Lets play ...

Play is the work of children in The Nest.  

Why? 

Because play is what a four-year-old's brain needs now to develop the skills to be a successful student later. 

We keep on learning our entire lives, but how we learn, and in some ways, our capacity to learn is fully formed by the age of five and a half. 

Play looks like the opposite of work, but take a closer look...

When Ralphie plays Batman on the climbing dome, he is gaining spacial awareness and developing gross motor skills. Both gross motor and spacial awareness are key in a host of academic and life skills, including mathematical thinking, athletic performance, even learning a new language. 

Also, a four-year-old's mind is more ready to learn anything after running, jumping, and hanging upside-down! That's why we do it once in the morning, and (if you are full day) again in the afternoon!

When GiGi is cleaning the sink and stops and plays with bubbles, this is valuable. She is learning that we can use air to propel other things, and experiments with the physics of how different amounts of air pressure produce different reactions from the bubbles.

When Cabot and Alex spend time with books reading the pictures ... 

... or when Ali and Jerry tell a story with the story basket, they are developing a love of  literature and storytelling which is proven to boost academic performance across the board.

                       "Look what I found!!!"

When Miliana find rocks at the park, she remembers the story of God creating land on the third day. She hurries to share them with her teacher. Milania is transferring information that she learned earlier, connecting that information to what she is finding, expanding on that information by adding her observations, and verbalizing all three of these things using language that she has just learned. These are each essential skills needed at every grade level. 

When Zoe draws a picture ...

...or when Jason is working on our creation collage, they are not only expanding their palette of creative expression, but developing fine motor skills towards more confident writing, and better use of mechanical and musical instruments as well as other kinds of technology.

When Julian arranges letter magnets, he is familiarizing himself with letter-shapes visually and tactilely, which means he has already started to learn letter formation, aiding him in becoming a writer. 

When Camila tries again and again with her blocks, even though her original three ideas did not satisfy her, she is learning perseverance, and how to learn from mistakes. She is learning how to welcome failure, observe what went wrong, and make a new plan. 

When Penny keeps track of and organizes her own work, she is gaining not only a sense of ownership of her work, but of the systems that keep her work organized and beautiful. 

"You hold the baby while I make dinner..."

Drama — imagining — pretending — This is the most basic form of play. In addition to expanding on love and storytelling, time imagining in drama allows children to enact and reenact stories and situations that help them to understand the world around them and how to interact with each other. Whether we are playing characters or ourselves, this is key for emotional development. 

                  "Put the pin in the slider..." 

When Viviana and Jason go out to play, they learn that helping each other get there is just as beautiful and fulfilling as the actual play.

When Elijah finds a worm at the park, a crowd immediately gathers to observe its movements and reactions. 

"Look at this!" 

"It wiggles!" 

"Be careful — it's ALIVE!" 

They are not only observing scientifically, but learning how to be gentle with God's creation.

  

"Would you like a treat?" 

Birthdays are full of fun and play. When Ellie has a birthday at school, she learns the responsibilities that go along with being celebrated. Sometimes it is just as much fun to share as it is to be shared with.

"It's so tall-tall-TALL!," 

"It never falls because the magnets stick together tight!" 

When Zaiden and Harper build a tower out of magnet tiles on the light table, they are learning about light and transparency, magnetism,  color contrast, physical construction, and about working as a team, which will help them succeed as students, learners, and team mates throughout their lives. 

As we watch our children go off to play, remember that, as they play, they are hard at work. Playing — working — learning — growing — together.