October 13, 2020 | Bridget O'Dowd
The children have been exploring the Park with such confidence! For many, Park time is their favorite time of the day, and for good reason! Children have many choices in the Park. They spend time with their friends engaging in games, both competitive and cooperative, imaginary play, digging, exploring, and running. So far, most of our park time has been spent at the park! We have found during our allotted park time, at least one of the fields across from school are available for us to play and not interact with other classes or people. Rainy days and days that the fields are busy, we have also played in the gym and play yard!
Children need this unstructured time to practice skills they will need all through their lives: problem-solving, communication, and social skills. As they create their own games, enforce rules, and cooperate with others they are building their executive function skills, which is what we adults use to plan, multi-task, troubleshoot, and prioritize. Let the children play!