Resources
Photo by KinderSpirit Preschool
Dressing Warm…
“As a pediatrician, I actually was taught that you could tell if children were warm enough by touching their skin. If they felt warm then they were wearing enough clothes, and if they felt cool or their skin was mottled (bluish-pink), then they needed more clothes. It was simple. I was also a parent that had her 2 year-old child playing outside in the rain wearing only a diaper. I actually thought he was okay because his skin felt warm!”
The Benefits of Unstructured Play
“When it comes to brain development, time in the classroom may be less important than time on the playground.”
"The experience of play changes the connections of the neurons at the front end of your brain," says Sergio Pellis, a researcher at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. "And without play experience, those neurons aren't changed," he says.“It is those changes in the prefrontal cortex during childhood that help wire up the brain's executive control center, which has a critical role in regulating emotions, making plans and solving problems, Pellis says. So play, he adds, is what prepares a young brain for life, love and even schoolwork.”
Photo by KinderSpirit Preschool
Photo by KinderSpirit Preschool
A phrase I often said to my son regarding his risky play,
“Do you feel safe doing that?”
“Here’s why kids not only love risky play but desperately NEED it and how you can keep your cool allowing them to take appropriate risks.”
“Toddlers are brilliant. Aren’t they?”
“We, adults, have forgotten what it’s like to be a toddler. To be small and dependent. To be constantly learning. To feel only one (strong) emotion at a time, yet not have the tools to regulate that emotion. To experience the most rapid brain development of one’s life.”
Photo by KinderSpirit Preschool
Photo by KinderSpirit Preschool
Don’t Let the Toys Do the Talking
“Remember when toys were just toys—when children infused them with life and when young kings and queens sitting on living room floors became the architects of great castles with moats? Nevermore. Today’s toys move and talk, “think” and guide. No longer props for child’s play, the toys of today leave the Velveteen Rabbit in the dust and are more likely to control play than to support it.”
It’s science: Toddlers are happier with fewer toys
Children benefit with fewer toys! We’ve noticed this in the classroom too. The children are engaging with fewer toys more creatively!
Photo by KinderSpirit Preschool