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Have a Summer Experience!
Don’t just let summer pass you by! Let your kids experience it! This summer we have 10 weeks of experiences for your child to have! Call to reserve your spot today! SPACE IS LIMITED!

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March 2, 2013 11:00am – 2:00pm

Please join us for our FREE Event!
We will have activities, bounce house, learning opportunities and food trucks!
Gringo’s Burrito Box
Jimmy’s Meatballs
Tiki Cone
Click here for more information

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DROP & SHOP

We are excited to bring back our holiday “Drop and Shop” program at The Village! On certain Saturdays The Village will be opening its doors to families needing childcare.

Click here for more information!

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Research News You Can Use: Pretend Play Is Important but Its Role in Learning is Complex

A recent paper by Angeline Lillard and her colleagues at the University of Virginia about the role of pretend play in young children’s development questions the importance of play for young children. The release of the study and the headlines it has sparked suggest that play is not important in early childhood, that the field’s passion for play may be real, but its power in driving child development may not be. Looking at the report, however, reveals that the relationship is more complex. They report that while the weight of evidence does not suggest that pretend play is the sole or largest contributor to many early childhood outcomes, it does appear to play a role.

As is often the case, it is important to go beyond the headlines and look more closely at the paper itself. That is challenging with this particular paper, because it is extensive, demanding, and provocative. But it offers an important opportunity to really delve into the complexities that surround play and the research trying to define its role in the lives of young children.

What Did This Paper Do?

Lillard and colleagues set out to review all the research they could find that looks at the relationship between pretend play and a range of early childhood outcomes (including cognitive and academic, as well as social outcomes; they did not find a sufficient number of studies in some areas, like emotion regulation). They find that the research to date is filled with potential weaknesses, which they present in a thorough way. But looking across a number of studies, even with weaknesses, does allow them to consider the pattern of findings, from which they can draw conclusions.

What is the Research Review Really Asking About Play?

The researchers offer three potential hypotheses. First, they consider the view that pretend play is the fundamental force in early childhood—pretend play carries the greatest power to support development. They recognize this as the “ethos of play.” Second, pretend play contributes to outcomes, but it is neither the only nor the strongest factor (they call this equifinality; see here for a technical description of this idea, or here for a very basic one). The third possibility is that pretend play is not really responsible for development in other areas. Instead, pretend play arises because of development in other areas—either directly due to that development or because the same factors that support development in one area also happen to support pretend play (this is called the epiphenomenal argument). In other words, is pretend play the essential force in development; is it one of many forces that affect development; or is it merely a by-product of development in other areas? Examining a range of studies, most of which did not directly test cause-effect relationships, the paper explores whether it is possible to find evidence that clearly rejects or supports any of these arguments.

The Conclusion: Play Has a Complex Role in Early Childhood Development

Lillard and colleagues conclude that the pattern of findings does not support a claim that pretend play is the primary driver of children’s development across a range of other areas of interest. As they point out, this argument may represent an extreme view, one that suggests that if children were allowed only to play, they would develop the range of skills, abilities, and competencies important for school and life success. Such an argument represents one side of what we previously called a false dichotomy, a false either/or, and so it is not so surprising that the existing research cannot support it. Instead, the existing research supports two alternatives: (1) pretend play works in concert with other factors to support children’s development, or (2) pretend play arises out of the relationships between certain experiences and other areas of development. In either case, pretend play is related to a number of early childhood learning and development outcomes; it simply cannot be argued that pretend play is the sole source of development in those areas.

What Does This Mean for Early Education?

At the end of their extensive review, Lillard and her colleagues argue that there is a role of pretend play in early childhood education, even if it is not central. It is perhaps significant that we perceive the need for play to predict other outcomes, presumably justifying its presence in the lives of children. However, this paper underscores the importance of play, even if it is not the strongest predictor of other outcomes. The authors point to the importance of playful learning and child-centered classrooms (for example, here and here) in supporting young children’s development. They also note the importance of joyfulness—not typically assessed as an outcome in studies of play but surely present.

Their discussion of early education echoes the NAEYC position statement on developmentally appropriate practice, and elsewhere, which includes play as one of several instructional strategies, including more teacher-directed approaches, that combine to provide children with experiences that support development. This can be called the “play as action” approach (see here, for example). The authors also note that play can be a context for learning (“play as place,” for example, here); children like to play, it brings joy, and it is within this context that learning can occur. Children can learn while at play through their own experience, through their interaction with peers, and through their interactions with adults. The idea that play provides a context for learning and development in education is similar to the use of play therapy for children coping with traumatic experiences; in both cases, play as place provides a natural, comfortable setting for young children to develop. Froebel, Montessori, Paley, all the giants in our field, have said that play is children’s work, but it is also adult work. We in early education must work to better understand the role of play in the lives of young children, and how to nurture and utilize play in our work with children.

See this article and find more great articles and information about NAECY here.

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Readers Choice 2012 Winner Best Day Care!

You have voted and we have WON! We are excited to announce that you have made us the winner of the Best Day Care! Thank you to our families and staff for making this such a special learning environment!

See the full list of winners here

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http://www.circleofmoms.com

For a child, the playground is a world of discovery two slides and a trip across the monkey bars away. For parents, it can seem like a dangerous death trap designed to send them into a stressed-out panic. You want your child to enjoy the pinnacle of the toddler social scene and to stay active in the outdoors, but your child’s safety is your responsibility and always your priority.

Picking the right playground for your children’s ages and abilities, dressing them properly for the outing and teaching them rules and guidelines for appropriate behaviors before they step foot on the jungle gym are easy ways to ensure that both you and your children can relax and enjoy the playground.

For more tips, read “Playing it Safe With Your Toddler at the Playground” by Mary Beth Sammons from Circle of Moms.

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The week of April 16th is extremely busy! Throughout the week, we will be continuing the PreK field trips to the Red Barn Petting Zoo. The schedules for the trips are posted on your child’s classroom door. If you would also like to volunteer to chaperone on this field trip, we would be delighted! Please just see yourself to your child’s classroom door again to sign up.

April, 17th , New Memebers Mixer for The Village Family Foundation! Join us at Stonewood Bar and Grill on 612 E. Bloomingdale Ave. in Brandon. There will be refreshments and an overview of The Village Family Foundation.

Parent-Teacher conferences will be conducted the weeks of 4/16 & 4/23 for children aged 1 to 3 years of age. Sign-up sheets will be on the classroom doors, of course, but you need to complete the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and return it to your child’s teacher the conference. We can’t wait to talk to you about your child’s progress!

Date Night! Take your spouse to dinner, at a local eatery or a candlelight dinner at home, on Saturday, April 21st. All children 12 months and older are invited to come have fun at the Village while you and your loved one have a quiet night all to yourselves. The Village ELC supports parents and families! Enjoy!

Sunday, April 22nd, is Earth Day! On April 23rd, all classes have special activities planned to celebrate! You’re invited to come see us plant a tree!

The week of April 23rd is Parent-Teacher Conferences for VPK/PreK students. See the sign-up sheet on your child’s door! There will be a New Member Mixer for The Village Family Foundation on Tuesday, April 24th, at the Stonewood Bar and Grill. All parents are invited and encouraged to come! There will be drinks, refreshments, and an overview of the Village Family Foundation. Stonewood Bar and Grill is on 612 E. Bloomingdale Ave. in Brandon and we hope to see you there!

Tuesday, April 24th is the last Village Family Foundation “Spirit” Pizza Party of this school year at Bloomingdale Pizza (4pm – 10pm)! Whether you dine in or carry out, please join us and support our projects for children

Have a great month!

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Nationally, the U.S. has a 30% high school dropout rate.  In Florida, the dropout rate is a staggering 41%.  Clearly these numbers do not bode well for the ability of the U.S. to compete economically around the world or to attract quality employment to Florida.

Providing a strong educational foundation has never been more important for children in this country.  Citizens need to demand more from schools at all levels, particularly middle and high school, where academic content and achievement are truly appalling.  A quick survey of Florida high school curriculums indicate an enormous amount of time spent remediating subjects that should have been learned in middle school.  Even with all of this remediation, Florida schools still cannot produce an acceptable graduation rate.

Please become involved in improving the educational state of the U.S.  Demand quality and accountability from whatever schools your children attend.  Listen to what our political candidates views on education are and cut through the rhetoric to see where they really stand.  You are paying for education either directly through tuition, indirectly through taxation and ultimately you will pay for the type of country you live in.  I think we should get our money’s worth.

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