The act of play is very commonly overlooked as being not important or a waste of time, but self-initiated play is what creates the building blocks for all other kinds of learning, including academic. A child learns from exploring the world around them and playing with other children. By doing this they discover how to do things, like make friends or categorize. They might enjoy doing the same things repetitively because with every repetition they learn something new, even though to adult it might seem pointless. As adults we must have patience and encouraging of a child’s curious behavior. There is a reason they are so playful, it’s their way of learning. There are simple ways of engaging a child in play without taking up hours of the day. Try for example playing simple car games, like counting how many times you see a yellow car, or playing eye-spy. For more detailed information on why play is important follow the link to an article written by David Elkind.
Move It Groove It 