The Value of Play

From the NY Times:
SARAH WILSON was speaking proudly the other day when she declared: “My house is a little messy.”Ms. Wilson lives in Stroudsburg, Pa., a small town in the Poconos. Many days, her home is strewn with dress-up clothes, art supplies and other artifacts from playtime with her two small children, Benjamin, 6, and Laura, 3. “I let them get it messy because that’s what it’s here for,” she said.

Ms. Wilson has embraced a growing movement to restore the sometimes-untidy business of play to the lives of children. Her interest was piqued when she toured her local elementary school last year, a few months before Benjamin was to enroll in kindergarten. She still remembered her own kindergarten classroom from 1985: it had a sandbox, blocks and toys. But this one had a wall of computers and little desks.

“There’s no imaginative play anymore, no pretend,” Ms. Wilson said with a sigh.

From BoingBoing

This won't be offered at the Golden Apple any time soon - but I agree with his point that doing things the old-fashioned way is often a much more valuable process.

Happy 2011!

Today's my first day back at the store for this year. Last week, we started moving things around again - with the holidays behind us we can really set things up the way we planned. Our classroom is also a big item this week. We had to put our plan on hold - too busy and we needed the room for extra stock during December. Now it's full speed ahead - we'll be clearing the last storage items out, setting up tables and chairs and putting together a schedule for parents, teachers and kids. Watch for a Game Night coming towards the end of the month, Test Prep and GATE prep classes, Art, Preschool Readiness and some great active learning events! The new year is looking good!