The Loss of Play-Based Learning in Kindergarten
Executive Summary
The policy below involves the need to put play-based learning back into the kindergarten classroom. America’s education system has transitioned from play-based kindergarten to academic driven kindergarten curriculums. Society today sees play as an unnecessary learning component that should stay outside of the classroom atmosphere. However, the importance and benefits of play have been shown over the years through ongoing and reliable studies and research. It is beneficial for children’s development and learning. In order for young children to thrive in their learning and succeed as a student the whole child needs to be taught.
The Minnesota Department of Education (2015) has stated the “kindergarten year marks a transition in children’s development and learning experiences. Children experience major cognitive, language, physical, social and emotional developments that need to be incorporated into kindergarten curriculum.” Since 2014 full-day kindergarten has been provided throughout the state’s school districts.
The Minnesota Department of Education (2015) views full-day kindergarten as a way to “provide crucial opportunities for Minnesota’s younger learners to build upon their prekindergarten or early learning experiences to sustain the development of their cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills.” While the Minnesota Department of Education has clearly stated their purpose for kindergarten is to provide learning experiences that build each student’s development of cognitive, language, physical, social, and emotional areas, the kindergarten structures today have eliminated play from their curriculums.
The loss of play-based learning within the kindergarten classroom has been an issue since the implementation of the 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. By this act high-stacked procedures have been placed on school districts through scripted curricula, on-going testing, and state standards teachers have to meet. The main purpose of NCLB was to increase the academic achievement of all students by increasing mandated standardized testing. While this purpose comes across as one that seeks out to improve the education for students, it has put unnecessary pressure on teachers and students. This step has created an issue within the public education system that continues to put the learning of young students in danger.
The question that evolves from this issue is: why do children need to play in school? It is beneficial for children’s development and learning. In order for young children to succeed in their education journey and life they need all their developmental skills met and enhanced. Humans continually develop in many aspects of life, but there are critical areas of development that are foundational to a child’s growth.
Research has shown how play enhances and increases these foundational developmental areas: social, emotional, cognitive, and physical developments of children. According to authors Isenberg and Jalengo of Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning: Preschool through Fourth Grade (2006), “The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) affirm that play is essential for all children’s healthy development and learning across all ages and cultures” (p. 46). The authors continue to explain how play “enables children to make sense of their world, develops social and cultural understandings, allows children to express their thoughts and feelings, fosters flexible and divergent thinking, provides opportunities to meet and solve real problems, and develops language and literacy skills and concepts” (Isenberg and Jalengo, 2006, p. 46). Our society still has a crisis in the kindergarten classrooms and as a future educator I believe this needs to be addressed and resolved.
Table of Contents
The Problem with Kindergarten Classrooms Lacking Play-Based Learning
What Research Tells Us
Policy Proposal and Solutions
Conclusion
References
Appendix
Appendix A: Letter to Governor Dayton
The Problem with Kindergarten Classrooms Lacking Play-Based Learning
The loss of play-based learning within the kindergarten classroom has been an issue since the implementation of the 2001 federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This act had the main purpose of increasing the academic achievement for all students and closing the academic gap by increasing mandated standardized testing, but it has put unnecessary pressure on teachers and students. This step that was taken by the government back in 2001 has created an issue within the public education system that continues to put the learning of students in danger. Since the standards for kindergarten have changed and increased, the time for playful learning has been decreased or left out within a kindergarten schedule. Many people in society feel play is an unnecessary component in a child’s education and that play is a waste of time in a school setting.
However, countries like Germany and Finland have taken action to recover kindergarten play-based learning environments. In Germany there was a time when the play-based kindergarten centers changed over to early-learning centers. Over long-term research comparing 50 play-based with 50 early-learning centers, the findings showed that the children in the play-based centers excelled over the early-learning centers (Miller & Almon, 2009, p. 7). The results revealed that play-based children “were more advanced in reading and mathematics, better adjusted socially and emotionally in school, excelled in creativity and intelligence, and oral expression” (Miller & Almon, 2009, p. 7). Due to these findings the German kindergarten centers returned to the play-based approach again.
Another country that has discovered the importance of play-based kindergarten learning and has taken national action to ensure their kindergarten classrooms are implementing this teaching strategy is Finland. According to The Atlantic writer Tim Walker (2015), Finnish students begin kindergarten at the age of 7 and they spend a large chunk of each school day playing. Walker explains that “Finland requires its kindergarten teachers to offer playful learning opportunities, including both kinds of play: spontaneous and free form and guided and pedagogical” (2015). The long term benefits have shown through Finland’s 15-year-olds consistently scoring the highest on international tests, like the PISA (Walker, 2015). It is not enough to explain to teachers on the importance of play-based learning, but it takes the government to take action to ensure kindergarten learners are receiving the best possible learning experiences.
There has been an ongoing debate in the United States over the topic of play within the kindergarten classroom for years. According to authors Miller and Almon in the Alliance for Childhood report Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play (2009), “the latest research indicates that, on a typical day, children in all-day kindergartens spend four to six times as much time in literacy and math instruction and taking or preparing for tests (about two to three hours per day) compared to 30 minutes or less in free play or choice time” (p. 11). Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, standardized testing has increased immensely. The pressure from the amount of testing is causing kindergarten classrooms to leave out play-based learning within their curriculum in order to meet the state standards.
This dramatic shift away from play-based learning has created an issue many educators are concerned about and see a need to address it (Miller and Almon, 2009). While research has shown the vast impact play can have on children’s learning and developmental areas, it has also proven that early learning of academic content can benefit children’s learning experience. Authors Bassok, Claessens, and Engle back this up by stating that their “own research shows that children get more out of kindergarten when teachers expose them to new and challenging academic content” (2014).
While the grade-level of kindergarten is part of these state standards this age group still lies within the early childhood years (birth to age eight). As kindergarten learners can benefit from academic content material, it is just important for them to experience learning within a curriculum that is developmentally age appropriate. If this issue is not addressed children may not be reaching their fullest potential and our society may come to a point of lacking creativity and innovation, which is foundation for a growing and successful economy. Children are the future of our society, so the learning opportunities that are given to children shapes the future of our society.
What Research Tells Us
There has been a debate over the topic of play within the kindergarten classroom. To understand this issue more in depth I decided to look into the research and findings behind the connection between play and learning. The importance and benefits of play have been shown through studies and research. It is beneficial for children’s development and learning.
In order for young children to thrive in their learning and succeed in life they need developmental skills met and enhanced. As humans we continually develop in many aspects of life, but there are critical areas of development that are foundational to a child’s growth. Research has shown how play enhances and increases the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical developments of children. According to an Alliance for Childhood report, “Research shows that children who engage in complex forms of socio-dramatic play have greater language skills than non-players, better social skills, more empathy, more imagination, more of the subtle capacity to know what others mean, are less aggressive, show more self-control, and have higher levels of thinking” (Miller & Almon, 2009, p. 7). Play is essential to a child’s overall being.
The human brain is the center station for learning. It is also a muscle that needs exercise or movement to keep it healthy and strong. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (2013), “Play enhances physical health by building active healthy bodies and mind” (p. 205). There is an obesity epidemic present in our society, so there is a need to increase movement for young children.
Today, children spend the majority of their day in school, so much of their movement should come from their time in the classroom. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead, young children are spending most of their classroom time sitting. This can change by providing time for children to participate in playful learning. Play provides children the opportunity to practice their gross-motor and fine-motor skills through the control over the movements of their hands and fingers. This movement can help young children develop the physical elements they need to keep their mind and body active. (Pediatrics, 2013).
Play not only strengthens a child’s physical development, it is essential to developing social and emotional ties for young children. Even “scientists state that free play is critical for children in becoming socially adepts, being able to cope with stress, and build cognitive skills (Wenner, 2009). Play lets children learn how to work together. Children are able to make connections with other children. They are able to learn how to share, negotiate, and resolve conflicts, which are skills for problem solving (Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006). Anthony D. Pellegrini, an educational psychologist at the University of Minnesota stated, “You don’t become socially competent through teachers telling you how to behave, you learn those skills by interacting with your peers, learning what’s acceptable, and what’s not acceptable” (Wenner, 2009).
One theorist who supported play was Lev Vygotsky. He explained how “play helps children work out the rules for social interaction and allows children to be at their best” (Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006, p. 7). This supports a goal the education field has for young children. The goal to prepare them for the future, which involves their needs and others. Play lets children learn how “to meet their own needs while at the same time cooperating, communicating, and negotiating with others” (Curtis & Carter, 2011, p. 86). Another theorist who found play to be a supportive activity for children’s development was Jean Piaget. Through his research he found that play is valuable in increasing children’s thinking capacity (Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006, p. 8).
While playful learning encourages social-emotional developmental skills it also challenges young children’s cognitive abilities. Play allows creativity. According to the article The Serious Need for Play, the “creative aspect is key because it challenges the developing brain more than following predetermined rules does” (Wenner, 2009). The early childhood period is a wonderful time for children to gain imaginary skills through play and discover intellectual capabilities.
Creativity is not only a child-like skill, but a lifelong skill. Play provides the opportunity for children to be creative and innovative. According to Brown (2009), companies have shared on how creativity is the source of all growth for their company: new products, new techniques, new services, and new solutions to old problems. According to this many companies are in search of people who are creative and innovative. Every person has the ability to be creative, but what sets certain people apart from others is the opportunities they had growing up on learning to be creative.
Playing with peers provides children the opportunities to practice their communication skills and increase their vocabulary. Kindergarten is focused on emergent literacy. Playful learning has a strong connection with oral language development, phonological awareness, and print awareness (Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006, pp. 62-64). Young children are able to make cognitive connections when they are able to explore the content and experiment with it. Ellen Booth Church, a professor of early childhood education found how “pretend play helps children understand the power of language” (Scholastic, 1996-2010).
According to McGee and Morrow (2005), “Kindergarteners are in the process of learning the foundations of reading and writing: alphabet recognition, phonemic awareness, letter-sound relationships, spelling, decoding, writing compositions, and comprehension” (p. 92). Pretend play involving storytelling and story-acting helps children make the connection between spoken and written language (Church, 1996-2010).
There are variations of play. According to Miller and Almon from the Alliance for Childhood (2009) there are 12 key types of play: large-motor play, small-motor play, mastery play, rules-based play, construction play, make-believe play, symbolic play, language play, playing with the arts, sensory play, rough-and-tumble play, and risk-taking play (p. 55). All of these types of play can be implemented into a classroom with purposeful and intentional planning by the teacher. The time to play does not mean anything goes and it is not a child interaction break for teachers. Play can enhance all the foundational developmental skills if the children are provided with adequate time and materials in the presence of an engaged teacher (Miller & Almon, 2009).
Young children learn by doing. Fred Rogers quotes, “play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning”. The opportunities to play can enhance children’s learning readiness, learning behaviors, and problem-solving skills. Play and academic can go together. There is a time for everything, a time for children to memorize material, a time for children to move around the room to explore, a time for children to practice academic skills, and a time for children to be enriched by playful learning. Too much of something is never good for a person, the key is having a blended program.
Policy Proposal and Solutions
There is no current policy regarding play-based learning, but I feel strongly that there should be, after my extensive research. The policy below involves the need to recover play-based learning within the public kindergarten classroom. America’s education system has transitioned from play-based kindergarten classrooms to an academic driven kindergarten curriculum.
As the state academic standards serve as an educational purpose there needs to be a way for kindergarten classrooms to expose their students to a balance of an academic and play-based learning curriculum. There is a need to ensure public kindergarten learners are receiving a developmentally age appropriate curriculum. I believe the answer to this issue is not to choose either an academic-based kindergarten curriculum or a play-based kindergarten curriculum, but to provide the learners a balanced curriculum that meets academic content that uses one of the most effective, motivational teaching strategies, play.
Many educators, parents, and education administrators have been debating over whether kindergarten learning should be academic-based or play-based. Instead of choosing one or the other kindergarten classrooms can be both academic and play-based. While young children can highly benefit from student-led play this does not mean it has to be lacking academic learning skills.
In order to achieve this, I propose several options that can be implemented to ensure this is accomplished within public kindergarten classrooms. Through extensive research regarding the issue of kindergarten classrooms lacking play-based learning I have come to four solutions to this problem. We can (1) create state standards for the implementation of play-based learning within public kindergarten classrooms, (2) school districts can be mandated to create and implement a balanced academic and play-based kindergarten curriculum, (3) kindergarten teachers can mandated to take courses on how to effectively implement play-based learning within the kindergarten classroom, or (4) do nothing.
Solution 1: Create state standards for the implementation of play-based learning within public kindergarten classrooms.
To meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind districts have come to taking out time in kindergarten curriculum for play-based learning. The demands of the NCLB Act has created pressure on classroom teachers to meet grade-level academic standards that leads teachers to making the choice of taking out play-based learning, in order to meet the demanding goals of the standards.
While the public kindergarten classrooms follow Minnesota state standards the classrooms do not resemble the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards. The National Association for the Education of Young Children covers young children from birth to the age of eight. The NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards is a position statement involving 10 standards early education programs should follow, in order to provide the most effective and developmentally age appropriate learning for young children.
The curriculum standard states that the program “promotes learning and development in each of the following areas: social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive” (NAEYC, 2005). A curriculum that meets this standard involves play-based learning, as children can effectively development in all five developmental areas through play-based learning. While this age range covers the kindergarten grade-level, there are no current education standards regarding play-based learning within the kindergarten classroom.
According to authors Isenberg and Jalongo (2006), “Over the years, theorists, researchers, and educators have documented that play is the optimal vehicle for learning and development” (p. 40). Educators have the goal to teach and guide every unique individual within their classroom to their fullest potential. One’s fullest potential involves all five developmental areas: social, emotional, cognitive, and physical. In order for students to reach their fullest potential in learning these five developmental areas need to be developed appropriately as a child ages. With this being said children’s developmental areas and learning go hand in hand.
The Minnesota Department of Education explains how “the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards are the statewide expectations for student achievement in K-12 public schools. The standards identify the knowledge and skills that all students must achieve in a content area by the end of a grade level. These content areas are: English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, physical education, and the arts” (2015). Play and standards can co-exist. This balance is possible by the state of Minnesota creating and adopting play-based standards that co-exist with the kindergarten academic standards.
Solution 2: School districts are mandated to create and implement a balanced academic and play-based kindergarten curriculum.
Since the No Child Left Behind Act, school districts have felt the pressure by this act to place more classroom focus on instruction that leaves out room for play-based learning. The NCLB Act has greatly increased the amount of testing and assessments districts have mandated teachers to cover, even at the kindergarten grade-level. In 2002, Brandon reported in the Chicago Tribune that “in Chicago, the science, art, and dramatic play areas a public school kindergarten teacher envisioned in her classroom were prohibited by school administrations who ‘expected kindergartners to sit all day at desks, go without recess, and learn to read by year’s end” (Oliver & Klugman, 2004).
According to the Minnesota Department of Education website “the Minnesota Kindergarten Academic Standards contain all of the state academic standards for kindergarten in the following content areas: Arts (2008), English Language Arts (2010), Mathematics (2007), Science (2009), and Social Studies (2011), as well as complete the physical education standards” (2015). Adopting these standards does not mean or guarantee that every classroom will implement them by using developmentally age appropriate practices for kindergarten learners. The main focus of these content standards are not always efficient with addressing early childhood goals, such as the developmental areas of a child.
The best education for a child is one that teaches a whole child. School districts in Minnesota are mandated to implement the kindergarten standards, but the district’s administrators should also remember to use these standards as a frame to help the teachers keep accountable for what the students should learn by the end of the school year. With this being said a second solution to the issue of the loss of play-based learning within public kindergarten classrooms is for districts to create curriculum that follows a balanced curriculum of academic and play-based learning. Districts taking this measure can help ensure every kindergarten classroom is receiving academic learning within a play-based learning environment.
Shayna Cook, a policy analyst with the Education Policy program of New America, nicely states the district’s administrators should have “the job of school leaders to create an environment where teachers can facilitate high-quality, child-directed learning experiences to strike this balance between these high standards and early childhood best practices” (2015). School districts within Minnesota may need the encouragement by state mandated policies when it comes to creating an academic and play-based kindergarten curriculum.
Solution 3: Kindergarten teachers are mandated to take courses on how to effectively implement play-based learning within the academic kindergarten classroom.
A key component in bringing play-based learning back into the public kindergarten classroom is for the kindergarten teachers to understand the connection between play and learning. For teachers to know how to effectively implement play-based learning with a connection to the academic standards they first need to have a clear understanding of why play-based learning is beneficial for children learning. According to Alliance, “most teachers say that play in kindergarten is important, although few teachers or administrators are able to articulate the relationship between play and learning” (2009). There is a need for kindergarten teachers to have a knowledge base on the connections between play, learning, and kindergarten academic standards.
Academic and play-based curriculums can lead to higher-level learning and this can only be acquired by students through an environment with a purpose and goals. According to the NAEYC, “effective teachers create a rich learning environment to activate motivation to learn and they make use of strategies to promote children’s undertaking and mastering of new and progressively more advanced challenges” (n.d.). To promote higher-thinking and learning teachers need to know how to organize the classroom environment and learning material in such a way that will promote each child’s learning and development (NAEYC, n.d.).
Play-based learning can be implemented effectively within a kindergarten classroom by teachers creating an engaging environment that promotes creativity and intellectual experiences, know how and when to scaffold children’s learning, plan curriculum to achieve important outcomes, presents children with opportunities to make meaningful choices, organize the daily and weekly schedule to provide children with extended blocks of time to engage in sustained play, investigation, exploration, and interaction (NAEYC, n.d.). Professional development efforts can be mandated in order to increase kindergarten teachers’ knowledge on play-based strategies and how to effectively implement it within the required academic standards.
Also, kindergarten teachers need to know how to plan and implement play experiences that will help the students learn core academic content material and grow within their developmental areas. Teachers who can demonstrate the links between play and learning hold the foundation of information needed for an academic and play-based learning environment to occur. In order for teachers to read the standards and plan their lessons that implement these standards within play-based learning experiences they need to have the knowledge and understanding of the connection between play, learning, and standards.
Education policy advocate Shayna Cook (2015) writes how the Common Core standards are not the problem, instead the implementation is the real problem. While it is highly important for school districts to provide their educators a curriculum that is developmentally age appropriate for kindergarten learners, there is still one more important step in order for a balanced academic and play-based learning curriculum. The teacher’s knowledge of play and academic is the important step because a teacher is the key component when it comes to implementation.
Solution 4: Do nothing.
The final option is to do nothing and take no action. To do nothing involves the continuum of and possible increase of academic driven kindergarten classrooms. Not resolving this issue our society will be facing the danger of acquiring citizens who are unable to bring creativity and innovation into society. Authors Miller and Almon (2009) state how Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind writes about the ‘imagination economy’ and says,
“People have to be able to do something that can’t be outsourced, something that’s hard to automate and that delivers on the growing demand for nonmaterial things like stories and design. Typically these are things we associate with the right side of the brain, with artistic and empathetic and playful sorts of abilities. How can we expect our children to thrive in the imagination economy of the future if we deny them opportunities for play and creativity in kindergarten?” (p. 12).
Conclusion
As the state academic standards serve as an educational purpose there needs to be a way for kindergarten classrooms to expose their students to a balance of an academic and play-based learning curriculum. There is a need to ensure public kindergarten learners are receiving a developmentally age appropriate curriculum. The answer to this issue is not to choose either an academic-based or a play-based kindergarten curriculum, but to provide young learners a balanced curriculum that meets academic content within a play-based learning environment.
In order to achieve this I have proposed that the State of Minnesota create state standards for the implementation of play-based learning within public kindergarten classrooms, to have school districts mandated to create and implement a balanced academic and play-based kindergarten curriculum, to have kindergarten teachers mandated to take courses on how to effectively implement play-based learning within the academic kindergarten classroom, or they can do nothing and let this kindergarten issue continue. As a future educator I have the responsibility to speak and let my voice be heard on matters that effect the education and well-being of children.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics (2013). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bond: Focus on Children in Poverty. Retrieved from www.pediatrics.aapublications.org
Bassok, D., Claessens, A., and Engel, M. (2014, June 3). The Case for the New Kindergarten: Challenging and Playful. Education Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/06/04/33bassok_ep.h33.html
Brown, S. L. (2009). Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigarates the Soul. New York: Penguin Group.
Church, E. B. (1996-2010). Importance of Pretend Play. Retrieved from Scholastic: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/creativity-play/importance-pretend-play
Cook, S. (2015). Why We Don’t Need to Get Rid of the Common Core to Have Play in Kindergarten. Retrieved from https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/kinder-commoncore/
Isenberg, J.P. and Jalongo, M.R. (2006). Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning: Preschool Through Fourth Grade. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Miller, E. , & Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School. United States of America: The Alliance for Childhood.
Minnesota Department of Education. (Updated 2015). Retrieved from http://education.state.mn.us/
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/
Oliver, S.J. and Klugman, E. (January/February 2004). Speaking Out for Play-Based Learning: Becoming an Effective Advocate for Play in the Early Childhood Classroom. Constructive Play. Retrieved from www.ChildCareExchange.com
Singer, D. G. , Golinkoff, R. M. , & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2006). Play=Learning: How Play Motivates and Enhances Children's Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth. New York: Oxford University Press.
Walker, T. (2015, October 1). The Joyful, Illiterate Kindergartners of Finland. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/the-joyful-illiterate-kindergartners-of-finland/408325/
Wenner, M. (2009, January 28). The Serious Need for Play. Retrieved from Scientific American Mind: www.blcelmhurst.org/blcseriousneedforplay1011.pdf
APPENDIX A
Jill Anderson
12345 Walleye Drive NW
Lake Wobegon, MN 55555
123-456-7890
Jill.anderson@smsu.edu
Governor Mark Dayton
116 Veterans Service Building
20 West 12th Street
Saint Paul, MN 55155
Dear Governor Dayton,
This letter is in regard to the necessity of play-based learning within kindergarten curriculums, as well as changes that I feel should be made to ensure school districts are implementing kindergarten state standards within a play-based learning environment.
This matter is of utmost importance to me, since I have begun pursuing my early childhood education degree. My education journey has provided teaching experiences within the public kindergarten classrooms, in addition to many observation opportunities. Through these experiences I have observed the impact state standards have played on our kindergarten classrooms. While I believe the academic state standards are to ensure children are receiving the best possible education they have also caused the issue of kindergarten classrooms leaving out play-based learning. The Minnesota Department of Education (2015) does state that “kindergarten year marks a transition in children’s development and learning experiences. Children experience major cognitive, language, physical, social and emotional developments that need to be incorporated into kindergarten curriculum.” Play-based learning has been proven through extensive research as one of the most effective teaching strategies for young learners to grow in all developmental areas.
I believe the answer to this issue is not to choose either an academic-based or a play-based kindergarten curriculum, but to provide the learners a balanced curriculum that meets academic content within a play-based learning environment. In order to achieve this, I propose several options that can be implemented to ensure this is accomplished within public kindergarten classrooms. Through extensive research regarding the issue of kindergarten classrooms lacking play-based learning I have come to four solutions to this problem. We can (1) create state standards for the implementation of play-based learning within public kindergarten classrooms, (2) school districts be mandated to create and implement a balanced academic and play-based kindergarten curriculum, (3) kindergarten teachers be mandated to take courses on how to effectively implement play-based learning within the kindergarten classroom, or (4) do nothing.
The whole child needs to be taught. To teach the whole child means to help each child reach their fullest potential through all their developmental areas: cognitive, emotional, social, language, and physical. Teaching academic standards within a play-based learning environment will ensure kindergarten learners are receiving the best possible education that is appropriate for their age and development. I hope you find this kindergarten issue one to not be ignored, but one to be addressed. I would appreciate your help and support in this matter.
Thank you for your time,
Jill Anderson