The recent attempts to increase our nation's academic success rates have encouraged teachers and students to work harder and to believe that they are capable of more than what they may have accomplished previously. The advancements in the field of education, such as the new Common Core, have produced a few controversies, particularly in the early grades such as Kindergarten. What about play? With the push for a more academic focus, is play-time being forgotten, or worse, purposefully neglected? Children need play and exploration to learn through experience. Educators want them to develop a love for learning, which comes from the desire to explore and learn! If we take away that free time they will lose their ability to initiate self-exploration, thereby limiting their own growth and development. Play time is essential for a student's cognitive, social, and emotional development.
