Time for play is important in an Early Childhood Classroom

1. Pros

1.1. Children need play

1.2. Play aids in development

1.2.1. Cognitive skills

1.2.2. Social/Emotional Skills

1.2.3. Literacy Skills

1.2.4. Academic skills

1.2.5. Language Skills

1.2.6. Creativity

1.3. Play enhances memory

1.4. Play enhances language/vocabulary

1.5. Play increases self-regualtory behaviors

1.6. Play makes learning fun/engaging

1.7. Children learn through play naturally/authentically

1.8. Play is important to education, learning, and human development

1.9. Play IS work

2. Pro: History through quotes

2.1. Froebel: "Play is the highest phase of child-development-of human development at this period: for it is self-active representation of the inner-representation of the inner from inner necessity and impulse."

2.2. Plato:"...but let early education be a sort of amusement;"

2.3. Dewey: "Experience has shown that when children have a chance at physical activities which bring their natural impulses into play, going to school is a joy, management is less of a burden, and learning is easier"

2.4. Froebel: "Spontaneous play is the outcome of vital energy and buoyancy, and under the guidance of the teacher, may be utilized in social development."

2.5. Vygotsky: "I ti s the essence of play that a new relation is created between situations in thought and real situations" and "thus, play creates a zone of proximal development of the child."

2.6. Bruner: "Plainly, play with other children does have a theraputic role or, in any case, an important role in helping children to take their place more easily in the stressful social activities of later life"

2.7. Vygotsky: "From the point of view of development, creating an imaginary situation can be regarded as a means of developing abstract thought"

2.8. Hymes: "play is a solid means of helping children learn. It is a way for teachers to assess what a child understands and what interests the child. For a world of play and pretend can always allow the child to be powerful, able, and successful"

3. Cons

3.1. Time needs to be alotted for more academic instruction

3.2. It is essential that children learn "school" skills

3.2.1. focus

3.2.2. alphabet

3.2.3. counting

3.3. Play focuses too much on the process and not enough on the results

3.4. With the new standards and the "push-down" movement of today...children need more instruction/academic time to be "ready" for Kinder and 1st grade

3.5. The testing and accountability movements require children of younger and younger ages to learn more (academics focus)

3.6. More direct instruction for language, early literacy and early number skills

3.7. First three years are critical for development of language, social skills, attention span and problem solving. Shouldn't we be encouraging more academics to further develop these skills.

3.8. Mastering skills needed for "school readiness" rather than playing

3.9. Standards movement to push to pre-K; more time learning, less time playing

4. Con: History through quotes

4.1. Kant: "A child must play, must have his hours of recreation; but he must also learn to work."

4.2. Dewey: "...it is necessary that the play attitude should gradually pass into a work attitude"

4.3. Steiner: "The worst thing you could do is teach children that work is mere play, because when they grow up, they then will look at life as if it were only a game."

4.4. Dewey: "children should put to use, skills,such as critical thinking and problem solving, in order to fulfill their potentials as human beings"

4.5. Vygotsky:"humans use tools, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environment... these tools lead to higher thinking"

4.6. Vygotsky:"children need their peers or playmates to grow, they need adult interaction as they master each social skill and are ready to be introduced to new learning for growth"