Mummy
Don’t Text! Unplug
and Play. Three Stories a Day, That is
the Way!
Young children don’t need screen time... they need you time. They don’t need lengthy teacher directed circle
time...they need play time, indoors and out. Our kids don’t need us to buy the
latest electronic gadgets or learning programs...They need us to take the
culture of play seriously. They need us
to pay attention to their play and support their right to play. Our kids need
us to provide fun, playful “book times” where we talk together as we share
“just right” stories.
Supporting children’s play
is more active than saying you believe play is important. If you are seriously acknowledging the importance
of the culture of play you need to be present, focused, ready to make relevant
contributions, and aware of how to
enhance the play without interrupting the flow or direction.
Mummy and Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, Uncle, Family
Friend, Educator, there are multiple roles for all of you to play. You
don’t have time to look at your screens because at any given point during
the play, you may be called upon to be the indirect or direct stage manager,
prop creator, or plot energizer. You,
and only you, can be the co-playmate who skillfully manages to extend and
contribute to a higher level of complex play episodes. Only you know the wonderful pieces of
background knowledge that naturally fit the dialogue.
It is because of your attention and your observations that you extend the turns taken during the conversations that come up. Only a caring adult has the drive and motivation to bring out the best interactive play sessions.
You don’t become a skilled responsive play watcher, by toe-dipping . No, this “supporting play” is not for the faint of heart. You need to be “in the moment”, engaged in the plot of the play and ready and confident in your ability to “follow the child’s lead”. You must be ready to play with children on their terms.
This might mean sliding down the slide or wearing a weird outfit. It might mean making a big fat mess, or letting it get noisy. You have to acknowledge the importance of outdoor play and the child’s right to connect with natural landscapes. You might have to crawl over a log or help build a fort. This means that you work on the wonderful skill of “following your child’s lead” when reading and playing together.
It is not about reading the exact words on the page, or using a toy in a certain way-it is about talking and playing together! That is how kids learn!
It is because of your attention and your observations that you extend the turns taken during the conversations that come up. Only a caring adult has the drive and motivation to bring out the best interactive play sessions.
You don’t become a skilled responsive play watcher, by toe-dipping . No, this “supporting play” is not for the faint of heart. You need to be “in the moment”, engaged in the plot of the play and ready and confident in your ability to “follow the child’s lead”. You must be ready to play with children on their terms.
This might mean sliding down the slide or wearing a weird outfit. It might mean making a big fat mess, or letting it get noisy. You have to acknowledge the importance of outdoor play and the child’s right to connect with natural landscapes. You might have to crawl over a log or help build a fort. This means that you work on the wonderful skill of “following your child’s lead” when reading and playing together.
It is not about reading the exact words on the page, or using a toy in a certain way-it is about talking and playing together! That is how kids learn!
Let’s all get and stay passionate about early literacy and
early language. Let’s dive in and read the research findings that link symbolic
play and literacy development for the young child.
Creating daily opportunities for rich symbolic play has a powerful role to play in literacy development. Tell kids that they are story makers when they pretend play and pretend read. Share with parents your understanding that when children engage in pretend play they are using the same representational thinking needed in literacy learning. They are creating complicated story-lines, trying out new roles and ways of speaking. Let them know that they are just like the people that make books. Books are just talking stories squished into a book.
This is how young children get a handle on the big ideas behind print. They actively construct new understandings and create their own understandings about how everything works.
Let’s create environments for our shorter friends that embrace the statement: Children’s play is the foundation for later reading and academic success.
Creating daily opportunities for rich symbolic play has a powerful role to play in literacy development. Tell kids that they are story makers when they pretend play and pretend read. Share with parents your understanding that when children engage in pretend play they are using the same representational thinking needed in literacy learning. They are creating complicated story-lines, trying out new roles and ways of speaking. Let them know that they are just like the people that make books. Books are just talking stories squished into a book.
This is how young children get a handle on the big ideas behind print. They actively construct new understandings and create their own understandings about how everything works.
Let’s create environments for our shorter friends that embrace the statement: Children’s play is the foundation for later reading and academic success.
When a caring adults takes the time to talk, play and read
with very young children; they wrap them in their own Literacy Blanket.
This Literacy Blanket is the best gift any child could
receive!
So, maybe we could
write a song....“Mummy don’t text. Unplug and Play”!
Three stories a day “that’s the
way!
Or write a poem..
No matter the season, no matter the day,
Our Mother always tells us,
“Go out and play.”
And even though we like to play in the sun,
Every time we play outside, we always have fun!
Always in
friendship,
Donna
Go Out and
Play Written by Donna Klockars Illustrated by Bill Helin, Published by
Strong Nations Nanaimo, B.C.
(Donna
Klockars) 2015 Weaving the Literacy Blanket: Caring Adults Pass on the Legacy
of Literacy.
(Roskos,
K.A.,&Christie, J.F.(Eds.).2000 Play and Literacy in Early
Childhood:Research from Multiple Perpectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.)
