For Your Binder

Unfortunately, “going out to play” has gone the way of the dodo, the typewriter and the eight-track tape.  #outside #play #parenting #risk #resilience 

Note: depending on how often you access the LA Times, you might need to sign up for this one

A Q/A session with Gever Tulley, co-author of Fifty Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do  #risk #play #DAP #outside #parenting #teaching

Limiting playgrounds to manufactured equipment short-changes children of rich, playful, outdoor experiences!  #play #outside #nature #movement

This is a valuable collaborative resource created by The National Playing Fields Association, PLAYLINK, The Children's Play Council, Play Wales, Play Scotland, Sutcliffe Play & Playboard Northern Ireland.  At it's core is a shared belief that children need to play and as such, need environments that are suitable for them to do so.  #play #playwork #learning #teaching #outside

Hmmmmm can we still trust those bears and dolls? #toys #play #technology

The history of the playground is a story of control.  Read more about it in this article and BONUS! There is an embedded link to their podcast episode (40 min) of the same title!  #play #panopticon #playgrounds #outside 

Are we disguising bad teaching with nice clothes??? #teaching

Mixed-age groupings create a frame for deepening relationships for staff with children and their families.  #mixedages #DAP #teaching #learning

We need to change the language of the early childhood narrative; we have drained education of it's ability to invoke wonder and passion and have left behind lifeless clichés such as:  investment... outcomes... returns... assessment... quality... #DAP #teaching #learning #DAP

Your values will inform your practice.  Read this, then read it again.  #teaching #learning

First off, regardless of your position on screen based tech please shelve it for this read as, seriously, the article is from 1996 and I am quite sure anyone currently involved in designing interactive media would laugh at how dated and old the language is ("the popular analogy of an office desktop to help a user understand the operation of a microcomputer")  

Also, I reread it a couple times before posting and I really think we can take the message, which might initially seem specific to gaming/interactive media, lift it up and take from it a reminder of the value and importance of play, discovery, intrinsic motivation & self-regulation.  #play #teaching #learning #technology #screens

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