Pre-School Providers to Lawmakers: Let Them Play

“Play is our business, we play… that’s what we do. We play, and when they play they learn and when they’re happy they learn.”

Four months after Gov. Ron DeSantis declared “Kindergarten Readiness” as a top priority, saying too many five-year-olds were showing up unready for kindergarten, the House Education Committee held their  first meeting, focused on prekindergarten (VPK) and early learning. Chair Sullivan declared “This is where it starts. It starts with early learning.”

The Tampa Bay Times described their discussion:

The Florida House made clear Tuesday that prekindergarten and early education will receive heavy attention in the coming legislative session, as the state aims to better prepare its children for kindergarten and beyond…

Among the things they learned was that the system needs a cash infusion, so centers can afford to pay and train their teachers, and provide the best possible services to their students. They heard about the need to support families who cannot afford the “wraparound” services that are not covered by the funding for the daily three hours of Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK).

And they repeatedly were reminded that, more than academics and testing, preschool is about play, collaboration, and other social and emotional lessons.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/gradebook/2019/09/17/prekindergarten-early-education-get-limelight-from-house-committee/

While lawmakers asked question regarding VPK participation levels, state-mandated regimented curriculums and optimal scheduling of Kindergarten Readiness Assessments (which are used to rate VPK providers and “hold them accountable”), the panel of preschool providers kept coming back to play.

Watch provider Lisa Brooks explain the importance of play (at 1:38:12):

I tell the parents when they come to tour, the ABCs and 123s… those come, we work on those, but we are forming social and emotionally, hopefully, balanced children. It is a very big challenge in our program because at that age it’s hard to be nice to your friends, it’s hard to shake your friend’s hand, it’s hard to realize that “your hands are not for hitting, your feet are not for kicking, your teeth are not for biting, we can’t do those things”, and that is our everyday chant. If you get the social emotional correct… (currently there is no Social-Emotional monitoring in the VPK evaluation) if you get that correct, the ABCs, the 123s, all that comes, then they can focus (on learning)…

We push the social emotional, the whole child, play, play is our business, we play, we play through playdoh, I tell you, I can hit every standard with a glob of playdoh and three 2 year olds… that’s what we do, we play, and when they play they learn and when they’re happy they learn. And then the rest of it, most of my children come out pre-reading, I’m not even goaling for pre-reading… we don’t even do sight words in our center, but they are coming out because we are talking about stories, we’re talking about books, but we’ve been doing it since they were infants… we are making sure their needs are met: if you need a hug, if you need a friend to sit doen and play, I’ll sit down and play with you… but those needs are much bigger in our realm than the 123s and the ABCs and they need to come first..

Lisa Brooks, St. Rita Preschool Director, Santa Rosa Beach FL

Children learn through play. Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child. The American Academy of Pediatricians states “Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.” Defending the Early Years, a non-profit organization working for a just, equitable, and quality early childhood education for every young child, describes the importance of play based learning for young children:

Children should have rich learning experiences in the early school years that allow for active, play-based experiential learning. They need opportunities to make friends and develop social skills, to develop creativity, the capacity for problem solving, and a love for learning.

https://dey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/fact_sheet_on_testing_final.pdf

Will Florida’s lawmakers heed the advice of these experts and let our young children play and develop their love of learning? Will lawmakers recognize play as more important to young learners than ABCs and 123s?

We have a mental health crisis in our schools. Rather than respond to disappointing “Kindergarten Readiness” test scores by incentivizing academic performance in pre-school, we urge lawmakers to question the current Kindergarten Readiness standards themselves. Consider going back to a time when kindergarten was developmentally appropriate and focused on children’s social and emotional needs. Recognize the needs of the whole child. If Florida’s children are not ready for kindergarten, maybe the problem is with the current kindergarten readiness expectations and not the children.

We encourage early childhood experts and parents to follow VPK legislation closely this session. Stay engaged. Increased funding, for teacher training and compensation or extended hours for working parents, would be great. Beware of more academics and testing. Keep repeating: preschool is about play.

Please commit to speaking up for our “littles.” Encourage lawmakers to give Florida’s children what they need. Let them play.