Kindergarten Tests and the Importance of Play

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I believe that children learn through play whether it be cognitive, social-emotional, fine motor, gross motor, etc. Everything can essentially be learned through play. I agree that children learn through playing not penciling in bubbles. The stress that causes these young children is not fair to them either. Each child is different and they all learn and grow in different ways and at different rates so testing is an inaccurate way of seeing what a child knows. You can find out what a child knows by having a true conversation with them. I say let kids be kids!

Allise of OR 7:50PM May 27, 2010

I believe that children learn through play whether it be cognitive, social-emotional, fine motor, gross motor, etc. Everything can essentially be learned through play. I agree that children learn through playing not penciling in bubbles. The stress that causes these young children is not fair to them either. Each child is different and they all learn and grow in different ways and at different rates so testing is an inaccurate way of seeing what a child knows. You can find out what a child knows by having a true conversation with them. I say let kids be kids!

Allise of OR 7:48PM May 27, 2010

I have a Masters Degree in Education and Created Programs for Diverse Populations for over 25 years. As parents and educators We Must Recognize That All Children Are Unique. They Each have their Own Special Talents, Abilities and Styles of Learning. We Must Provide Developmentally Appropriate Innovative Curriculum and Multi Cultural Programs that Reflect This Difference.
Addressing Cultural Relevance in making Curriculum Choices is a Necessary Developmentally Appropriate Practice. Culturally Relevant and Diverse Curriculum that is Developmentally Appropriate Examines and Challenges Institutional Biases and Is Beneficial to All Chilren.
I live in Martin County Florida where the KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM IS ACCELERATED/IT IS A FIRST GRADE CURRICULUM.-WHICH EMPHASIZES ACADEMICS....Our Motto..."No Child Left Behind" Only Refers To A Very Small Minority of Children...An Innovative Kindergarten Curriculum Should Challenge All Children to do their Best and provide them with social/emotional and cognitive skills they will need for success.etc A Good Kindergarten Classroom Should..Use- Howard Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Teaching Thru the Arts, Use a Multi Sensory Approach To Learning and a Variety of Materials, Use Themes and Use Manipulatives. Etc......and have a Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Curriculum that Respects All Diverse Populations

Lee Staugaitis of FL 3:14PM December 06, 2009

Engrossing. Is it in truth that simple?

DoesLegalbudsgetyouhigh of AL 3:28AM October 11, 2009

THIS IS A GOD THING FOR YOU ALL TO DO

najanique nick name nana of NY 8:31PM August 17, 2009

I have just finished my 20th year of teaching, most of that time in kindergarten. I am in the trenches with the children at the crossroads of this problem. The stress on the children shows in the behaviors and medications required to be "successfull". I am most confident that we will look back at this time and think "What were we doing to our children?" I have seen the pendulum swing a few times in my career and witnessed the baby being thrown out with the bath water each time we find the new cure for out problems. May our culture take a good long look at our goals and put our children high on the list. I am all in favor of letting children be children and learn mostly by exploration and guidance, not bubbles and number 2 pencils. It is very sad to see a generation growing up not knowing how to, or the joy of, play. True progress is the outcome of good communication and problem solving. As a nation we need to totally restructure NCLB and remove the chaos and misguiede standards it imposes.

lisa thomas of MT 6:24PM July 23, 2009

eWimep

Csxxdaey of UT 7:11AM July 14, 2009

......and yet another proof for our homeschooling. I fully realize homeschooling is not an educational option everyone can entertain and many readers of this publication are opposed to it. But reading articles & reports like this make me crazy, sad & immensely thankful it works for our family. I can't imagine fighting a bureaucracy that appears to be sacrificing children on the altar of high standardized test scores & won't listen to experts & proven research b/c it doesn't fit their mold of what education should look like.
While I wouldn't push it if he weren't up to the task, our current kgartner is where he "should" be academically, plays a good portion of his day & has no clue what a test is. And yes, he knows how to make friends. The academic aspect of my Kgarten takes about 90 minutes a day. I've been doing this gig for over a decade with a degree of success, so I've gotten beyond defending our educational choice to naysayers.
Our country is made great by individuals who can think OUTSIDE the box. How do they get that way? By being able to PLAY outside of the BOX.

Kathi B. of TX 1:06AM April 21, 2009

This can be expanded to include preschool. . . often 5 days, full school day in length. Our oldest son (now 22) had one year of preschool, 2 one-half days per week. Our youngest son (now 18) had the same amount of days, just two years (ages 3 & 4). They played in a sand & water table and had all sorts of outside activities. I have always said that their development, love of school, love of reading and high academic performances can be traced back to great early childhoods. We had lots of play at home as well. If one said "call me Batman today" we did it, and he wore a cape! We'd sit and read a huge stack of books when they wanted to do that. Today, our tiniest folks are often in a very structured school setting across this country. Often I believe the youngest are expected to be much "older" than they really are. Let the tiny guys be tiny!

K Stewart of AR 1:51PM April 09, 2009

As host of the Internet radio program, Body, Mind and Child (www.bodymindandchild.com), I've had the opportunity to interview Joan Almon of the Alliance for Childhood, Stuart Brown (twice), and such prestigious experts as David Elkind, author of The Hurried Child.
All of them have had important statements to make about the need for play, the developmental inappropriateness of testing in the early years, and of the "pushing down" of the elementary curriculum into kindergarten and even preschool. Dr. Elkind commented that we wouldn't consider teaching the college curriculum in high school, the high school curriculum in middle school, or the middle school curriculum in the primary grades. Why, then, do we find it acceptable to teach the primary-grade curriculum in kindergarten and preschool?
We have considerable research showing that play, physical activity, and movement contribute to brain and intellectual development -- and that the body and mind must work in concert. Young children in particular are best served through active learning experiences. Still, the policy makers insist upon more and more seatwork and forms of assessment that are anything but authentic. On what basis do they make these decisions? Do they possess expertise in educational theory and child development? Why do they choose to ignore the research that contradicts the choices they're making?
Parents have considerably more power than they realize. It's time they took the reins! Thank you, Nancy, for the wonderful suggestions you offered.

Rae Pica of NH 9:37AM April 08, 2009