Parents and children playing together is invaluable
Research
Simulation, Part 1
This week I began a research simulation. The topic that I will be immersing myself in
is The Benefits of Play for Parent and Child Together. I chose this topic for several reasons. First, there is an emphasis in Head Start on
the parent involvement piece of our program.
Secondly, I often overhear parents in the hallway talking with each
other wondering “All they do is play.
Aren’t they supposed to be sitting down with paper and pencil learning
to write and read?” From hearing these
comments I know as education coordinator that the importance and benefits of
play must be shared with parents—through play.
I also felt that there must be numerous benefits for parents as well as
they play with their children. Many of
our parents are young, children themselves, and some parents work two or three
jobs and feel they don’t have the time or energy to play with their
children. Knowing the benefits of play
for parents will support my efforts to get them to play with their children.
What surprised me as I began to do research is
that there is not a great deal of research about the benefits of parents and
children playing together. I can think
of benefits, but I need to have research to back it up. There is some material through Aistear Early
Childhood Curriculum Framework—curriculum in Ireland. It is endorsed by the National Council for
Curriculum and Assessment. The Australian
Childhood Foundation also had some recommendations. I found these sources on the internet. I will have to do further investigation into
the research behind the ideas presented.
From the Walden Library I was able to find a few articles about the
benefits of play. One referred to relationship
play therapy for children with behavior issues.
It had some good suggestions about letting children lead play which as
an educator I know is important. It also
suggested that play allows for relationship bonding. Another article spoke of the importance of
reading, singing and rhyming with young children as an aid to literacy
skills. The third article was about
sex-stereotyping when parents choose toys for their children. Helping parents to be aware of this would be
beneficial to the child.
I enjoy a challenge because it helps me to
stretch and grow. I am finding both the
text and articles we read each week to be extremely helpful. The most helpful has been “A Practical Guide
to Reading Research Articles”. Through
its recommendations I am able to eliminate articles rather quickly that don’t
relate at all. I was very nervous about
doing research when I began the course, but now I am becoming more confident.
I would appreciate any help that anyone can
give regarding this topic. If you can
help to guide me in the direction of good research articles or resources, it would
be greatly appreciated. If you have come
across articles in your reading or work, please let me know about it. I know I will be looking at the Office of
Head Start’s official site: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center. I am also going to look on the Teaching
Strategies website to see if Creative Curriculum has any insights for me.
Many of my fellow colleagues expressed their
nervousness as well. I hope that you,
too, are feeling a bit more confident. I
will be reading your blogs this weekend.
If I can help you in any way, I will.
References
Information for Parents: Learning and
Developing Through Play
[Pamphlet]. (2012). Aistear,
The Early Childhood Curriculum
Framework in Ireland. Retrieved from www.ncca.ie/
aisteartoolkit
Child’s play is a
parent’s business [Pamphlet]. (2012). Australian Childhood Foundation,
Fostering Children. Retrieved from www.kidscount.com.ua/English/chapter 05.asp
Carol,
ReplyDeleteGreat post and enticing topic! I think play is soon to be on the extinction list for many families. The combination of business and media inundation is crowding out play for young children and making it difficult for parents to slow down enough to notice the little ones tugging at their shirt tails. Eventually they stop tugging.
I found this article from the Academy of Pediatrics to be insightful. I hope it helps you with your research.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.full.pdf
I am one who feels it is important for children and their parents to interact and play together. You would be amazed how much you will learn from each other and the boost of confidence it has on the child. Families should reflect on their positive child experience and understand how play had become an integral part of their life growing up, especially those who had positive interactions with their families.
ReplyDeleteThere are few websites I came across utilizing ERIC, some are old and some are recent.
Bellingham Public Schools, W. A. (1984). Kindergarten Curriculum and Welcome to Kindergarten: A Handbook for Children and Their Parents.
Barnyak, N. (2011). A Qualitative Study in a Rural Community: Investigating the Attitudes, Beliefs, and Interactions of Young Children and Their Parents regarding Storybook Read Alouds. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(2), 149-159.
Lin, Y. (2010). Improving Parent-Child Relationships through Block Play. Education, 130(3), 461-469.
Mize, J., & Pettit, G. S. (2010). The Mother-Child Playgroup as Socialisation Context: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of Mother-Child-Peer Relationship Dynamics. Early Child Development And Care, 180(10), 1271-1284.
Carol,
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent post. Play is an important part of the learning process. As a result, I agree that play supports learning. There is a growing body of literature that focuses on teh benefits of play in learning. Therefore, your research project should be very interesting.