Learning through play
Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments.[1] Play[edit] Play must be pleasurable and enjoyable.Play must have no extrinsic goals; there is no prescribed learning that must occur.Play is spontaneous and voluntary.Play involves active engagement on the part of the player.Play involves an element of make-believe. Seven common characteristics of play are listed in Playing and Learning, by Beverlie Dietze and Diane Kashin: Play is active, child-initiated, process oriented, intrinsic, episodic, rule-governed, and symbolic.[3] Play and Work[edit] There are critical differences between play and work. According to Dietze and Kashin: Classical, modern and contemporary perspectives[edit] There are three main groups of play theories:[3]
Babies track word patterns long before word-learning starts
From the moment they're born, babies are highly attuned to communicate and motivated to interact. And they're great listeners. New research from the University of Notre Dame shows that during the first year of life, when babies spend so much time listening to language, they're actually tracking word patterns that will support their process of word- learning that occurs between the ages of about 18 months and two years. "Babies are constantly looking for language clues in context and sound," says Jill Lany, assistant professor of psychology and director of Notre Dame's baby lab, where she conducts studies on how babies acquire language. "My research suggests that there are some surprising clues in the sound stream that may help babies learn the meanings of words. Lany's studies show that babies as young as 12 months can identify "adjacent relationships" in which a phrase or sound like "it's a" occurs immediately before an object.
let the children play
Play in NYC
Raising Bilingual Kids -- Does foreign language learning promote
Recently, as I was dropping my son off at daycare, one of his teachers welcomed him with an enthusiastic “Buongiorno!” to which he replied, “Buongiorno, Pia!” with perfect Italian pronunciation. I joined in as they went back and forth with a few greetings, but there was no doubt that he was able to pull off a much more authentic accent than I could. At two years old, my son (like all kids his age) is absorbing language at a breakneck pace. As a result, many parents attempt to raise their children bi- (or even tri-) lingually, either by speaking a different language at home or having a foreign language spoken by a care provider. These days most experts agree that the developing mind can easily handle the double input. Two Languages Challenge the Brain – in a Good Way In fact, there’s reason to think that learning two languages could increase certain critical brain functions. It’s unclear exactly how the edge in executive functions could impact a bilingual kids’ lifelong learning.
play structure
To do with kids
Teacher resources
New York's Most Amazing Playgrounds - July 30, 2013
Playgrounds are a city kid’s backyard, and New York has had plenty of time to figure out what kids want. The first permanent playground structure was established in 1903 at Seward Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side with the goal of moving children at play off the streets and out of the rivers (a thought that makes modern New York parents shudder). More than a century later, New York is in the midst of a playground revolution, with older playgrounds being renovated to better reflect current ideologies about how children play and newer playgrounds constructed with the twin goals of better stimulating young minds and bodies while also integrating seamlessly into the environment and ecosystem of the city. While the following amazing playgrounds are all open year-round, the summer season from Memorial Day to Labor Day is when water functions are turned on (remember to bring bathing suits). But truly the best feature of them all is that a visit to the parks doesn’t cost a thing.
Investigating Choice Time: Inquiry, Exploration, and Play | by: Renée Dinnerstein
History
Indoor & Outdoor Play for Kids in NYC | Time Out New York Kids
Best play spots for kids including New York playgrounds, NYC parks & botanical gardens for families, city carousels, play spaces, libraries & indoor activities. City carousels Jane's Carousel Jane’s Carousel, which opened in 2011 after 30 years of loving restoration, dazzles little ones and grown-ups alike. More info Friedsam Memorial Carousel Price band: 1/4 Crafted in 1908, Central Park's speedy carousel plays buoyant musical and is worth waiting in line for. Le Carrousel The Bryant Park small carousel pays homage to the green space's Parisian influence with French cabaret music. More info Prospect Park Carousel The hand-carved 1915 carousel's equestrian figures twirl to the tunes of a Wurlitzer organ. More info Pier 62 Carousel The waterfront merry-go-round features 33 hand-carved animals, most indigenous to Hudson River Valley. More info Forest Park Carousel The historic merry-go-round reopened under different management in May 2012. More info Flushing Meadows Carousel More info More info Central Park
