Parachute! - "Just Playing?"

 The children in our care LOVE to play with the parachute!

Welcome to the weekly "Just Playing?" Blog Hop hosted here at Child Central Station. This is our second week hopping and discussing our observations of the learning happening when children are at play.  For more information about this hop and how to join, visit the "Just Playing" landing page.

Last week, I shared some photos of the children building a train out of chairs. I have updated the post to include some additional insights into the play- you can read that updated post here.

Now- on to this week......

We may be "just playing", but....

What are the children doing here?

What do you see?

What learning is taking place?

What skills are being practiced/developed?

This post is part of the "Just Playing?" Blog Hop!

Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play. A child's work is play. Play is important!

Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment. I'd also like to invite you to "hop" on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week:

If you are looking for more of our “Just Playing?” posts and resources from around the globe, please visit our Pinterest Board.

Are you a blogger? Would you like to join the JUST PLAYING? blog hop community?

You can join the hop via our Facebook Group: Just Playing?

or please contact Amy from Child Central Station for more information.

Button Play

Riding the Train: "Just Playing?"

 These children are riding the train. One of the children decided to build a train. (I was not fast enough with the camera to capture the building of the train.)  The other children decided to join in on the adventure.

We may be "just playing", but....

What are the children doing here?

What do you see?

What learning is taking place?

What skills are being practiced/developed?

This post is part of the  "Just Playing?" Blog Hop!

Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play.  They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play.  A child's work is play. Play is important!

Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment.  I'd also like to invite you to "hop" on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week:

If you are looking for more of our “Just Playing?” posts and resources from around the globe, please visit our Pinterest Board.

Are you a blogger? Would you like to join the JUST PLAYING? blog hop community?

You can join the hop via our Facebook Group: Just Playing?

or please contact Amy from Child Central Station for more information.

Thank you for taking the time to join in on the conversation about the play in these photos. As you can see, the children were actively using their imagination. They spent time negotiating space, communicating, and problem solving.  There was discussion about where to travel to, who could join the train and at one point the train schedule. (You notice the young girl begin to point and count on her fingers- this demonstrates one to one correspondence in addition to reciting the numbers- counting.)  This interaction took place a few years ago, but I still remember the length that the children played. I also remember the conflict and the coping skills the children exhibited when working out the play. The young girl wanted to drive the train, and when she was only permitted to ride the train- she opted to drive from her seat instead of from the conductor's seat.  I also remember this interaction spurring many questions and ideas for future explorations riding on a bus, an airplane and in a car. The children opted to place the chairs differently and to explore other ways to travel through books and sharing their own travel stories.

We may be "just playing", but....

What are the children doing here?

What do you see?

What learning is taking place?

What skills are being practiced/developed?

This post is part of the  "Just Playing?" Blog Hop!

Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play.  They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play.  A child's work is play. Play is important!

Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment.  I'd also like to invite you to "hop" on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week:

If you are looking for more of our “Just Playing?” posts and resources from around the globe, please visit our Pinterest Board.

Are you a blogger? Would you like to join the JUST PLAYING? blog hop community?

You can join the hop via our Facebook Group: Just Playing?

or please contact Amy from Child Central Station for more information.

Introducing: Just Playing?

The word "just" drives me batty. Seriously, when you put the word "just" in front of any verb or noun, you belittle the very thing you are talking about.  There are few things that drive me as bonkers as "I'm JUST a home daycare provider" or "I'm JUST a mom," but ultimately what really gets me going is when people unknowingly say, "Well, they're JUST playing."

YOUNG CHILDREN DO NOT JUST PLAY.

YOUNG CHILDREN PLAY.

They develop through play. They learn through play. They investigate through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play.

 A child's work is PLAY!

There has been a lot of research to support the importance of play, yet play seems to be looked down upon and opportunities for children to participate in good old-fashioned, child directed play seem to be vanishing.

PLAY IS IMPORTANT!

For this very reason, I have decided to start a new series here on the blog,

called "Just Playing?" and I'm inviting any and all of you who are play advocates to join me!

Basically, every Thursday, I am going to host a blog hop. Each participating blog will showcase a photo, short series of photos, or a short video of children playing.  There will be a brief description- just enough to set the scene.

The photos will be followed by :

We may be "just playing" but,

What are the children doing here?

What do you see?

What learning is taking place?

What skills are being practiced/developed?

For a week, you will have the opportunity to make your own observations and really advocate for the importance of the play that is taking place in the photos! Comments will be collected on all of the blogs and as a community we will build a great resource to show what is really happening when children are playing!

Are you a blogger that believes in the power of play? I'd love to have you join us! You can find a group of committed play advocates who will be participating in this journey by joining the "Just Playing?" Facebook Group.

Not a blogger? Not a problem! We would still LOVE for you to join us in advocating for play! You can stop by every Thursday and HOP from blog to blog to share your insight and help build a resource of what really happens when children play!

Stop Back on February 20th for our first hop!