by Saint Fang

Created on: October 05, 2009   Last Updated: October 07, 2009

A Teacher in Reply to a Parent's Question:

Parent: "Is that all you do? Play all day?

You say that like it's a bad thing to play all day. As Joseph Chilton Pierce put it, "Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold." Play isn't just horsing around and having fun. It is fun, of course, but it's much more than that. It's the most useful (and least expensive) tool a teacher has.

Children at this age can't learn through textbooks or sitting and writing at a desk. Have you ever tried to make your child sit still for just a couple minutes? Children don't have the attention span for that kind of thing! They just want to play. Luckily, that's just what they need to be doing. Maybe when you come into this classroom, all you see is a room full of toys. I, on the other hand, see an entire school curriculum made especially for preschoolers.

Now, over in the corner, for instance, you may see a couple baskets of blocks. You think that's just toys? No. That is where a child first learns about shapes. A child can learn about sizes, shapes, weights, balances, height, depth, smoothness, and roughness. It's a child's exercise equipment. What about up in the loft? To you, it may just be a bunch of kids dressing up and playing pretend. Not to me. I see children learning about the roles of mothers, fathers, and children.

Not to mention it's one of the best ways to learn to use your imagination. What about the art area? Maybe most people see children making scribbles and messy paintings, but I see so much more. Children who paint learn about colors. They are learning how to transfer ideas onto paper. And, of course, those brushes are a wonderful way to work on fine motor skills.

What about when we go outside? It's so much more than just getting fresh air. It's children learning to use their body effectively. They discover fun and relaxation through movement. They learn their limitations, safety and caution, and how to take turns sharing a piece of equipment.

And there's reading. One of the best gifts you can give a child is a book. When you read to a child, you're teaching them to listen, increasing their vocabulary, teaching them about different concepts, people, and places, and you're teaching them to enjoy books and reading. I could go on.

I could take you to every part of this preschool and show you how the children use the simple act of playing to learn. They learn things through play that no life skills class or complicated text book could ever teach them. So I guess I can answer you this way. Yes, we play all day. But is that really ALL we're doing?

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