Why Play?
The Rotary Club of Falmouth is pleased to present the 2023 Falmouth Day of Play. Did you know that there are many reasons to P L A Y?
Some are:
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Play is more than meets the eye. It is a child’s content for learning. “Children practice and reinforce their learning in multiple areas during play. It gives them a place and a time for learning that cannot be achieved through completing a worksheet. For example, in playing restaurant, children write and draw menus, set prices, take orders, and make out checks. Play provides rich learning opportunities and leads to children’s success and self-esteem (Bongiorno).
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Some researchers believe that outdoor play, in particular, increases kids’ ability to engage in the arts, sciences, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Unstructured outdoor play may even lead to higher standardized test scores, improve nocturnal sleep duration (Dieziel, 2017)
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Children who are better at pretending could reason better about counterfactuals – …better at thinking about different possibilities…the idea is that children at play are like pint-sized scientists testing theories. They imagine ways the world could work and predict the pattern of data that would follow if their theories were true, and then compare that pattern with the pattern they actually see ( Gopnik, 2012).
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Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children (American Academy of Pediatrics). Playing allows children to learn how to learn rules and order, take turns, express emotions, and navigate the concepts of winning and losing.
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Children are given the opportunity to share, resolve conflicts, make decisions, be assertive and work in groups through unstructured play. (Gilmore).
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Bottom line - play is healthy. It helps children grow strong and counteracts obesity (Bongiorno).
Play is not just good for children; it’s also good for parents. According to (Gilmore), parents can improve the parent-child relationship by learning how to play with their children in a specific way using specific toys. “When parents simply be with their child and truly focus on their child (without being in a hurry or trying to over-manage the play), their relationship with their child can greatly improve. Play time doesn’t have to occur for hours a day. It can be as little as a few minutes here and there but doing this type of play on a daily or at least almost daily basis is very helpful to a parent-child relationship.”
About the Committee
Bobbi Richards, MA
Rotary Club of Falmouth Sub-Committee Chairperson
Executive Director, Falmouth Housing Authority
Navpreet Brolowski, PE, LSP
Rotary Club of Falmouth
William Kerfoot, Ph.D.
Rotary Club of Falmouth
President, Kerfoot Technologies, Inc.
Chris Laughead
Rotary Club of Falmouth Member
Retired Early Childhood Director and Educator (0-6) 37 years
Rotary Club of Falmouth - Club Executives & Directors
President
Garth Smelser
Past Presidents
Paul McAdam
Adrienne Baumann
Allan Wilson
Robert Mascali