hobbies and pastimes: Share your interests with your children.  This is one of the most intriguing, emotionally rich forms of learning that children can receive.  Teach your children about your avocations, and keep up with your piano, chess, painting, hiking or gardening.   Your enthusiasm for your hobbies will be infectious and offer many ways for your children to learn and develop skills.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Dr. Kyle Pruett, Learning through Play | 1 Comment »