Scientists disagree about what sort of play is most important, government is loath to regulate the type of toys and technology that increasingly shape the play experience, and parents still feel pressure to supervise children’s play rather than let them go off on their own. (Nearly two-thirds of Americans in a December Monitor TIPP poll, for instance, said it is irresponsible to let children play without supervision; almost as many said studying is more important than play.) And there is still pressure on schools to sacrifice playtime – often categorized as frivolous – in favor of lessons that boost standardized test scores.

“Play is still terribly threatened,” says Susan Linn, an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the nonprofit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. But, she adds, “what is changing is that there’s a growing recognition that the erosion of play may be a problem … we need to do something about.”

One could say that the state of play, then, is at a crossroads. What happens to it – how it ends up fitting into American culture, who defines it, what it looks like – will have long-term implications for childhood, say those who study it.

Read the entire article, Toddlers to tweens: relearning how to play

The California Waldorf school has been getting plenty of press since the publication of an article in the New York Times last month.

The press has brought out the debate over whether high technology is necessary for children in grade school.

Check out the NBC video that shows why high-tech parents choose a school that picks blackboards over IPads.

Click here to find out more details about the event! Holiday Faire

When I first wrote about Waldorf in public schools for Conscious Choice, some 12 years ago, examples were few and far between. There was Urban Waldorf in Milwaukee and a handful of charter schools in California and Arizona. The number of Waldorf-inspired public schools was up to 45 in 2010, with another 30 expected to open this year, according to the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education.

Those of us who have faith in Waldorf would like to see it more available. We believe all kids could benefit from Waldorf education.

A recent article in Harvard Education Letter, a publication of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, considers whether Waldorf is the answer to school reform.

Waldorf Education in Public Schools: Educators adopt—and adapt—this developmental, arts-rich approach says Waldorf is kind of like the slow food movement.

“In the quest to fix ailing schools, should we slow down to move faster?  Just as the handmade, home-farmed foodie movement is transforming how consumers view processed food, is education’s equivalent—Waldorf-style schooling that favors hands-on art and personal exploration while shunning textbooks and technology—just what school reform needs?”

Of course, coming from Harvard, the article repeatedly refers to the fact that there isn’t proof of Waldorf’s effectiveness.

That may be because standardized tests don’t reflect the multi-faceted human being. Regardless, it is an interesting read. Check it out.

Waldorf Education in Public Schools.

This is the first time the AAP has updated its policy on screen time since 1999, when the group first recommended kids under 2 don’t watch TV and that parents limit screen time for older children.

In this newest policy the AAP tells parents that screen media has absolutely no benefits for children under 2, but has potentially negative effects.

The AAP research found that 90 percent of parents with children under 2 say they use some type of electronic media. The AAP says parents are being fooled into thinking some of these materials are educational.

The AAP warns that screen time takes away from valuable unstructured playtime. The report also warns of possible adverse effects of screen time for children including developmental delays in language and attention problems. The AAP warns media use has also been found to be associated with sleep issues, obesity and aggressive behaviors.

Waldorf schools have long been in the forefront of encouraging limiting or eliminating screen time for children. Waldorf education realizes the negative developmental impacts of screen time, while also recognizing that media interferes with imagination and that images from screens interferes with the learning process.

Read the full statement on media use by children under 2 in Pediatrics.

Read the New York Times article, Parents Urged Again to Limit TV for Youngest

Read the Washington Post article, AAP reaffirms no screen time for young children even though few parents listen

LOS ALTOS, Calif. —The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard.

But the school’s chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home.

Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise. But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: computers and schools don’t mix.

Read the rest of this New York Times article, A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute, about the Waldorf School in Los Altos, CA

Children between the ages of  2 and 7 see an average of  13,904 television commercials  per year, compared to 30,155 for 8 to 12 year-olds.   A significant number of these advertisements are for food and may be linked to the increase of obesity.

An article in Social Science Space, by Jerome L. Singer and Dorothy G. Singer of Yale University points to research about the negative effects violent videogames and media use by children. The Singers ask “Isn’t it time for our legal  and legislative policy-makers to pay attention to social science research in the area of children and the media?”

Read the entire article: Raising Our Children in an Electronic Media World

The human brain created Technology that changed the environment that is now changing the brain. In the mid 1800s Emerson, cautious of the industrial revolution, noted; the weaver becomes the web, writes Michael Mendizza, author and founder of Touch the Future, in his blog.

Mendizza, a documentary film maker, has studied media for 30 years. He writes that relating to a screen can be likened to sensory deprivation for children. He says the excessive use of media in early childhood is weakening the core foundation on which learning depends.

Mendizza writes: Screen based technologies are all ‘virtual’. To have an appropriate relationship with a virtual reality one must first have a well-developed physical, emotional, cognitive foundation in what used to be the only reality – natural experience and relationship based and perception. Introduce virtual reality too early, when the natural reality is still forming and you displace, push aside, critical experiences in the development and stabilization of that natural reality.

Read the entire blog, The Weaver Becomes the Web.

Research by Dr. Idit Sulkin, of the Ben-Gurion University Music Science Lab, found that young children who naturally play hand-clapping games are better spellers, have neater handwriting, and better overall writing skills.

Clapping and singing, clapping and chanting. There’s a reason these activities are found across all cultures in storytelling, religious ceremonies, solemn rituals, and joyous celebrations, writes Laura Grace Weldon in a Mothering.com blog.