For Your Binder
A state-funded pre-K program led to ‘significantly negative effects’ for kids in Tennessee
Here is another article that emerged in response to the final results of the #Vanderbilt study which came out in early 2022. From the article: "By 6th grade, children in the #Tennessee state funded Pre-K program did worse than their peers (who didn't attend) in measures of academic achievement and behavior. In some pre-K programs, something is not better than nothing." #play #DAP #teaching #learning #pushdown
Einstein May Never Have Used Flashcards, But He Probably Built Forts: Bringing play back into the lives of children
Can you just see it? A young Einstein, wild hair flying, throwing his mother’s quilt over a couple of chairs and crawling underneath!?!?! #nature #play #forts #dens #looseparts #outside
Comparing Injury Rates on a Fixed Equipment Playground and an Adventure Playground
Data was collected over a five year span. Anyone wanna take any guesses? Yup! You guessed it! The adventure playground was statistically safer. #adventureplaygrounds #playgrounds #play #risk #movement #recess #playwork #outside
Let 'em eat dirt
Busy busy busy kids don't get the opportunity to wander outside the parental orbit to explore! Will we pay a price? #play #outside #pushdown #dirt #nature
Discovering the Importance of Play through Personal Histories and Brain Images
While having a play deprived childhood isn't going to turn you into a murderer, all of the inmates Brown interviewed had a play deprived childhood. #play #risk #resilience #teaching #learning #powerplaying #theorists
The Vital Importance of a Strong Foundation: Why early learning matters
In this Not Just Cute blog post, author Amanda Morgan taps into the house metaphor I use in my PLAY book and uses true-to-life language (they were building a home at the time) that invokes both literal and figurative images of the importance of a strong foundation! #play #DAP #teaching #learning #parenting
Can the Right Kinds of Play Teach Self-Control?
This article initially caught my eye because it contains one of my favorite words, but used it in a sentence with a phrase that gave me pause; self control? I used up two pens and a few highlighters keeping track of my reactions and comments to this one. Spoiler alert: verbiage verbiage verbiage! definitions definitions definitions! It's rather dated, so take some of it with a few extra grains of salt. Also, is Eleanor Duckworth on your radar??? #play #DAP #teaching #learning
In The News: A book review of Being Child Centered
While the journal ceased publication in 2020, they continue to provide their articles as an archived resource and in the summer of 2020 Louise Parks, then editor of the Texas Child Care Quarterly, shared a review of my book Lisa Murphy on... Being Child Centered with my editor at Redleaf Press, as well as some humbling words for which I will be forever grateful:
I’m delighted that we were able to include a review of On being Child Centered by Lisa Murphy. I’ll confess to laughing out loud (and shedding not a few tears) as I read Ms. Murphy’s wise and witty words, and longing for my days back in the classroom with eager, curious, and energetic three-year-olds. In a spectacular amalgam of Lilian Katz and Vivian Paley (my ECE heroes) Murphy calls educators to task (Katz) with anecdotes and examples (Paley) that are accessible, meaningful, and empowering of both adults and the children in their care. Can you tell this is one of my all-time favorites?!
#play #teaching #learning #inthenews
Re-defining the Play Cycle: An empirical study of playworkers’ understanding of playwork theory
The Play Cycle was initially identified in 1998 in what is oft simply referred to as The Colorado Paper. Since then, a new definition of the Play Cycle as been proposed by the authors of this study. #playwork #play
Children Educate Themselves Part III: How hunter-gatherer children learn without schools
Part III in a series by Peter Gray. #play #DAP #learning #teaching
The State of Early Childhood Three Things That Have Changed Since I Became an Early Childhood Consultant
Rae shares with us the three things she's been hearing all across the country in regard to children and their development. Sadly, they probably won't surprise you. #play #DAP #movement
Return to Kindergarten: A “Garden of Children” or “the New First Grade”?
Kindergarten should be the graduate school of fantasy play! Where did we go wrong? #play #DAP #theorists #teaching #learning