Our reader who calls himself KrazyTA posted this comment:
He writes:
TEN QUOTES ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
“Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori
“Play is the highest form of research.” – Albert Einstein
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” – Mr. Rogers
“The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery.” – Erik H. Erikson
“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” – O. Fred Donaldson
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct.” – Carl Jung
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Do not keep children to their studies by compulsion but by play.” – Plato
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers
Link: http://oneperfectdayblog.net/2013/02/21/quotes-about-the-importance-of-play/
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
I loved the statements on play. It is important for learing in children.Judi Flanders
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Too bad Mr Rogers is not still alive. He would have a lot to say about the current state of public education and his voice was one parents listened to and respected.
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Agree and I often wonder what Frank McCourt would have to say about charter schools, school vouchers and school privatization. He died in 2009, maybe he already did express his opinions on these issues but I missed it. He certainly supported classroom teachers and deplored the lack of respect that they get in this country.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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While I was fortunate to find that website with such sage observations, I remember thinking then—and now—that play is also where we can joyfully learn by not worrying about whether, or how many, mistakes we make.
Even more, play gives us the opportunity to make felicitous “mistakes” from which we learn unexpected and life-changing things that may be far more important than what we initially set out to “do.”
Or so I see it.
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Reblogged this on Politicians Are Poody Heads and commented:
Play is so important, and in our public and charter schools, we are losing/have lost the idea of its importance for children. Psychologically, developmentally, socially, even educationally, play is important.
Heck, play is also important for adults, but far too many adults don’t play any more. Americans receive little vacation time compared to most other Western countries, they work longer hours, and even when they are supposed to be “off work,” too many of them are working on their emails, or on their laptops or tablets, on work-related matters.
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Excellent, but I believe the quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw actually came from the mouth of Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
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And from Jean Piaget:
Children require long, uniterrupted periods of play and exploration.
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Play is the way children figure out how to make sense of the world. It is important for all children be given a chance to use their senses to explore and create. Play allows children to grow, develop and learn in healthy ways. Denying children this opportunity results in stunted social. emotional and even cognitive growth.
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Research suggests that mammals learn best through role modeling and social engagement. There is also much research arguing that children (being, actually, somewhat plant-like in their development) need a lot of Vitamin D brain-developing SUNSHINE. We ignore both of these facts to our own detriment as a society.
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Bookmarked. Love it, Krazy,
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Excellent quotes, especially Mr. Rogers.
This quote is not about play specifically, but it always comes to my mind when I think about play:
“Allow children to be happy in their own way, for what better way will they find?” – Samuel Johnson
My son, 6 years old, personifies this. He has a toy car garage, three-levels, wooden, complete with elevator, car-lift for repairs, helicopter pad, three cars included with interchangeable silicone tires. I think he’s used it as a garage once, for 20 mins. It has been, depending on his current passion, a kangaroo food delivery system, a console of a car he constructed around a gaming chair (wooden blocks set up on the floor as headlights. I love wooden blocks, and that he finds them good enough as stand-ins), a car for his kangaroo, a house for his kangaroo (kangaroos were a big thing for several months).
I tell him, play as you will. 🙂 He has too many years ahead where he’ll be told to do it the right way.
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Playing with others is great for developing social skills, but pretend play develops children’s imaginations in ways that can benefit them throughout life. You, yourself, are not too old to play. Join in and nurture them, and yourself.
Gwynn Torres
The Creativity Institute
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