A few nights ago, I watched a TED talk by Dr. Stuart Brown called Play is More than Just Fun. Dr. Stuart Brown discussed how critical play is for healthy brain development. Dr. Brown spent time conducting research on murderers, and he found a common thread among them: a lack of play in childhood. Dr. Brown has conducted animal research in which he concluded that play is important for survival. He described a study with rats in which the control group was prevented from playing and the experimental group was allowed to play. When posed with a threat (the scent of a cat) both groups went into hiding. The control group remained in hiding and eventually died, whereas the experimental group eventually ventured out and survived.
I found this video very interesting and pertinent to my classroom. Last year there were days in which I left out free exploration time because I had to choose between letting children play or engaging them in academics. This TED talk, in addition to other research about the importance of play, helped me realize just how important it is for children to have time for play. Daily free exploration will be a priority in my classroom this year.
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