Toddler’s in the kitchen!

Toddlers In studio

What have we been up to?

Well for one thing the children's artwork is now on display in the Artisan Center window, on 3rd and Detroit Street.  If you have not stopped by to see it, please find the time to do so.  We are very proud.

In studio the children have been doing so much.  Some are playing with light and color...

 While other's continue to enjoy drawing together...

 Kirsten from Tod's has been collaborating with XP to choreograph a song...

 And the XP children have been working with me to illustrate a song book...

 There's been lots...

and lots of dress up...

And plenty of pretend play.

All in all it has been a very busy, albeit short week.  We have so much fun yet to come and I look forward to sharing next week's festivities with all of you.  It's going to be WONDERful!  

Enjoy your warm weekend, stay curious and we will see you soon.

Play

“Almost all creativity involves purposeful play.” –  Abraham Maslow

 “The true object of all human life is play.” -G. K. Chesterton

 “Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” -Mr. Rogers

 “Do not keep children to their studies by compulsion but by play.” -Plato

 “Play is the exultation of the possible.” -Martin Buber
 Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” -Joseph Chilton Pearce

May each of us uphold the child's right to wonder, curiosity, enthusiasm and play.  In so doing may we cultivate our own capacity for joy and rediscover this moment, exactly as it is, full of possibility.  Have a beautiful and playful weekend.

The Importance of Play

An infant drops her spoon.  It falls from view with a cling-clang as it hits the floor.  Where did it go?  Did it disappear?  She doesn't know but what FUN!  The child repeats this dropping routine as long as there's a handy adult available to retrieve the spoon. Why?  She's learning about object permanence and not through laborious drudgery but through play.  For her learning is fun.

Today, in the studio, a child wrapped herself in shimmery turquoise cloth and announced, "I'm the mom".  There must have been an unspoken consent amongst the group because they began acquiescing to everything she said.  "Put that over there."  "No you can't play that game, you have to sit down, I'm making supper." After several minutes I asked, "Who's making the rules?"  The group pointed to the mom.  So I ask, "Why does she get to make the rules?" They answer, "Because she's the mom.  Mom's always make the rules."  Their shared understanding of mom allowed the play to unfold without a hitch.  

Through play children negotiate complex social scenarios, problem solve and construct imaginative stories all while having a good time.  When it's no longer fun the play morphs into something else because play, by definition, is fun.

As adults we often dismiss play in subtle ways.  Even our vocabulary showcases our play prejudice.  "That's child play."  "You're being childish." etc.   But play IS a child's work.  It's fundamental to how children (which means humans) are hardwired to learn.  Why?  Science suggests that our prolonged human childhoods afford us increased opportunities to play.  This frolic may be largely responsible for our big neocortex.  What does that mean?  That play may be essential to why humans are... well...human.

Children today have less time for unstructured play than they did even a few decades ago.  Meanwhile educational policy and academic benchmarks seldom take into consideration the importance of play. When people emphasize the three R's at the expense of the big P...Play... I wonder if they've forgotten the thrill of discovery and the wonder that follows.  Like catching a snowflake on your tongue and wondering at the intricate crystalline structures blanketing the ground in white.  Life without play is not nearly as alive or fun.

Play cultivates a love of learning and a love of learning will serve a child their whole life long.

Read this brief article from NAEYC entitled 10 Things Every Parent Should Know About Play

Playing pretend and the art of dress-up

Let's get PLAYING!

The last days of summer are quickly coming to an end, as I sit in dappled sunlight beneath the peach tree in my back yard, enjoying the last sticky sweet, slice of watermelon and contemplating the start of a new school year. Being a teacher and a mom is a brilliant combination. I get to spend my summers playing with my sons (who are now far too old to find that as cool as I do) and year after year they remind me how to playfully participate in the cacophony of summer. When summer is over I get to return to the best job in the world, where your children will provide the same ongoing reminders.  

As adults, it's easy to get busy worrying over bills, dirty clothes and political soundbites and forget how to play. And when we do, children are ready to lend a willing hand to remind us how FUN the little things can be: suds in the sink, lady bugs on a leaf, a sprinkler splashing mud and water on new clothes. So what IS this natural human inclination toward frolic? How do children engage life through their senses and play, while adults sign up for pricey mindfulness retreats trying to recapture our former sense of wonder?

In our defense, we certainly weren't conditioned to appreciate our capacity to play and linger in the moment. We were conditioned to value a furrowed brow approach to labor in an ongoing pursuit of the next unattainable carrot on a string. But children work hard too (harder than me often) their work just looks differently: climbing and running, laughing and negotiating, walking and talking, building and tearing down. And the crazy part about it is they have FUN doing it! It's pretty amazing when we stop to admire it. So choosing this years studio research question was a piece of cake, or a slice of watermelon, I knew what I wanted to learn from the children and with the children.

What is the value of play in human development and how might sensory alertness be cultivated and maintained as we mature? 

Additionally, how might we reignite our own sense of play, curiosity and experiential alertness within a Montessori school in which most of our educators are trained Montessorians, myself included, for whom play was never included in our training.

Most of all I am looking forward to joining the children and this community for a year of learning and FUN.