“So… all they do is play?”
That’s a question we get a lot. And the answer, enthusiastically, is YES! But look a little closer and you’ll see: It’s not just play. It’s play with purpose. We humans are wired to learn through action- when it’s not just hands-on but a full-body, in-past-your-elbows, minds-on experience.
What could be more active or authentic than play? What better way to make connections, build relationships, or solve problems? Play requires imagination, creativity, and cooperation. Play is relevant, joyful, and powerful. So, our children play. They play together and on their own; with peers and with grown-ups too. They play games and make-believe. They climb and slide and hop and skip. They sing and dance and sing some more!
And they laugh.
They laugh and laugh and laugh. Until their little bellies are sore. And when the day is done, our young friends are exhausted. Their batteries are kaput. All this play, you see, is really hard work!
It’s likely though, as a parent, your child’s learning experience can be something of a mystery. All you see at the end of the day is a wiped-out (maybe cranky) little person covered in mud, paint, and glitter. And when you ask them what they did in school today, they say “Nothin’ much. I just played all day.”
We don’t have a product to hold on to. There’s no worksheet with a gold star to display on the fridge. So how can we know that our children are learning when there’s nothing to see? This is the dilemma for ELC parents, and it was the topic of the day for our Community Tea last Wednesday.
Parents of our 3, 4, and 5-year-olds came together to celebrate the learning of their little ones and get a much better sense of what that learning actually is. And, just like with their children, the best way to do that was to DO that! They got down on the floor and played games, painted vibrant scenes, and…just played. All the while, they were engaging with numbers, letters, and shapes. They were expressing themselves and making connections in a myriad of ways. The learning was deep, meaningful, and relevant, but when all was said and done, they left empty-handed.
Our ELC parents learned that it’s not so much a matter of being able to see. It’s learning how to see things a little differently. That muddy sweater? That tousled hair? The song you hear being sung from the back of the car? These are the products of an engaged learning community. The process is the product!