Let’s Play!
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” -Mr. Rogers
Photos by McKenzie Coronado Photography
By the time our children turn five, 90% of their brain development has already occurred. During these formative years, children are learning how to think, explore, process emotions and interact with peers. This stage of development wires their brain and lays the foundation for their future, giving them skills they need to succeed. How do children best learn and gain experiences to enhance their health and development during this stage? The Rise School of Austin’s answer to this is – PLAY.
Children are naturally inclined to play. It is an innate instinct that “provides evolutionary advantages to both animals and humans,” (NAEYC). Play has been shown to promote early brain development, and research suggests that play fosters growth in the areas of language, speech, mathematics and spatial skills, scientific thinking, and social and emotional development, while the lack of play can lead to increased depression and anxiety, according to The American Academy of Pediatrics. Despite abundant research showing that play can lead to higher-performing students, there is a rapid decline in the amount of play in our schools today.
The Rise School of Austin, a fully-inclusive preschool in East Austin, believes that play is essential for creating meaningful learning experiences that are supportive, social, and nurturing. Through play, children become engaged and excited to learn, gain confidence in their abilities, and begin to grow their understanding of the world. “In particular, free play and guided play – together known as playful learning – are pedagogical tools through which children can learn in joyful and conceptually rich ways,” explains NAEYC.
What is free versus guided play and why is it important? Free play enables the child to fully direct the activity, create their own parameters, and build from their own interests and motivation to make discoveries. Guided play incorporates specific learning objectives by manipulating the environment, such as adjusting the materials or asking questions during play to help direct learning. “Guided play maintains the joyful child-directed aspects of free play but adds an additional focus on learning goals through light adult scaffolding. It offers an opportunity for exploration in a specifically designed context” that allows for adult feedback (NAEYC).
The model used at Rise balances both styles of play within the daily schedule while also incorporating opportunities for physical movement, creative expression and practice with self-help skills, providing multiple outlets for student engagement and learning. “Play is the most important vehicle for learning and our educators carefully craft play opportunities to enhance children’s relationships, development, and understanding of their world,” explains Hannah Bricker, Assistant Director. Executive Director Meg Bethune describes Rise’s curriculum and approach to education as intentional, child-centered, and individualized.
The Rise School uses intentional play to address each area of development. This is made possible with the collaboration of masters level educators and professionals in occupational, music, physical and speech therapies, who work together to determine the curriculum, teaching strategies, and design of the classroom environment. Through a co-teaching model and push-in therapy program, The Rise School has the unique opportunity to provide a highly individualized experience for children of all abilities.
“Play and child development should be taken seriously,” states Meg Bethune. “It has a significant impact on many aspects of development, and research continues to unveil the importance of both free and guided-play. We want to give our children the tools they need to succeed, so let’s have fun while we teach them about our amazing world!”
For references and more information about the Rise School of Austin model, please contact info@riseschoolaustin.org.
The Rise School is now enrolling for the 2019-2020 school year.
Contact:
512-891-1682
riseschoolaustin.org
4800 Manor Rd Building J
