Playing outside in the dark is something they usually only get to do in the summertime – and usually with cousins. Playing outside in the dark and the cold – just the two of them, was not something they’d ever asked to do before. I was thrilled mainly because they weren’t playing with LEGOs or reading. Yes, I know, playing with LEGOs and reading are two perfectly fine activities. Wonderful activities actually. Especially when the LEGOs are not media-linked (think Sponge Bob and Harry Potter). However, too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing. I’ve actually been thinking lately that the boys play with LEGOs too much, and are reading too much, at the expense of other things – especially active, outdoor play.

So, I was thrilled the other day when they picked up their gloves and started playing catch in their playroom. And even more thrilled when playing catch indoors led them to want to play catch outdoors.  This is a habit I’d like to encourage. So yes, it was dark and it was cold and they were playing alone outside. A reasonable risk I decided.

At one point – dinner wasn’t ready yet – they rang the doorbell. I was afraid they were ready to come back in. Nope. They just needed a flashlight – could I get one for them? You see, the ball had inadvertently gone into the woods. (The kids call it “the woods” though it is more like a grove, actually.) “Where are your flashlights?” I asked. “Under or near our pillows,” they said. (I guess it was a silly question. Where else would a seven-year-old boy keep a flashlight? Especially when his pillow and sleeping bag are in a tent on the floor in his bedroom – where they have been since late August when school started up again.)

Yup, I found their flashlights for them, and with no more questions asked, sent the boys back outside. I checked out the window a few minutes later, and they had retrieved the ball and were back in the driveway happily playing catch under the motion-activated spotlight. A lovely sight which made me smile. Oh, and did I mention that only one of them had a coat on?

On a related note, I am also contemplating the purchase of the book Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) by Gever Tulley and Julie Spiegler. When I looked at the list, so many of the things I had tried as a kid: Climb a tree, walk home from school, drive a nail, lick a 9 volt battery, stick your hand out the window, burn things with a magnifying glass . . . you get the idea. When I was growing up, from first through eighth grade, I walked to and from school everyday. It was always an adventure with a mixed-age group of kids. Also, I can still feel and taste that acidic little shock from the 9 volt, and remember the smell of the burning leaf when I got the angle of the sun just-so with the magnifying glass. Really fun stuff, when you get right down to it. And, truth be told, I still like to stick my arm out of the car window now and again.

Here’s to letting our kids take reasonable risks.

(And a big P.S. Thanks to Lenore Skenazy for leading the charge!)

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Blocks are as relevant as they have ever been – perhaps more now than ever – offering  a wide range of positive experiences for children of all ages. Socialization, creativity, problem solving, language development, cause and effect, math and science, motor development – these are all vital skills that are deeply enhanced through block play.

I’ve recently been hearing early childhood educators refer to their Smart Boards and iPads as being “hands on” tools. They are not. Knocking over a virtual tower is not the same kinesthetic experience as knocking down a real block tower. Touching a worm on a screen is not the same thing as holding a wiggling worm in your hand. Not even close. It worries me when early childhood professionals describe their teacher-directed Smart Board literacy lessons as “engaging students holistically.” They are not.

The most developmentally appropriate technology we have for preschoolers and kindergartners have been our tried and true technologies such as crayons, balls and blocks. Add nature, and you have all the materials you need. And as one preschool teacher once commented on this blog:

“I have always been against computers in early childhood classrooms and feel we need to fight to keep them out. Every argument I have heard for them is an argument I see against them. To ‘You can listen to bird calls on them’ , I say ‘go outside and listen to the birds’. To ‘There is a wonderful counting program kids can use to learn numbers and counting skills’, I say ‘Take your child outside and count acorns.’ Thanks for bringing this to our attention and I for one will never have a computer in my early childhood classroom.”

The other wonderful thing about blocks (and nature!) is that they will not be obsolete in a year or two. Invest in a good set of blocks and your child (and grandchildren) will play with them for years and years to come. Blocks are never the same toy twice – as children invent and reinvent each time they play. And as children grow, their block play evolves and becomes more elaborate. Add a few simple accessories – such as pine cones or ping-pong balls, and a whole new range of experiences will open up for the child.

For schools with tight budgets, blocks and professional development opportunities about the power of block play are sound investments. When I read about the school district in Auburn, Maine spending $200,000 on iPads for all their incoming kindergarten students, I was shocked and saddened. What will the children be missing in order to make the time and money available for this digital push? How quickly will those iPads become passe? How much support will the teachers receive?

For folks who think that bringing the digital world to younger and younger children is the key to 21st Century learning – there just isn’t evidence to bear that out. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics just upheld their long standing position for no screen-time for children under the age of two. Children are social and sensory learners – they learn better from interacting with actual people and playing with the world around them – than from screens.

High-tech employers such as Cal Tech’s Jet Propulsion lab now actually ask potential employees how he or she played as a child. They look for folks who played with clocks and took them apart to see how they worked; people who built things; who had authentic, playful experiences and have become the creative problem-solvers and innovators that this company needs. You can read more about this in Dr. Stuart Brown’s wonderful book Play, How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul.  We can also look to Mitchel Resnick, director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT’s Media Lab. He knows that traditional kindergarten classrooms provide the key experiences for creating and working collaboratively – so much so he has modeled his lab after a traditional kindergarten classroom. Furthermore, his playful programming language Scratch is used by 8 – 16 year olds. He did not design it for the early childhood world. And when using Scratch, these older children are creators rather than consumers of technology.

Blocks come a range of sizes and are made from a range of materials. For the youngest explorers, my favorite is the Mini Unit Block set designed by Community Playthings for one-year-olds and up. I use these blocks in my workshops, and adults love them as well. If space provides, a full set of unit blocks is wonderful for preschoolers and school age children. Hollow wooden blocks allow children to build structures large and strong enough to climb on and climb into. Excellent!

KEVA planks, which I’ve written about in the past, are also engaging for children of all ages – including adults. (See KEVA planks post below.) If you are a LEGO fan, and I know there are many of you out there, stick to the open-ended sets, such as the LEGO Creator kits which can be made into a range of things. Steer clear of the television and movie character sets, which can be limiting to the child’s creativity. (Even as I write this, my own sons are lobbying hard for some Star Wars LEGO sets for Christmas – so believe me, I know how hard this one is to follow!)

Really, the key here is playing with moveable parts and loose pieces. The simpler the toy, the more that will come from inside the child. Can your child take apart your iPhone to see how it works and use the pieces to create something new? It can’t happen that way. As she plays, is she learning how to ask her own questions, develop her own theories, and test them out? Is your son diligently creating something unique which builds on what he discovered yesterday and incorporates a friend’s new idea? Is your child learning to value her own ability to invent, create, innovate and entertain? These are questions that can help guide you as you make choices for the children in your life. I urge you to consider blocks.

Here are some great block resources:

The Block Book by Elizabeth Hirsh,ed.

Foundations of Block Play (video)

KEVA Planks

Block Play; Collage issue from January 2005 from Community Playthings

And here are some related blog posts:

Live Your Life

Radical Preschool

KEVA Planks – Creating Fun for Everyone

Victories Worth Celebrating!

A special thanks to teacher Laurel McConville and Mission Hill School, Roxbury MA for many of the pictures used in this blog post! And stay tuned for details about how and when you can hear the blocks podcat from Raising Playful Tots.

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“You can go back outside and ride bikes. Or we can play backgammon. Or you can do LEGOs.” The boys didn’t immediately jump at any of those options. They weren’t quite done sulking yet. Eventually, one went back to the LEGO car he’s been working on, and his brother took me up on the offer to play backgammon. Halfway through the game the brothers joined forces against me in the backgammon game.  We laughed and strategized. We tried our best to plan ahead; to anticipate each other’s moves; to make good decisions; and roll with the luck of the dice. They beat me fair and square. And by then it was time for the night time routine of bath, books and bed.

I am happy that I stuck to my guns about our school night rule, even though it initially made the boys sad. It would be easy to slide into the habit of watching DVDs every evening, but I know that small moments, such as beating mom at backgammon, and reading together, are too precious to give up.  These small moments are disappearing from our busy lives. It is sad, because the cumulative effect of these small moments are connected relationships and emotional security. Instead, we often have electronic gadgets entertaining our babies (check out this AT&T commercial) and plugged in, multi-tasking, tweens, teens (see the recent Kaiser Family Foundation report) and stressed-out grown ups (see just about any of us).

So, here’s to singing off-key on long family car trips – instead of using headphones and video screens; to talking together and sharing laughs over dinner – and leaving the TV off during the meal; and to beating mom real good at backgammon – especially on a school night.

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