The Binder Project Starts TODAY!
A reporter from the Hastings Tribune not only came to the event last night for a "pre-show" interview, but stayed for the entire workshop. That is rare. I am very excited about the whole thing and cannot wait to read her article. The event coordinators who live here in Hastings said they will send an email when the article hits the paper so we can see it and so I can link it up here!
In other random news - why do I seem to have "good hair" days on travel days and on gig days it never seems to behave and I find myself just wanting to shave it all off!??
In more serious news: READ THIS BOOK:
Children's Play - The roots of reading
Editors: Edward Zigler, Dorothy Singer and Sandra Bishop-Josef
Notice the familiar names????
From the forward- and I quote:
"The following pages , chapter after chapter, study upon study, make clear the connection between healthy early childhood play experiences and outcomes most of us would want for children: verbal and mathematical literacy, organizational skills, intrinsic excitement about learning, school readiness, creativity and more, The evidence is powerful and holds great promise for children. Play is the natural way for children to explore, learn and build skills."
-Susan Oliver, Executive Director, Playing for Keeps and the author of the forward to the book
Sidebar: Playing for keeps is a national non-profit organization that contributes to better outcomes and higher quality of life for children through increasing their access to healthy, constructive play.
HOMEWORK:
Ladies and Gentlemen you have heard me say it before and I am saying it again! We need to do our homework - we MUST be connected to the articles and the books and the studies so we can channel our energies into putting into practice what the studies and the books say, instead of getting stuck in the mud and mire of constantly defending it. The studies have been completed and the evidence is strong. Children need to play. And while they play they are learning. So what do we need to do?
The BINDER PROJECT is officially starting. Here is your homework:
1) buy a big fat 3 ring binder with a clear plastic sheet on the front so you can slip a cover sheet in it.
2) make a cover page to slip in there on the front of the binder
3) In big bold letters the cover page needs to say this:
Learning = Playing
Presenting the evidence
4) from now on, whenever you read anything that supports a play based early childhood experience put a copy of it in here. If it is a book, then make a copy of the front & back cover of the book. If it's an article, copy it and put it in, if its a blurb in your paper, copy it. If it's a small anecdote in a magazine, put it in. If it's a serious study or research project, put it in. If it's someone's master's thesis, get an abstract of the thesis, or put the whole thing in.
The goal here is that we collect our arsenal of information. Then, if challenged in your room, school, program on the importance or value of play you can calmly and confidently present the evidence to the person who is just not sure. Make them a cup of tea or coffee and invite them to sift through it.
You MUST make sure you have read all the material you include. You MUST be ready to engage in constructive and healthy dialogue about the contents of your binder. You MUST be ready to put into practice what you know to be play based environments and you now are collecting the evidence which supports it.
Get busy.
Your binder is going to be a never ending project. It is going to take TIME. But I guarantee it will be time well spent. It is time invested in your commitment to proving hands-on, play-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood environments.
It is an investment in the future.
Call or email if you need me. Send me pictures of your binders. I'm looking for this to gain some momentum... let's get it moving.
bye for now
-lisa
Ooey Gooey® and The Ooey Gooey Lady® are registered trademarks of Ooey Gooey Inc. All rights reserved.
All workshop titles and articles written by Lisa Murphy are © Lisa Murphy, Ooey Gooey, Inc. Rochester, New York.
For more information call Ooey Gooey, Inc. 800-477-7977, www.ooeygooey.com
Ooey Gooey, Inc.
3265 East Ave.
Rochester, NY 14618
Toll free: 800-477-7977
International: 1-585-383-1891
Fax: 585-383-8078
Site design and hosting by [ i ] motion design
