Basing Your Programs on Play

Image by Gustavo Rezende from Pixabay

What does research tell us about the importance of play in how children learn? Recently, the ALSC blog shared a post from the ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and Their Caregivers committee that answers that question.

Citing research, this provocative article can help focus the direction of our early learning library programs for preschoolers that we serve. The committee writes: "This new era of research looks at the differences in instructional approaches in preschools and compares play-based learning to a more traditional academic approach.  Results indicate that play-based settings provide much greater benefits to young children throughout their lives.  Furthermore, academic-based settings not incorporating play-based learning can be detrimental to child development in a variety of ways."

Click here to read this fascinating article and it's well-researched resources. [The Impact of Play During Library Programming. Benham, Tammie. ALSC blog. September 3, 2022.]