Food for thought

I've been finding lots of food for thought at Empowered by Play a blog whose purpose is "Helping families and teachers protect and promote imaginative play in our way-too-busy, consumer-driven, media-filled world."

Basically there are a lot of subjects I've considered before: early sexualization of children-particularly girls, too much emphasis on academics for young-even preschool age!-children, the loss of play as a worthwhile and educational activity, and media's overwhelming influence on our children's lives.

Some interesting things:

I really like this short post about a teacher's observations of five year olds playing with Lego. An excellent passage to show why play is soooo good for kids!

From The Power of Play by David Elkind, Ph.D. The following passage comes from the chapter "Toys Aren't Us".
"The need for hands-on play is now recognized in higher education. In the school of architecture at Stanford University, students are required to play with erector sets as part of the curriculum. Too few students have had actual experience in building real things, which is essential before they begin designing them."

I also noticed a link for a book that looks interesting as well, Imagine This! The book is a collection of poems and illustrations that celebrate make-believe and daydreaming. It's written and illustrated by mother/daughter team Joanne Froh and Frances Plagens. Their website is www.JoanneFrances.com.

I found the blog through a link from large families to a link on a large homeschooling family, where she discusses young girls learning provocative behavior from peers and being in a culture where provocative clothing is offered to younger and younger girls as well. She links to an article in the Rethinking Schools journal entitled "Six, Going on Sixteen". It was written by a veteran elementary schoolteacher who currently teaches a combined K/1 class who commented on the post, and that's where I found the website! (the author didn't feel the problem should be combatted by homeschooling to keep your children away from these influences. I say you can both homeschool and fight to keep it out of ALL children's lives!)