Episode 65: Why We Play for Soft Skills

We started this series with the overall argument for why play is essential for human development.  The next three episodes dug deep into three main themes: Why we need play for mental health and wellness, for brain development and real learning, and for soft skill development.  Then, we shifted to several shorter episodes, touching on specific types of play and how they contribute to development.  In this final episode, I’m talking about why ALL children need play, even when others may think it’s time to help children “catch up” instead.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode70

What does fingerpainting have to do with the Space Race?  In this episode, we're talking about art and creative play and their role in learning, thinking, and innovating.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode69

This episode’s focus is the dress-up area and dramatic play.  We’ll talk about the powerful developmental support that comes from preschoolers dressing up and playing pretend.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode68

This episode’s focus is sensory play.  We’ll take a look at why these bins full of rice, water, goop, and other media aren’t just a big mess waiting to happen, they’re a really important key to supporting healthy child development.

Find Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode67

This episode’s focus is the block area.  We look at what’s going on in those busy building centers of the early childhood classroom, and why it’s important to keep those big spaces open for construction, even when there’s pressure to move the blocks out to make room for “real school”.

Don’t underestimate the simple nature of a collection of rectangles, squares, and triangles made out of hardwood maple.  When children play with construction toys (which include the ever-present unit blocks, of course, but also other open-ended building toys like Legos, magnet tiles, bristle blocks, architectural blocks etc.) they get hands-on experience that simply can’t be replaced by virtual imitations.

Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode66

While some schools may claim they’re moving away from play and toward more direct academic instruction as a way to prepare children for their future careers, business leaders repeatedly share that soft skills are becoming increasingly relevant in the workplaces of today and of the future.  In this episode, we’ll talk about how pushing out play also pushes out prime opportunities for building essential soft skills.  Soft skills that not only enhance careers, but improve life.

FInd show notes at: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode65

This is the third episode in a nine-episode series!  (Find them all here.) 

In this episode, we’re digging into why we play for brain development and real learning.  There are many people who say they support play for young children, but question whether or not we need play in school, or who might argue that play is important, as long as we get the work of learning done first.  So today, we’ll talk about why play and learning aren’t as separate as people might think.

Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode64

In this episode, we’re digging into why we play for mental health. It’s not just something we think is true or that sounds nice, it’s a claim that’s backed up by science and statistics.  There’s something about play that is essential to developing and maintaining our mental health.  We’ll dig into those findings and what they mean for our youngest learners.

Find show notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode63

I’m excited to be kicking off something special today.  For years, I’ve been speaking at workshops and conferences about the power of play in the early learning environment, which sparked the series of parent letters I’ve written, called Why We Play.  This month, I’ll be sharing a special podcast series with the same name: Why We Play.  Every Tuesday and Thursday in February, you’ll find a new episode sharing the science and stories behind why we play, evidence that play is not just cute, it’s incredibly powerful.

This Why We Play podcast series is long overdue – I’m so excited to jump into a topic I’m SO passionate about and to share some fascinating, compelling research that I absolutely love nerding out on.  I hope you’ll join me for the whole month of February.

Whether you’re a champion for play or a playful learning skeptic, this series is just for you.

Find Show Notes at https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode62

Find Show Notes Here

Dr. Dale Farran has spent the better part of the last 50 years researching early childhood education.  But some of her most famous research has come about rather recently, as she directs the evaluation of the Tennessee Voluntary PreK Program.  This study is one of the most fascinating pieces of recent research in early childhood education.

With a randomly controlled trial, Farran's team found that after an initial PreK year, children who participated scored higher than children who didn’t. After the two groups converged for their kindergarten year, however, that difference disappeared.  That’s not too surprising – a “fade out” effect is often observed in early childhood research. 

Where this study really started making waves was with the follow-up data.  After the participating children completed their third-grade year, Farran and her team found that the PreK group actually scored *below* the other children on the math and science sections of their standardized tests  - and by statistically significant margins.  By the sixth-grade year, more alarm bells sounded.  The PreK participants were scoring below the nonparticipants on not only math and science (and by a greater factor than was seen in third grade) but now, also on English language arts as well.  Perhaps more concerning, they were also getting in more trouble at school and receiving more expulsions.

While some may have been tempted to bury unexpected results, Dr. Farran and her team decided to get curious and ask what could be learned.  The rest of us get to make the same choice – ignore the research, or get curious and find something to learn.

Show Notes: https://notjustcute.com/podcast/episode61