On Oct. 3, a warm Sunday morning, 50,000 parents and their children attended the New York's Central Park first of its kind, no-charge Ultimate Block Party. Central Park was transformed into a huge play space, with hands-on games, discovery stations and recycled material environments. Families of diverse backgrounds laughed, ran, jumped and played together. Parents were given a 70-page playbook, describing the impact of each activity on childhood development and suggesting ways to facilitate meaningful play at home.
The party was organized and facilitated by prominent researchers, scientists, engineers, business leaders, artists and inventors, all of whom are proponents of play in early childhood education.
The overwhelming success of the Central Park event is relevant to the Sept. 4 Tribune article, "Kindergarten: It's the new first grade." Nara Schoenberg presents two diverse approaches to early childhood education: play verses the more academic approach, as advocated by Tom Loveless, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who is quoted, "I think even an advantaged child who attends a play-based kindergarten pays some sort of price because that is a portion of the day that could be going for cognitive development but isn't."We disagree with Mr. Loveless. Our experiences with early childhood education show play is neither a waste of time nor an impediment to a child's cognitive development. We agree with the organizers of the party that a home and school environment promoting playful approaches to learning in pre-school through second grade has proven to foster and develop children's skills. In both school and family settings, play is the most natural, effective way children learn.
As classroom teachers, former children's museum educators, professional development instructors and mothers, we have seen firsthand the power of play, fostering a love of learning, and providing a rich, motivating context while learning fundamental academic skills, which the party organizers have defined as the 6Cs: collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence.
This will become an annual event in New York and organizers are planning to host parties in cities across the county. We hope next year Millennium Park, Chicago's playground, will host the second Ultimate Block Party.
-- Liza Sullivan and Rachel Weaver Rivera, co-founders, Creative Play Collaborative, Chicago
