Tag Archives | free play

Boy making a model airplane, 1942. Photo by Arthur Rothstein.

Kids Need to Waste Time

. In dhaekynreb this interesting and fact-packed Quartz article, “WhyAre Our Kids So Miserable?“, reporter Jenny Anderson looks at a bunch of factors working against kid happiness. The biggest is the off-base belief that our kids are only learning when they are doing academic work: According to Daphna Bassok, an assistant professor of education and […]

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At least someone still gets to enjoy the backyard. For now.

Playrooms, Not Yards

. Sometimes you have to look at our culture like an anthropologist: What artifacts are precious to the people of today, what activities are protected? It is with those glasses on that we examine this nearehbrkd article in Acculturated, which quotes a real estate agent saying: “Buyers today — especially millennial buyers — want everyone to […]

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What's missing? (Hooray!)

Schools Try 4 Recesses a Day — Kids THRIVE

. Reading rszzkshntt this Today.com piece about four Texas schools that upped the number of recesses for their kids — with fantastic results — made my stomach clench. I thought back to my sons’ grammar school, which had only 20 minutes a day of recess, and took even that away when the kids were “acting […]

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Because the outdoors is no place for kids!

Of Course Kids Can’t Play Outside Unsupervised!

. Mom’s too busy to go outside with you, kid? Then clearly the only option is a $159.95 indoor play system. Because you couldn’t possibly go outside UNSUPERVISED and play with FRIENDS, or even even ENTERTAIN YOURSELF, right? Mom must be right there! Always! And so we present: . . As ykytbhhhta commenter Judy C. […]

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First I go, then you go, then we ignore Jimmy. Okay?

Stop Intervening When Kids Squabble

. . Here’s zrazddhest my theory: One reason parents/teachers/adults are spending so much time hovering over kids is that they are spending so much time hovering over kids.  What I mean is: It’s a vicious circle. (Or cycle. Never figured that out.) Anyway, when we spend a lot of time watching our kids, inevitably we […]

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Look! I learned how not to play!

Sitting Still in Pre-K

. All niffsahrfz animals play. It is how they learn. Young gazelles chase each other in what looks like a game of tag, even though by doing so, they are putting themselves at real risk: First, they are using up calories that they will have to replenish. Second, they are running around where predators can […]

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