Title: Play in the Classroom
Headings: The Chalk Blog
The Chalk Blog
Play in the Classroom
"Children are designed, by natural selection, to play."
Trust the research.
Why then is play the first thing to go?
Become a Play Warrior.
Learn about it.
Talk about it.
Do it.
PLAY!
References:

Content: Teachers feel pressure to call play centers “developmental centers,” “work centers” or to describe play as “active learning”
A teacher suggested that dramatic play centers should be removed from kindergarten classrooms because “there is a time crunch and not enough time to spend on things.” ( Gray 2011; Lynch 2015)
On the other hand, there were teachers who noted: Feeling fortunate to be in a school where play is still the centerpiece of kindergarten education
Feeling blessed to have an administrator with a background in early childhood education
Feeling glad to be in a district that recognizes the importance of play (Gray 2011; Lynch 2015)
Losing play in the classroom is having detrimental effects on children. One first grade teacher noted that students are arriving in the classroom with weak hand control, unable to grasp—and to which he attributes to the loss of play—specifically, the removal of manipulatives like Play-Doh—used to increase hand strength in preschoolers. Instead, educators are feeling the burden of ever increasing sit-still time, specifically literacy instruction, math instruction, testing and test prep. (Miller & Almon, 2009)
Educators are being asked to teach their young students things they are not yet developmentally ready to learn. They learn through play. (Miller & Almon, 2009)
In A Whole New Mind: