{"id":1511,"date":"2011-05-11T13:28:05","date_gmt":"2011-05-11T13:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.wordpress.com\/?p=1511"},"modified":"2011-05-11T13:28:05","modified_gmt":"2011-05-11T13:28:05","slug":"more-research-shows-preschoolers-learn-best-through-play-and-exploration-and-a-few-fun-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/11\/more-research-shows-preschoolers-learn-best-through-play-and-exploration-and-a-few-fun-links\/","title":{"rendered":"More Research Shows Preschoolers Learn Best Through Play and Exploration (and a Few Fun Links)"},"content":{"rendered":"

As if we needed more studies to show that preschoolers don’t need formal education,<\/span> two new studies have shown that little ones are better at learning and solving problems when they are not instructed about it first.\u00a0 In Slate’s Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School<\/span><\/a>, researcher Alison Gopnik cites the studies and how they surprised the scientists:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As so often happens in science, two studies from different labs, using different techniques, have simultaneously produced strikingly similar results. They provide scientific support for the intuitions many teachers have had all along: Direct instruction really can limit young children’s learning.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The author concludes the article with something most of us know already:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Knowing this, it’s more important than ever to give children’s remarkable, spontaneous learning abilities free rein. That means a rich, stable, and safe world, with affectionate and supportive grown-ups, and lots of opportunities for exploration and play. Not school for babies.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Want to play with your kiddos today?<\/span>\u00a0 Here’s some sites with some fun inspiration…<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n