Entries For: August 2009

In the past few days I’ve read three thought provoking articles about how young minds learn and why children need to play. The first is called In Defense of Play-Based Education written by a mother on why she chose a play-based preschool for her child. The second is a study by the Alliance for Childhood called: Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School and the third, in the Boston Globe: Pressure-Cooker Kindergarten.

Children learn through play. Most of us know this and who doesn’t love to play? As an adult I thrive on play. I thrive on using time senselessly, mindlessly, and having the luxury to think or not think—sometimes my best solutions come out of this non-thinking. 

According to the Crisis in Kindergarten study “Kindergartners are now under great pressure to meet inappropriate expectations. … At the same time, they are being denied the benefits of play—a major stress reliever.” It goes on to say “Given the high rates of psychiatric disturbances among children today, it is critically important that early education practices promote physical and emotional health and not exacerbate illness.”

This got me to thinking about my five-month old. He’s learned a lot and it has come through play and his playful interactions with his caregivers. Ivan has learned how to grab things, communicate, and express his likes and dislikes. All of this came through what we consider ‘play.’ But beyond that I can see he is learning and developing skills that he will need for life beyond mom and dad. Through his toys he has learned cause and effect—if I pull this string music will play, if I put my hand here a bell will ring, if I giggle the adults will make funny faces.

In the Boston Globe article several educators who were interviewed talked about striking the balance among testing, curriculum, and the need to make learning fun. Imagine being a five year-old and frustrated by not being able to read but being forced to and not wanting to disappoint the adults around you that you trust. Setting up students for success is a better way to ensure that they will be excited about continuing on with school.

Another thought about why play is important for young children is consideration for teachers and caregivers. On a community coalition conference call, Susan Anderson-Newham, a librarian with the Pierce County Library and Early Learning Public Library Partnership member, mentioned that she is developing a new training on how to use humor in early literacy. This is in response to learning that care providers often feel stressed. As many families know, when mom is happy the child and family are happier; I would guess the same goes at child care—when the teachers are happy they are better able to give of themselves.

This doesn’t mean that children should be running free and having free-play all of the time. As the report says there needs to be a balance between playing and learning, and the two do not need to be mutually exclusive. Constructive play is a great way to learn.

Let’s keep the focus on children and provide them what they need to grow, learn, and thrive. Tonight I will go home and let Ivan play, and play with him. Some of that play may be holding him up and letting him stand (which he likes to do), some of the play may be with books and allowing him to throw them (again cause and effect and repetition—how many times will I pick them up for him?). No flash cards, Baby Einstein, or pressure cooker learning for us. We need to play!

UPDATE

Here is more information on the importance of play from Zero to Three: http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/The_Truth_About_Play.pdf?docID=9381

Last night, I put my son to bed and jumped on Facebook. I was THRILLED to see photos posted documenting some of the Early Learning Community Fairs that groups around Washington State have hosted (and don't forget to become a "fan" of the Foundation for Early Learning on Facebook)!

I had a blast at the Seattle fair. Foundation for Early Learning, Casey Family Programs, and partners hosted a Fair on August 8. Over 1,500 people attended. We make hand puppets, distributed Getting School Ready! booklets, and shared partners' information - including Seattle Public Library, Thrive by Five Washington, and Seattle Step Ahead Preschool. 

Groups in Seattle, Spokane, Walla Walla, the Tri-Cities have already hosted successful events. Check out some of the adorable photos groups have shared with us.

Many other groups are still planning events for late August and throughout the month of September. Join the fun!

Click here to find out when and where you local Fair will be and make an appearance.  You won't be disappointed!

I'm already excited about next year's events. We're creating a buzz!

The Foundation for Early Learning is delighted to feature a guest blog post from Brian Soneda, of the Mount Vernon City Library, a member of the Early Learning Public Library Partnership.

If you are interested in being featured in the Foundation's blog, please contact Joel Ballezza, Communications Manager at joel@earlylearning.org.

For my contribution to the Foundation blog, I have decided to tell a little story about a little book, Getting School Ready!®. As you all know, this valuable booklet (and it’s versions in Cambodian, Chinese, English, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese) is a product of a fruitful collaboration between the Foundation for Early Learning, The Boeing Company, United Way, and others. It has great information with “the whole child” in mind that parents and caregivers need to know before kids enter school.

When Margy Miller, of Ready Children Consulting, announced to local supporters of Early Learning in early August that a new stock of these booklets were available, she also asked if any of us had “connections with businesses or banks and would be willing to ask if they would distribute Getting School Ready booklets for two weeks” in the days before schools got back in session. I thought this idea of broadening the distribution network was a great one, and asked a Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce colleague who is a Vice President at a regional bank if he could use Getting School Ready at his banks.

Jeremy said “we would love to help with the campaign” and added that if I got the booklets to him, he would make sure they were available in Business Bank’s Mount Vernon and Burlington banks. I went down to the Mount Vernon office of Volunteers of America, where Margy had alerted René to have some booklets in English and Spanish available for Mount Vernon City Library. When I got to Volunteers of America, René had a box with enough booklets for MVCL ready. I told him about Jeremy at Business Bank; could René spare another 100 booklets in English and a 100 in Spanish?

René could and soon had scrounged together the additional 200 booklets. Later that afternoon, on my way home, I dropped off Business Bank’s share of the booklets. Jeremy acted like I was doing him a favor, when actually he was doing me one. Or rather, Chamber members were helping each other out and the mission of the Foundation for Early Learning and the Early Learning Public Library Partnership was being advanced.

And so my story ends with…it was a good day in libraryland and for Early Learning.

Brian Soneda

Director, Mount Vernon City Library

Picture of Mount Vernon City Library Director Brian Soneda with his daughter Kioko

Don’t forget to vote today! Today is a primary election day and there are a lot of important races going on across the state. A number of school districts have primary school board races going on. This is important to early learning and how school districts prepare children for kindergarten. Other races such as City and County Councils, judges, and commissioners also play important roles in the overall health and opportunities presented to our youngest residents. Voting and taking a few moments to learn about the people running and the initiatives will give all of us a chance to influence our community.

I will admit that I almost forgot to mail in my ballot. This is not one of the bigger or splashier elections so it slipped my mind until I saw a reminder on the news. I was tempted to skip this election, thinking it is just a primary and I’m busy. That is a lame excuse and I knew it, so I sat down and studied my ballot and read about a few of the races online. It didn’t take very long and I feel that I made informed decisions that will impact.

Many of you vote by mail, which means you need to get your ballot postmarked or dropped at a drop station by today. Go vote! Democracy in action.

More information about the election and registering to vote:

Washington State Secretary of State Election Information: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/

Register to vote: http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/voterinformation/Pages/RegistertoVote.aspx

This past Saturday, August 8, the Foundation for Early Learning hosted a resource table as part of the 2009 Early Learning Community Fair at the Educational Resources Street Fair. This street fair was organized in partnership with Casey Family Programs.

Many kids and their families enjoyed making hand puppets with the Foundation's staff. We were able to capture some special moments of children while they made their custom hand puppets.

Many children were skeptical at first when we asked if they wanted to create puppets, but after watching a couple of puppet shows acted out by the Foundation’s staff, the little ones were more than happy to jump right in.

Many children took puppet making very serious, using every material possible including markers, crayons and stickers. I was impressed with how hard the children concentrated as they crafted their puppets with precision. They could have stayed working on their puppet's all day.

The event was a perfect outlet to let children be creative in their own way and to provide parents the opportunity to pick up valuable early learning brochures and information.

The Foundation highlighted resources from our partners Thrive by Five Washington and the Early Learning Public Library Partnership, among others. Other free publications included the 10 Simple Ways to Encourage Learning booklet and children's library card registration forms for Seattle Public Library. 

Thank you to all those who participated in the Early Learning Community Fair and to those that were able to make it out to our Seattle event or to another fair location.

For a complete list of fair events and partners, please visit www.earlylearning.org/fair.

Beginning this Saturday, August 8, is the 2009 Early Learning Community Fair, a statewide celebration of early learning. Working with over 90 partner organizations, the Foundation for Early Learning is celebrating the learning children experience birth through age five. Fair activities are scheduled at over 190 locations across our state and will introduce families to the many local early learning resources in their region.

Each community will be celebrating in their own unique way. In Wenatchee, community members are featuring Play & Learn groups, Community Cafes, and local library activities at the annual Taste of Harvest Festival. In Skagit County, early learning coalition members are hosting a month long Getting School Ready!® campaign that highlights what parents and caregivers can do to help prepare children for kindergarten.

When we kicked off this effort last year, we were elated to have over 90 locations participating. With over 190 locations participating this year, we are sure to have an even greater impact thanks to all those who have made this event possible.

This Saturday I will be at an Early Learning Community Fair event hosted at the Educational Resources Street Fair in the Central District of Seattle. The Foundation will be distributing Getting School Ready!®  booklets, designing hand puppets and will also highlight resources from our partners Thrive by Five Washington and the Early Learning Public Library Partnership, among others. Please come and visit this booth or one of the many other events beginning this weekend. You can see a map of the opportunities by visiting www.earlylearning.org/fair.

I hope to see you there!

If you are not a partner this year but would like to participate in 2010, please contact the Foundation’s Program Manager Erin Okuno at erin@easrlylearning.org.

Early Learning Community Fair Map