Routines change once school is back in session! But, that doesn’t mean that play goes out the window! Especially for little children, play is a crucial part of their day.
My daughter just started grade one this fall and she is missing Kindergarten like crazy because grade one is so work focused and no play time is allowed. This is not always the case in every grade one classroom and in my opinion it shouldn’t be. Play is important and people can learn through play in many different ways!
To compensate for the fact that my daughter hasn’t received that much “play” time during the school day, it is even more important to me that she receives ample time at home to play. After coming home and having a snack, she has free time before dinner to play. Sometimes she chooses to dance, play outside and even sit down and read, but it is her free time.
One way that our family “plays” together is on Family Music night. Once a week we have been trying to play “adult music” and dance, sing and be educated about the large variety of music genres that exist. We have a blast letting loose together.
Another way we play together is by building things (lego and now Kinder Egg toys too!).
Kinder Canada has some exciting things going on on their Facebook Page that is worthwhile checking out! Your family could be super lucky if you received a Kinder Egg Gift Basket to play with! Check back often because there are many surprises in store.
Disclosure: I’m part of the KINDER® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own
It’s disappointing to hear that her teacher isn’t making time for play. I would give my grade ones “Free Choice Time” at the end of every school day, or, if they had a different teacher at the end of the day I would build it in to an earlier time of the day. Either way, I’d ensure they had some time to choose what they wanted to do in the classroom, including using board games and puzzles and colouring pages and whatever else they wanted to simply play and build social skills!
I teach grade two this year and while there is more academics to get through, I still try to find time to let my students have some Free Choice, they love being able to build with legos or play a board game together, and I think it’s still a hugely important part of their social-emotional development. Play and free choice with their peers teaches a lot about interpersonal relationships and problem solving and socialization. Life skills!