An education
An episode of Blues Clues got me thinking last week. It's my least favourite - here's why. One of the characters (Periwinkle) goes to school for the first time. (Blues Clues is American, and given the target audience, I suspect this is "nursery school" - more like kindy than NZ "school"). After playing, Periwinkle goes to play with the blocks. The teacher admonishes him - it is not time to do blocks, it is time to paint. But I feel like building, says Periwinkle. However, it's not time to build - Periwinkle must wait until tomorrow.
Not a big deal I guess, but I'm so glad that we have free play at Playcentre! The children decide for themselves if they are feeling creative or constructive within a few simple guidelines (such as "clean up time" and respecting the play of others). Simultaneously, little kids get to be little kids, and learn the more adult skills of making decisions for themselves rather than being led from here to there at appointed times.
I then started thinking about something else on the box - a sixty minutes-type programme which was looking at a flash pre-school in Australia that offered expensive, but apparently rigorous education for your child from six weeks of age. It was the old debate of whether or not your child is better off being educated in a formal sense almost from birth, and about how rich environments and highly qualified teachers affect outcomes. Like most of these programmes, it didn't dig too deep, but did offer some sound bites from a commentator who seemed to indicate that research was not on the side of early formal learning.
Then I remembered the publicity we have been receiving lately about 20 free hours early childhood education a week for 3-4 year olds. Not my 4 year old though - as Playcentre is a parent co-operative rather than teacher-led, we get.....nothing.
Which brings me to the research. What I've read is fairly clear. What you need to do with the very young is nurture them, love them, give them security and a love of learning. It is more difficult to achieve this if they spend extensive amounts of times separated from their primary caregiver, if caregivers change frequently, or if formalised learning is commenced too early. Rather than a love for learning, you are more likely to make them dread "book time", "maths time" etc. The value of play should never be underestimated - both as a learning tool and (from my perspective) simply a time when children can enjoy their childhood and have fun. Yes, my daughter learns physics as she pours water through our water play toys. Yes, my son learns numeracy as we count the number of pushes we give him on the swing. But best of all we have fun together.
New Zealand research (the "competent children" study) also has a lot to say. I don't have my reading materials to hand, but this study showed that Playcentre children did at least as well (in terms of measurable outcomes at various ages) as children who went to other early childhood education providers. Playcentre graduates did particularly well with perseverance - a handy attribute to have. It is thought that this is because they get to choose when to commence an activity, and are not interrupted unnecessarily until they have finished. They get to experience the satisfaction of problem solving and concentrating on one thing for a sustained period of time.
And this is why Playcentre's exclusion from the latest hand out of funds feels like a slap in the face for parents who work hard to provide education for their children, volunteer for extra duties, and spend time doing parenting and education courses to enable the sessions to happen. (On the side, this frees up places with other providers for those for whom Playcentre, for whatever reason, is not good for them, which has got to be good for parental choice).
Then I thought about Susan's blog, when she wrote about her daughter starting school. Susan's an experienced Playcentre person. I don't remember the exact words she wrote, but I remember the feelings, and I remember thinking that my little Isabelle will be sent out into the world in only a few month's time. I hope we are preparing her well. I hope that she will remember Playcentre with a smile, but also as a place that she was happy and ready to move on from.
So that's what I was thinking about as my older children figured out last week's puzzle on Blues Clues and Orla had second (or was it third?) breakfast.
Oh, and in case you were wondering - no, I'm not considering home schooling! But that's another post....
Not a big deal I guess, but I'm so glad that we have free play at Playcentre! The children decide for themselves if they are feeling creative or constructive within a few simple guidelines (such as "clean up time" and respecting the play of others). Simultaneously, little kids get to be little kids, and learn the more adult skills of making decisions for themselves rather than being led from here to there at appointed times.
I then started thinking about something else on the box - a sixty minutes-type programme which was looking at a flash pre-school in Australia that offered expensive, but apparently rigorous education for your child from six weeks of age. It was the old debate of whether or not your child is better off being educated in a formal sense almost from birth, and about how rich environments and highly qualified teachers affect outcomes. Like most of these programmes, it didn't dig too deep, but did offer some sound bites from a commentator who seemed to indicate that research was not on the side of early formal learning.
Then I remembered the publicity we have been receiving lately about 20 free hours early childhood education a week for 3-4 year olds. Not my 4 year old though - as Playcentre is a parent co-operative rather than teacher-led, we get.....nothing.
Which brings me to the research. What I've read is fairly clear. What you need to do with the very young is nurture them, love them, give them security and a love of learning. It is more difficult to achieve this if they spend extensive amounts of times separated from their primary caregiver, if caregivers change frequently, or if formalised learning is commenced too early. Rather than a love for learning, you are more likely to make them dread "book time", "maths time" etc. The value of play should never be underestimated - both as a learning tool and (from my perspective) simply a time when children can enjoy their childhood and have fun. Yes, my daughter learns physics as she pours water through our water play toys. Yes, my son learns numeracy as we count the number of pushes we give him on the swing. But best of all we have fun together.
New Zealand research (the "competent children" study) also has a lot to say. I don't have my reading materials to hand, but this study showed that Playcentre children did at least as well (in terms of measurable outcomes at various ages) as children who went to other early childhood education providers. Playcentre graduates did particularly well with perseverance - a handy attribute to have. It is thought that this is because they get to choose when to commence an activity, and are not interrupted unnecessarily until they have finished. They get to experience the satisfaction of problem solving and concentrating on one thing for a sustained period of time.
And this is why Playcentre's exclusion from the latest hand out of funds feels like a slap in the face for parents who work hard to provide education for their children, volunteer for extra duties, and spend time doing parenting and education courses to enable the sessions to happen. (On the side, this frees up places with other providers for those for whom Playcentre, for whatever reason, is not good for them, which has got to be good for parental choice).
Then I thought about Susan's blog, when she wrote about her daughter starting school. Susan's an experienced Playcentre person. I don't remember the exact words she wrote, but I remember the feelings, and I remember thinking that my little Isabelle will be sent out into the world in only a few month's time. I hope we are preparing her well. I hope that she will remember Playcentre with a smile, but also as a place that she was happy and ready to move on from.
So that's what I was thinking about as my older children figured out last week's puzzle on Blues Clues and Orla had second (or was it third?) breakfast.
Oh, and in case you were wondering - no, I'm not considering home schooling! But that's another post....
Labels: Thoughts
posted by Mary at 10:02 am
2 Comments:
hi mary &brendon
Interesting but i dont agree with alot off what you say in regard to play school and un structured play
On what basis? Your experience? Research, or books you have read? C'mon, don't leave us hanging, we might have something to learn from you!
(p.s. - Playcentre is not the only early childhood education provider that focuses on free play - for example, our kindies also work largely from this model. Free play should also not be confused with just letting the children go for it while the adults drink coffee and chat (as nice a proposition as that is!) That's more of a playgroup. Playcentre parents work alongside the children, and use their training and experience to extend children's play, evaluate children on an individual basis, evaluate each session at a meeting at its conclusion etc etc).
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