Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Play!


A new study from the Alliance for Childhood: Crisis in Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School.

New research shows that many kindergartens spend 2 to 3 hours per day instructing and testing children in literacy and math—with only 30 minutes per day or less for play. In some kindergartens there is no playtime at all. The same didactic, test-driven approach is entering preschools. But these methods, which are not well grounded in research, are not yielding long-term gains. Meanwhile, behavioral problems and preschool expulsion, especially for boys, are soaring.

View the 8-page summary.

It's a great resource for drama educators!

Other books on play that I recommend: