http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26421059#26421059 (Hope that link works!) Did anyone else see this segment on the Today show this morning? Even though homeschooling was not mentioned, I thought it was a wonderful reminder of another way that the homeschooling lifestyle is just plain good for kids! I really think this "play" theory explains why my kids are so much happier and well-behaved now that they're at home. A few hours of "schooltime" and the rest of the day is theirs. I have friends whose kids have to catch the bus at 6:00 in the morning and since both parents work, no one is home again until after 6:00 PM. I love these people, and I know they're doing the best they can with what they've got at the moment, but I still can't help feeling bad for their kids. I really liked how the piece linked creativity and the ability to think independently with the amount of free play time a child gets each day. I'm just really thankful that I have the opportunity to HS and hopefully end up with adult kids who are independent, creative, problem-solving thinkers! :wink:
THANK YOU!!! It's what so many of us have been saying for quite a LONG TIME! BTW, did you see how out of touch the toy manufacturers were? Note their statement. All these educational games can be SO beneficial, and ALWAYS be sure to SUPERVISE your kids' play! I mean, the whole point of it was to allow kids to have UNSTRUCTURED play-time, so why the heck are you going to "supervise" it? GEESH!!!!
I kinda feel bad for my children, because while I try to give them lots of free time to do what they want (computer, vsmile, movies, toys, whatever) I can't give them a lot of outside time from about Mid-May through until Late September - Early October because it's just too hot here! Poor babies!
oh, I don't think the free time has to be outside to be valuable. (although it is nice to be able to holler) I think the key is unstructured... which means we cannot say. "ok kids, it is unstructured play time for 15 min. Go set up your blocks or your castle and use your imagination." It means getting a good book, telling the kids... "Mommy is going to have some alone time, you can go outside, or play in your room... no computer, no gameboys... no whining that you are bored.":? I just shuddered with the poor girl who just wanted to play with her friends. But mom has her in tutoring... tutoring should absalutely be only for kids having difficulty...and should probably be done during school (for ps) Think of all the idiots you know, and work with, that are making a decent living, even contributing to society...what are we telling our kids is important??? who they are? or what they do? The kids will be "more better" if we leave them alone and not push them to be the best at everything. Just be the best they can be.
The 5yo across the street came home from his first day of school today. His mom was having fits about one of the other mothers (who asked a million questions). One of them was about HOMEWORK. The teacher that explained the most homework she would give would be about 10 or 15 minutes worth, and that would NOT be on a regular basis. And if it was too much for that child that particular night, just let her know, but DO NOT let your child stress out over it. And this mom (the one asking, not my neighbor!) OBJECTED, saying that she felt the children NEEDED to be doing homework.... HELLO!!! These kids have been sitting all day long doing schoolwork, so why would you want to tie them down with more when they get home? They're only 5 and 6 years old!!!
That's one of the reasons I'm glad I homeschool...the schools here give Kindergarten students 10 - 15 mins of homework 4 nights a week...and the 1-6th graders get 15-40 mins of homework 4-5 nights a week! Can you believe this??? It's crazy!
Yeah, deffinitely glad I homeschool. My kids get plenty of time to play. Even the days where dd is still working on her schoolwork after dinner, she's had plenty of breaks & time to just be a kid. I do really like some of the educational toys (and my kids love them), though. But I believe in a balance between them & unstructured playtime.
I agree about the crazy educational toys with the beeps and the things that pop out and computers and TVs that do the thinking for you. What happened to getting just a box of miscellaneous Legos? Nowadays the Legos all make something like a castle and there are instructions on how to do it. For all the fancy iPod and dancing electronic dogs and game boys, my DSD 7 likes to play with her Barbies and Littlest Pet Shops the most. She makes up wild stories. I agree, I like good old fashioned books and dolls with clothes for toys. Plus she was in dance and swimming and gymnastics and karate 4 days a week! I'm glad we're homeschooling her this year! She's picking a few activities to do and then getting in her playtime.
Thank you for sharing that! That was a refreshing piece. It's what my gut tells me to do as a parent (Let the kids have unstructured playtime)! It's one of the reasons I homeschool. When my son went to public school kindergarten they didn't have much time to play there. The first note home to parents said, "Be assured your child will not be playing all day.". After a few months of a 1/2 day of K my son was then forced by the administration to go to a full day of kindergarten (8:30-3:30). After that long day he had to do homework when he got home (10 min). The last thing he wanted to do was homework or his structured dance lesson when he got home. When he first started his full day all he wanted to do was sleep when he got home. After a few weeks he was ready to play after school. We still had to get supper, homework and the bedtime routine in as well. My husband, daughter and I had virtually no time with our little guy. My son was anxious, tired, cranky, aggressive and miserable. It was sad and very hard on all of us. The school principal even told me that she thought that my son needed to be in more structured activities with other children. I told her that my son was already in a dance class once a week. She just said, "Oh". I really wanted to tell her that I didn't believe that my young child needed to have all these other activities scheduled for him. He's only 6 and he needs to just be a kid and play! I didn't feel that I could say that though. That particular school really pushed to have kids have homework and to have them in many structured activities. We are weirdos in my neighborhood, of course. While I do have my kids signed up for swim lessons this fall, I let them have unstructured play a lot of the time. Most of my neighbors have two or three children and each is in at least two activities. All the neighborhood children are gone in the evenings for their various lessons, practices and clubs. My kids rarely have the other neighborhood children to play with, so we have to set up play dates with others or schedule in a Sunday afternoon play time with the neighbor kids. I love my neighbors dearly and I'm not slamming them on their choices. They are doing what they feel is best for their children. I just don't want to do the same thing and schedule my young kiddos (7 & 4) all day every day.
That's one of the things that led me to HS...when I made the decision, we lived in Atlanta, and they had just decided on the "no recess" plan for kindergarten. Full day, no play. For some absurd reason, I opted out. Thanks for the post. Sometimes I worry that maybe I "should" put the kids in more activities, and sometimes I feel guilty for sneaking away to read and "recuperate". Now I know that, really, I'm doing it for their own good!
I feel the same way! Except here it's the opposite... from around mid-November through the end of April, it's often too cold or rainy to let the kids play outside. This past winter was so cold, I think they maybe got outside to play 2-3 times between December and February.
Thanks for Sharing! One of the reasons we decided to pull our daughter out of school was because she was begging for more family and play time. She really missed it (so did we). We LOVE having her home now and seeing my kids play together. Its a great thing!
