How important is play?   By Melinda Bossenmeyer, Ed.D. 
For the generation of Americans that lived by the daily adage, “you must come inside when the street lights come on,” the importance of play was intuitive and occurred naturally in the course of everyday American life. Baby boomers recite the street light regulation as one of America’s unwritten rules that most children understood and practiced. Certainly that was the case for those of…

Contributed by JC BoushhLast week I attended the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference and had the opportunity to not only lecture on the value of free-play for children, but to also here many fellow advocates who share my beliefs in the importance of children’s play. I also learned that NAEYC is in the process of organizing a panel to prepare an official position on children’s play, and in NAEYC’s infinite w…

Cellular phones, global internet access, satellite television, and online gaming systems have transformed our everyday world into Marshal McLuhan’s electronic global village. Technology has now entered all areas of children’s lives: home, school, and toys. A new film by a Norwegian-born film maker Tonje Hessen Schei entitled “Play Again” takes an in-depth look at the virtual world vs. natural world and its effect on children’s outdoor free-play.…

Contributed by JC Boushh I just recently read a blog post titled “The Power of Goofing Off” and started to reminisce about the freedom I had to goof off. Funny that this topic would come up especially since just last evening my church pastor was telling the congregation that he really liked me because I was such a goof off. Where did this ability to goof off come from? Was it my environment as a child, was it a genetic code embedded within m…

Contributed by JC BoushhMany teachers and school administrators feel that recess has moved from being a time of free-play and games to a time of conflicts and woes. Is the answer to restoring order during recess the addition of recess coaches?Schools around the country are adding recess coaches and structures recess to their current recess time in order to eliminate many of the problems associated with recess.Jill Vialet of Playworks based in Oa…

Contributed by JC BoushhSchools ban tag and dodge ball, Homeowner’s Associations forbid children from playing outdoors without adult supervision, and now British Police investigate the crime of drawing hopscotch markings with chalk on public sidewalks. When did children’s play become a crime? Many blame the death of children’s free-play on liability and the fear of litigation. While others argue that overprotective parents and sedentary lifestyl…