| Childhood is a journey, not a race... |
| Come play with us! "It is a happy talent to know how to play" -Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher, poet, essayist "It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still see a difference between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them." -Leo Buscaglia, author, educator When kids play, they remember. They may not be aware they are learning, but they sure are aware they are having fun. When you have a good belly laugh with your siblings or parents or friends, that stays with you. And the great thing is that it comes so naturally...if only we let it." -Rebecca Krook, play facilitator for kids with disabilities " play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." -Friedrich Froebel, "father" of modern kindergarten "Today's young children are controlled by the expectations, schedules, whims, and rules of adults. play is the only time they can take control of their world." -Sheila G. Flaxman "We don't stop play because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." -George Bernard Shaw, playright " play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning...They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play." -Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood "play for young children is not recreation activity...It is not leisure activity nor escape activity... play is thinking time for young children. It is language time. Problem solving time. It is memory time, planning time, investigating time. It is organization-of-ideas time, when the young child uses his mind and body and social skills and all his powers in response to the stimuli he has met." -James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist, author "It is in play, and perhaps only in playing, that the child is free to be creative." -D.W. Winnicott "What is so important about play? It contributes to the emotional, intellectual, physical, social and spiritual development of the child in ways that cannot be taught through instruction. play helps children build life skills, including the capacity for understanding themselves and others, solving problems imaginatively, flexibility, self- motivation, and the ability to control their own self-contentment, resiliency and self confidence. Indeed, how else could very young children, including infants, develop these qualities without self-directed exploration of and experimentation with objects, places, and relationships, free from the possibility of failure? For many, that could serve as a working definition of play." -www.playingforkeeps.org, a national non-profit organization promoting healthy developmental play |
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| Peace in a Pod Daycare Contact Raquel at rm4727@hotmail.com or 656-5928 with questions or to schedule an orientation. |
Create Play Sing Dance Jump Pretend Cooperate Taste Learn Explore Discover Read Giggle Wonder Dream |
