The Joy of the Unplugged, and Saying "No" to Electronic Toys
If you've taken a good look at the back playground recently, besides some slidey ice arena-like conditions, you'll notice that there are not a lot of "things" to play with. Currently you'll find some blocks, shovels, various pipes/tubes, a wheeled cart, some buckets, and a few balls. As the weather turned to winter, a lot of the smaller toys (scoops, cups, sandbox items) went into storage, and we began to make do with a little less. In having "less" to play with, I'd argue that we gained quite a lot. We interact more with our environment instead of being as focused on the specific toys and who has what. Don't get me wrong, that green wagon is highly sought after, but in general, we're playing more with things like sticks, we're climbing up and sliding down the hills, finding pieces of ice to kick around or nibble on, and using the (available) snow to play or build with.
Additionally, we interact more with each other. Group games like "hide and seek" are a daily occurrence, and involve both the youngest and oldest children on the playground. We make structures together and share the set of blocks, sometimes successfully, sometimes negotiating the struggle for shared resources. We invent things to do, like yesterday's activity which included looking through a pipe (named a "kaneal" by one of the Pre-K students) to identify the target (a shovel) before launching the football across the playground to hit said target, followed by a child running at top speed to to retrieve the ball, and etc. We sing songs, we ice dance, we find monsters. We don't need a lot to have a good time, and gain tremendous skills in the process.
We've known about the importance of keeping it simple when it comes to toys and materials for infants and toddlers; and you'll see that reflected in what is thoughtfully placed in the classroom. But at the end of last year, we came across a bit of research that further supports this idea, especially when it comes to infants. In a study by JAMA Pediatrics, researchers found that play with electronic toys or other sound and light making toys, "is associated with decreased quantity and quality of language input compared with play with books or traditional toys" and that,"to promote early language development, play with electronic toys should be discouraged" (Sosa). Dr. Anna V. Sosa's study looked at parent-child play times in children 10-16 months old, and the participants were given different toys ranging from books and puzzles to electronic toys such as baby laptops.
"While playing with electronic toys there were fewer adult words used, fewer conversational turns with verbal back-and-forth, fewer parental responses and less production of content-specific words than when playing with traditional toys or books. Children also vocalized less while playing with electronic toys than with books, according to the results" (Neuroscience News).
Parents also talked less when the electronic toys were being used. In an interview with NPR, Sosa states, "When there's something else that's doing some talking, the parents seem to be sitting on the sidelines and letting the toy talk for them and respond for them." The NPR piece further concludes, "There's simply no evidence that a young child can learn language directly from a toy. It isn't responsive enough. It isn't social." The interactions between parent and child, parent and caregiver, or child and child are what we know boost both language acquisition and social skills. The problematic nature in these types of electronic toys, or even now, apps for babies and toddlers is that the marketing and claims lead us to think by not using these toys we are somehow depriving our kids of the tools they need. But what the research has shown and continues to show is that these types of toys are not only unnecessary, but harmful to a child's development.
While electronic toys are certainly captivating, to both children and adults, they don't serve us well, most notably, they don't serve our children well. This type of research further confirms our school's philosophy; is in the interactions we have with the environment and with each other where we draw the most learning from. These experiences serve as a foundation for future learning and development. Isn't it wonderful to know that with a patch of grass, a little imagination and one another, we're capable of accomplishing a great deal?
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: We have been spending lots of time outdoors and have enjoyed investigating the rain and the puddles. The children are working on being gentle and aware of where our bodies are in relation to others. The children continue to explore their limits and work to go past them in terms of walking, rolling over, grabbing toys and holding on to them.
Infant II: This week the class focused on using quiet voices at the table and practicing gentle hands when interacting with one another. We've enjoyed the slush and rain and putting on our rain gear. Scooping and pouring the water on the playground with different containers really kept our interest. A note to parents: Please send along extra clothing and extra rain gear, we're getting wet out there!
Toddler I: We've had a great week of new snack selections and trying foods that some of us have never even seen before. This week we tasted roasted beets for the first time. We continue to work on our table manners as well as polite conversation. On Thursday we reintroduced a focus on our morning yoga practice. We say goodbye to Berit and wish her well as she moves on to a new position, and welcome Melissa back to Toddler I.
Toddler II: We started the week with making playdough, it's a bright teal color with lavender oil, we LOVE it. We put sponges in the sensory table and enjoyed squeezing and watching the water drip off them. We've also been focusing on numbers lately, looking at them, counting and making connections between amounts and actual items. Spelling names continues to be a point of interest and many children can do it! We also loved loved loved playing in the rain, the children watered the trees and plants outside. Our sliding on ice skills are pretty impressive too.
Pre-K: We got out and about in the community this week, despite the rain. We made several trips to the SES playground and old haunts nearby. We noticed changes taking shape in the deer playground across the street as more clearing occurred. The children were also fascinated by the fire being burned to rid the area of brush. The students have done a nice job welcoming visiting teachers into the room and showing them all of our routines.
As Seen At MVS
Thanks for Reading
-Sam
If you've taken a good look at the back playground recently, besides some slidey ice arena-like conditions, you'll notice that there are not a lot of "things" to play with. Currently you'll find some blocks, shovels, various pipes/tubes, a wheeled cart, some buckets, and a few balls. As the weather turned to winter, a lot of the smaller toys (scoops, cups, sandbox items) went into storage, and we began to make do with a little less. In having "less" to play with, I'd argue that we gained quite a lot. We interact more with our environment instead of being as focused on the specific toys and who has what. Don't get me wrong, that green wagon is highly sought after, but in general, we're playing more with things like sticks, we're climbing up and sliding down the hills, finding pieces of ice to kick around or nibble on, and using the (available) snow to play or build with.
Additionally, we interact more with each other. Group games like "hide and seek" are a daily occurrence, and involve both the youngest and oldest children on the playground. We make structures together and share the set of blocks, sometimes successfully, sometimes negotiating the struggle for shared resources. We invent things to do, like yesterday's activity which included looking through a pipe (named a "kaneal" by one of the Pre-K students) to identify the target (a shovel) before launching the football across the playground to hit said target, followed by a child running at top speed to to retrieve the ball, and etc. We sing songs, we ice dance, we find monsters. We don't need a lot to have a good time, and gain tremendous skills in the process.
We've known about the importance of keeping it simple when it comes to toys and materials for infants and toddlers; and you'll see that reflected in what is thoughtfully placed in the classroom. But at the end of last year, we came across a bit of research that further supports this idea, especially when it comes to infants. In a study by JAMA Pediatrics, researchers found that play with electronic toys or other sound and light making toys, "is associated with decreased quantity and quality of language input compared with play with books or traditional toys" and that,"to promote early language development, play with electronic toys should be discouraged" (Sosa). Dr. Anna V. Sosa's study looked at parent-child play times in children 10-16 months old, and the participants were given different toys ranging from books and puzzles to electronic toys such as baby laptops.
"While playing with electronic toys there were fewer adult words used, fewer conversational turns with verbal back-and-forth, fewer parental responses and less production of content-specific words than when playing with traditional toys or books. Children also vocalized less while playing with electronic toys than with books, according to the results" (Neuroscience News).
Parents also talked less when the electronic toys were being used. In an interview with NPR, Sosa states, "When there's something else that's doing some talking, the parents seem to be sitting on the sidelines and letting the toy talk for them and respond for them." The NPR piece further concludes, "There's simply no evidence that a young child can learn language directly from a toy. It isn't responsive enough. It isn't social." The interactions between parent and child, parent and caregiver, or child and child are what we know boost both language acquisition and social skills. The problematic nature in these types of electronic toys, or even now, apps for babies and toddlers is that the marketing and claims lead us to think by not using these toys we are somehow depriving our kids of the tools they need. But what the research has shown and continues to show is that these types of toys are not only unnecessary, but harmful to a child's development.
While electronic toys are certainly captivating, to both children and adults, they don't serve us well, most notably, they don't serve our children well. This type of research further confirms our school's philosophy; is in the interactions we have with the environment and with each other where we draw the most learning from. These experiences serve as a foundation for future learning and development. Isn't it wonderful to know that with a patch of grass, a little imagination and one another, we're capable of accomplishing a great deal?
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: We have been spending lots of time outdoors and have enjoyed investigating the rain and the puddles. The children are working on being gentle and aware of where our bodies are in relation to others. The children continue to explore their limits and work to go past them in terms of walking, rolling over, grabbing toys and holding on to them.
Infant II: This week the class focused on using quiet voices at the table and practicing gentle hands when interacting with one another. We've enjoyed the slush and rain and putting on our rain gear. Scooping and pouring the water on the playground with different containers really kept our interest. A note to parents: Please send along extra clothing and extra rain gear, we're getting wet out there!
Toddler I: We've had a great week of new snack selections and trying foods that some of us have never even seen before. This week we tasted roasted beets for the first time. We continue to work on our table manners as well as polite conversation. On Thursday we reintroduced a focus on our morning yoga practice. We say goodbye to Berit and wish her well as she moves on to a new position, and welcome Melissa back to Toddler I.
Toddler II: We started the week with making playdough, it's a bright teal color with lavender oil, we LOVE it. We put sponges in the sensory table and enjoyed squeezing and watching the water drip off them. We've also been focusing on numbers lately, looking at them, counting and making connections between amounts and actual items. Spelling names continues to be a point of interest and many children can do it! We also loved loved loved playing in the rain, the children watered the trees and plants outside. Our sliding on ice skills are pretty impressive too.
Pre-K: We got out and about in the community this week, despite the rain. We made several trips to the SES playground and old haunts nearby. We noticed changes taking shape in the deer playground across the street as more clearing occurred. The children were also fascinated by the fire being burned to rid the area of brush. The students have done a nice job welcoming visiting teachers into the room and showing them all of our routines.
As Seen At MVS
Thanks for Reading
-Sam
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