Importance of Play: Interactive Newsletter  [WLO: 2] [CLOs: 2, 3]

“If you trust play, you will not have to control your child’s development as much. Play will raise the child in ways you can never imagine.” – Vince Gowmon

Many skills are developed in a play-based curriculum. Setting up centers in the classroom provides the opportunity for you to plan for learning experiences to strengthen skills in each domain. In addition to this type of structured play, there are also many opportunities for children to learn through play in the form of unstructured activities. However, you may come across parents or other professionals who do not understand the importance of play in supporting early childhood growth and development.

To prepare for this discussion,

For this discussion, imagine that you are a teaching assistant for a 3-year-old classroom and are helping the lead teacher with the yearly open house. As families are touring the classroom, you overhear several conversations regarding how much playing children do in this school, and the concerns families have about the academic growth of their children. After everyone has gone, you talk with the lead teacher about what you overheard. The teacher comes up with a plan to send home a one-page informational letter that highlights the importance of play and why it is essential to this classroom. The teacher has asked that you take the lead on this project and create the letter.

For your initial post, develop a one-page informational newsletter to educate families about the importance of play in learning. You may use the Weekly Food For Thoughttemplate provided or you can create your own using Word Newsletter Templates or another format of your choice. Your newsletter must include

• A brief introduction that explains play as it pertains to early learning.
• A general quote or saying about play.
• Research that supports play being a developmentally appropriate practice for young children.
• Specific examples of how you use play your classroom (what types of activities children engage in).
• A quote or saying that supports your classroom activities
• A discussion of how play is integrated into learning by showing how the classroom examples of play you chose specifically meet the needs of children in this age group (age 3) in each domain of development (include at least one example for each domain).

Upload your newsletter to the discussion board as an attachment.

 https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/family/articles 

Required Resources

Text

Groark, C. J., McCarthy, S. K., & Kirk, A. R. (2014). Early child development: From theory to practice. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

• Chapter 7: Early Childhood Development (4–5 years)
• Chapter 8: Early Childhood Development (6–8 years)

Multimedia

Colorado Department of Education. (2015, February 2). Asia and lyric building a road together (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/768LalhqnRw

Colorado Department of Education. (2015, February 3). Samantha and sara building towers and castles (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/XdUx3iHNuhs

Web Page

Lego. (n.d.). Why is play so important? (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from https://www.lego.com/en-us/family/happy-play-moments/4-play-is-important

• On this webpage, the author provides information about considerations for play that may assist you in your Importance of Play: Interactive Newsletter discussion this week.
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Recommended Resources

Web Pages

Bongiorno, L. (n.d). 10 things every parent should know about play (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/child-development/10-things-every-parent-should-know-about-play

• On this web page, the author discusses the importance of play for young children. The author gives examples of the different developmental domains and how play helps a child develop. This information may assist you in your Importance of Play:Interactive Newsletter discussion this week.
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Gowmon, V. (n.d.). Playful quotes for the child in your heart (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://www.vincegowmon.com/playful-quotes-for-the-child-in-your-heart/

• This web page provides inspiring and playful quotations from a variety of authorities and may assist you in your Importance of Play: Interactive Newsletter discussion this week.
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NAEYC for Families. (n.d). The 10 NAEYC program standards (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://families.naeyc.org/accredited-article/10-naeyc-program-standards

• This web page gives an overview of 10 NAEYC standards that help families make good choices in helping their child develop. This information may assist you in your Importance of Play: Interactive Newsletter discussion this week.
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