"During the school day, there should be extended time for play. Research has shown unequivocally that children learn best when they are interested in the material or activity they are learning. Play — from building contraptions to enacting stories to inventing games — can allow children to satisfy their curiosity about the things that interest them in their own way. It can also help them acquire higher-order thinking skills, like generating testable hypotheses, imagining situations from someone else’s perspective and thinking of alternate solutions."
This blog is dedicated to sharing the concept that our hands are essential to learning- that we engage the world and its wonders, sensing and creating primarily through the agency of our hands. We abandon our children to education in boredom and intellectual escapism by failing to engage their hands in learning and making.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
playing to learn
The Op Ed piece Playing to Learn by Susan Engel from the New York Times will be an interesting read for anyone interested in the Wisdom of the Hands. From that piece,
Now if the folks in charge would just listen...
ReplyDeleteMario
Mario, folks in charge, by nature don't listen. It seems to be part of the territory. On the other subject, snow, I'm surprised you haven't had more of it. We have missed so many days of school that we are likely to have school run into June to find make-up days.
ReplyDeleteI know too well how folks in charge are resistant to any idea that goes against their preconceived notions. As far as snow, we're not complaining at all. The snow is going to the ski areas south of here where it's wanted.
ReplyDeleteMario