When you think of the roots of learning, what comes to mind? Is it learning your ABCs, colors, and counting? Or, rather, is it stomping through the mud, going for a walk in the park, or playing with a friend? If you answered yes to both of these, then you then you realize that academics and play are the pillars of learning for society's youth. This duality can be easy to forget in increasingly high-pressure learning environments, where students are assessed and pressed to higher standards at younger and younger ages.
Play is "essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children" (Ginsburg, 2007). Through play, children use their five senses to think, spark creativity, solve problems, socialize, learn relationships (among people and objects), and have fun. "For young children, there is no distinction between play and learning; they are one and the same," writes parenting author Shelley Butler. When you take children on a walk through the park, they are learning about the weather, nature, animals, and so much more. When children play with toys, they are using their problem-solving skills to manipulate the toy, to role play, to learn the importance of sharing, and for tactile exploration. In fact, play is such an essential part of a child's life that the 1989 United Nations High Commission for Human Rights recognized play as a "right of every child." No doubt, free, exploratory play should be an essential element of early learning, but it must also be balanced with more structured learning.
"Literacy development starts early in life and is highly correlated with school achievement" (Strickland, 2006). In fact, studies show that "88 percent of students who were poor readers in 1st grade were poor readers in fourth grade" (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). By 4th grade, the focus shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. Meaning, students with low literacy will fall further behind in academic content acquisition across subject areas. Experts say the roots of early learning literacy begin by talking to children. Parents and caretakers who engage children from birth, by discussing and describing daily activities and asking and responding to questions foster literacy through vocabulary development, listening comprehension, and verbal expression. Research shows that, "the quantity of words spoken to a child in the first three years of life is strongly associated with a child's language skills, vocabulary size, and IQ later in life" (The Access Center, 2014). Communicate with young children constantly. Not only is communication beneficial from a cognitive standpoint, but it also creates a positive emotional bond between parent and child, or between teacher and student.
Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." For this vision to be enacted, children need early learning that begins at birth and is strongly rooted in a balance of play and literacy development. We owe this to the world changers at work and at play in our preK and kindergarten classrooms, right now.