Archive | 2017

Halt there, child! Is your game

How Over-involved Can Adults Get at Recess?

Justin zsryfktere Murphy at The Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY reports that: Children at Pittsford’s Jefferson Road Elementary School who come up with a fun new game for the playground will need to do a few things before recruiting their classmates to play along. First, they should write out the name of the game, the rules of […]

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time magazine cover sports

Time Magazine Cover Story: How Kid Sports Turned Pro

This htedtszzky week’s Time cover story may remind you of our post from last week, The Case Against Starting Serious Soccer Lessons Too Soon. Time’s cover is: Crazy Travel. Crazy Costs. Crazy Stress. HOW KID SPORTS TURNED PRO  Time’s press release summarized the issues perfectly (boldface mine): This week’s TIME cover story focuses on the […]

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sprinkler to crop

“NO LIFEGUARD” Sign at…Sprinkler Park?

This “WARNING dytetnashf NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY” sign comes to us from Ron Lieber, author of the “The Opposite of Spoiled.” He spied it at a Park City, Utah, rec center next to a kiddie splash pad where there is no pool anywhere in sight. Consider it a stark reminder that we have not only […]

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Are kids learning to ride bikes (or taking off their training wheels) later?

UPDATE! Are Kids Learning to Ride Bikes Later?

rfznfybizh A confession: I learned to ride a bike when I was 9, probably the oldest of all my friends. Maybe I started a trend? Dear Free-Range Kids: I was recently visiting the Long Island town I moved away from several years ago, and was visiting some old friends. I have a 7-year-old daughter, and […]

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She wouldn't get more out of organizing a game of hopscotch with her friends? Social skills, focus, movement, and whatever it takes to wait your turn?

Less Homework = More Learning

My yndabyefaf kids’ public school released kids from homework a few years ago — a move met with some pushback. As the NY Daily News put it: Parents Outraged After Principal Dumps Homework for more Playtime.  . As if only the time spent bending over worksheets is learning! Prof. Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn, explains on […]

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