At my childcare, we are very relaxed about play. And I believe that children need to be able to have normal, "ordinary" days as well as special days filled with fun and excitement! And that the two should be easily recognized by the children. Too many "special" days can create an atmosphere of over stimulation where we see that children act out and are not satisfied with the simple act of play. There is a place for both types of day in the memories of childhood. This is for the benefit of the adult that these little ones will become.
Children in childcare can become very co-dependent on adult-created fun. And why not? Adults can think of some pretty fun stuff to do! Usually way out of the skill set of a preschoolers imagination!
In daycare environments where children's days are filled with created activities specifically designed to stimulate, alleviate boredom and move children from one thing to the next, children are not allowed to feel the sometimes negativity of normal life. Child-directed games ebb and flow, changing with new toy choices or different friends etc. Sometimes these choices are negative and sometimes positive and the learning goes without saying.
Time spent at creating their own fun, (without the constant intervention of adult ideas and logic) is a simple, yet necessary way that little kids can learn to deal with the normal ups and downs of daily life.
At my house, we save those wonderful, overly-excitable days for parties!
In October we had a special Magic Show and I tried out my amateur skills as a magician on my childcare children. And they were AMAZED;)
But that was not too hard because children are very happy with the simplest things of childhood and pretending to be a magician for the rest of the day was such a happy thing for them to be! It seemed that every toy in our play room was made to "disappear" inside of someone's magic hat!
These special days are unique, not to be wasted on the ordinary.
Each day is not always going to be filled with balloons, dancing and magic, but some very special days are!
(Here are all the little Houdinis! And you try to get a good picture of 8-10 kids!;)
Children in childcare can become very co-dependent on adult-created fun. And why not? Adults can think of some pretty fun stuff to do! Usually way out of the skill set of a preschoolers imagination!
In daycare environments where children's days are filled with created activities specifically designed to stimulate, alleviate boredom and move children from one thing to the next, children are not allowed to feel the sometimes negativity of normal life. Child-directed games ebb and flow, changing with new toy choices or different friends etc. Sometimes these choices are negative and sometimes positive and the learning goes without saying.
Time spent at creating their own fun, (without the constant intervention of adult ideas and logic) is a simple, yet necessary way that little kids can learn to deal with the normal ups and downs of daily life.
At my house, we save those wonderful, overly-excitable days for parties!
In October we had a special Magic Show and I tried out my amateur skills as a magician on my childcare children. And they were AMAZED;)
But that was not too hard because children are very happy with the simplest things of childhood and pretending to be a magician for the rest of the day was such a happy thing for them to be! It seemed that every toy in our play room was made to "disappear" inside of someone's magic hat!
These special days are unique, not to be wasted on the ordinary.
Each day is not always going to be filled with balloons, dancing and magic, but some very special days are!
(Here are all the little Houdinis! And you try to get a good picture of 8-10 kids!;)
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