Friday 30 January 2015

How Play Wires Kids’ Brains For Social and Academic Success


Full article can be read from the hyperlink above.

 (David Gilkey/NPR)
"When it comes to brain development, time in the classroom may be less important than time on the playground.

“The experience of play changes the connections of the neurons at the front end of your brain,” says Sergio Pellis, a researcher at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. “And without play experience, those neurons aren’t changed,” he says.

It is those changes in the prefrontal cortex during childhood that help wire up the brain’s executive control center, which has a critical role in regulating emotions, making plans and solving problems, Pellis says. So play, he adds, is what prepares a young brain for life, love and even schoolwork."

Saturday 3 January 2015

Learning for Life: 1st Outdoor Play Party of 2015!

Learning for Life: 1st Outdoor Play Party of 2015!

Full article can be read from the hyperlink above.

Great article from Kierna Corr from Learning for Life about the unlocked potential that lies in every playspace.

Picture from http://springboarddiscoverybox.com
'Our playground has evolved from being a clean, open, tidy space to become one full of different little areas for children to enjoy exploring.'


I love that.


Designing natural playspaces is challenge enough without butting up against the idea that a space has to be clean and tidy to be valid. It is an adult-centric idea that needs to be educated out of existence before you can start creating a space that is both enticing and challenging, one that has potential for awe and possibility.