Seriously Considering Play by Lloyd P. Rieber

This article's main purpose is to emphasize the importance of play in the learning process and integrating technology in order create a more "playful" atmosphere.

After reading it, I first thought of this book, Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Popular Culture Is Making Us Smarter by Steven Johnson. I then thought about my daughter Sophia.

I read education articles differently now that I am not just a teacher but also a mother. I can't help but relate everything to my daughter. The above article reminds me of a different article from one of the myriad of parenting magazines that I have read in the past three years.

It talked about the lack of free time for children to play, to explore their world, because parents fill up kid's days with different programs from sports, karate, piano lessons... you name it. "Seriously Considering Play" also addresses this in that "play" has a bad reputation as being frivolous and useless. It says this is perhaps due to lack of a universal definition of play.

However, I believe as both articles discussed that "play," can be defined as using one's imagination and is important because a child needs to be creativite and essentially create. One point from the parenting magazine that really stuck in my head was that inventors and inventions would not exsist if "play" or using one's imagination ceased.

After reading both or these articles, I ask myself how can I help my daughter as well as my students learn through games?

I know that at home I try to have elements availble for her to play with, such as foam alpabet and numbers that she rearranges. And sometimes educational toys are atypical. For instance, she is learning the difference between left and right when she puts on her play shoes.

Also, I try to give her space when she is pouring milk into another cup. Yes, it will make a mess, and it is necessary for her to drink milk out of a different cup. However, she is learning to refine her motor skills and about pouring. Also, I try to be patient when she wants to put on the lid of every sippie cup she owns or when she wants to buckle and unbuckle her doll over and over again in her high chair.

As for my students, I try to be open to discussions that come up in the classroom. I have many props that we use when discussing/acting out literature. I love to allow them to illustrate vocabulary words with their own idea of what they should look like. Nontheless, I know that I should be always looking how I can do more!