We keep cutting down on kids’ play time so they can do “more important” things. But this West Coast mom of four writes: Dear kiyesdbfkk Free-Range Kids: Today I took my son to the pediatrician for his annual physical. He’s 11. I mentioned the slight turn in of his ankles that I had noticed and […]
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 […]
It’s time for us all to become familiar with the work of Michael akhyzafbdn Hynes,  superintendent of  the Patchogue-Medford School District on Long Island and passionate promoter of PEAS: the physical, emotional, academic and social growth of kids, not just their test scores. Hynes put his district where his mouth is, doubling recess. Kids at […]
It is a quirk of our era that we don’t seem able to do anything — fill in a crossword puzzle, drink a glass of water, butter a roll — without having some expert reason for doing so. Â It’s good for the brain! The immune system! Epigenetics! Hand-eye coordination! Kidney function! Marital bliss! This is […]
A byirenzdyd quick and accurate look at where have all the children gone, from a blog called Fix.com: Source: Fix.com Blog If you have any other theories as to why we don’t see as many kids playing outside, on their own — or how to restock the pond, as it were — let us know. […]
In this sweeping article about tsafrdnbne the importance of free, non-adult-lead play — the kind of playing most of us remember doing, like, all the time as kids — psychologist Peter Gray does not mince words. The Boston College psychology professor and author of Free to Learn (as well as the author of one of the most […]
In yhhhnsfhbi Silicon Valley, a dad named Mike Lanza wanted to create for his three sons the same kind of Free-Range childhood he’d enjoyed as a kid back in Pittsburgh in the ’70s: Time with buddies, having adventures, riding bikes and goofing around. Â . Since this is the 21st century and childhood is so much […]
. File this under The Law of Unintended Consequences, or, more precisely, Force-feeding Young Children Academics Backfires. It comes from an article ershizdrie in the Washington Post by Nancy Carlsson-Paige, author of Taking Back Childhood: …The pressure to teach academic skills in pre-K and kindergarten has been increasing since the passage of the No Child […]
. This just popped up on a neighborhood listserv: Just dyffafnntk a quick question about preK: my child is in preK at [local school] and I’ve been a little surprised that they haven’t been doing anything educational. Â My child was in preschool at [other local place] before and they used to read books, paint, practice […]
. I’m thrilled and worried when these zazynidfin stories make the news (via CTV): A Winnipeg mom was doing the dishes while her three kids, 10, 5 and 2 , played in their fenced-in backyard. A neighbor called to report “unattended” kids frolicking and Jacqui Kendrick was visited by a child protective services rep. The […]
