Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

 The children in our care LOVE to play with the parachute! Welcome to the weekly "Just Playing?" Blog Hop hosted here at Child Central Station. This is our second week hopping and discussing our observations of the learning happening when children are at play.  For more information about this hop and how to join, visit the "Just Playing" landing page. Last week, I shared some photos of the children building a train out of chairs. I have updated the post to include some additional insights into the play- you can read that updated post here . Now- on to this week...... We may be "just playing", but.... What are the children doing here? What do you see? What learning is taking place? What skills are being practiced/developed? This post is part of the "Just Playing?" Blog Hop! Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through ...

 These children are riding the train. One of the children decided to build a train. (I was not fast enough with the camera to capture the building of the train.)  The other children decided to join in on the adventure. We may be "just playing", but.... What are the children doing here? What do you see? What learning is taking place? What skills are being practiced/developed? This post is part of the  "Just Playing?" Blog Hop! Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play.  They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play.  A child's work is play. Play is important! Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment.  I'd also like to invite you to "hop" on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week: If you a...

We may be "just playing", but.... What are the children doing here? What do you see? What learning is taking place? What skills are being practiced/developed? This post is part of the  "Just Playing?" Blog Hop! Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play.  They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play.  A child's work is play. Play is important! Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment.  I'd also like to invite you to "hop" on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week: If you are looking for more of our “Just Playing?” posts and resources from around the globe, please visit our Pinterest Board. Are you a blogger? Would you like to join the JUST PLAYING? blog hop community? You can join the hop...

The word "just" drives me batty. Seriously, when you put the word "just" in front of any verb or noun, you belittle the very thing you are talking about.  There are few things that drive me as bonkers as "I'm JUST a home daycare provider" or "I'm JUST a mom," but ultimately what really gets me going is when people unknowingly say, "Well, they're JUST playing." YOUNG CHILDREN DO NOT  JUST  PLAY. YOUNG CHILDREN PLAY. They develop through play. They learn through play. They investigate through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play.  A child's work is PLAY! There has been a lot of research to support the importance of play, yet play seems to be looked down upon and opportunities for children to participate in good old-fashioned, child directed play seem to be vanishing. PLAY IS IMPORTANT! For this very reason, I have decided to start a new series here on the blog, called "Just Playing?" and I...