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Friday, August 5, 2016

Iowa District West Early Childhood Conference Part One

Friends!  Today, I'm attending an Early Childhood Conference on play.

I'll be blogging and reflecting on play in the classroom today.

Annette Oliver is an Assistant Professor of Education and Program Director for the undergraduate and graduate early childhood programs at Concordia University, Nebraska.

Our keynote is on Play: Its Place in PreK-2 Best Practices

We are working with the framework that addresses national curriculum guidelines, social dimensions that protect and foster play, addressing the risk that play will be underestimated due to misunderstanding, and the research on the role of play in children's cognitive, social and emotional development.

Think of yourself as a researcher in a classroom.  Are you reflecting on growth?  Ask yourself "what if?"

How do children define play?  (Dockett and Perry 2007)


  • Have fun
  • spend time with friends
  • use imaginations and friends
  • choose what to do, how to do it, and with whom
  • decide whether to finish something, or leave it.  
Theory defines play:

(Frobel) Essential and necessary component of childhood.
(Erickson)  Not work
(Bruner) Opportunity to take risks without failure
(Elkind) Nature's way of dealing with stress
(Vygotsky)  Assimilation, or the child's efforts to make stimuli match his or her own concepts.

Play is:
  • Active
  • child selected
  • process-oriented
  • suspension of reality
  • with other friends, it can be independent.  
"We do not want play to become a subject area."
  • Yes!  As I venture into play, I'll be looking for ways to authentically incorporate play throughout the day.  


What thoughts do you have on the framework of play?  

Joy!
Kendra





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