Experts assert that standardized testing makes little sense for children below fourth grade. Despite this, the politicians and policy makers still pound podiums in their righteous insistence that “more testing” is what we need for accountability in classrooms. As a result, even preschoolers are expected to sit still and provide evidence of their knowledge.

The problem here is twofold...

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More and more pediatricians, it seems, are hearing from parents whose babies aren't lifting their heads, turning over, or crawling when the books say they should. The reason, they believe, is the public health campaign begun in 1994 encouraging parents to put babies to sleep on their backs to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The good news is that this is resulting in a decrease in the incidence of SIDS. The bad news is that infants are getting much less tummy time than did babies of previous decades.

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The Value of Downtime During our own childhoods, no one could have predicted there would ever be a need to defend play for kids. Even a decade or so ago, the idea of campaigning for rest and downtime for children would have seemed ludicrous. But things have changed -- and not just a little, but in an opposite-end-of-the-spectrum way.

Active Learning & Creativity When a child engages in fantasy or dramatic play, she’s imagining “what if.” This requires creativity. And although typically considered the domain of artists alone – and thus often considered expendable – creativity is a life skill, requiring the ability to see beyond what already exists, or to imagine. And when one can imagine, one can envision possibilities and the solutions to problems.

7 Reasons Why Kids Need Recess (Even Kids Who Misbehave) Four times in the past month, I’ve heard from parents or teachers who are upset by school policies that allow teachers or administrators to withhold recess as a form of punishment. The children’s infractions range from tardiness to failure to complete homework to acting out in class – which covers a wide range of behaviors and ensures any number of children will go without recess on any given day.

The research, however, is clear: Children need recess, the benefits of which range across developmental domains. Following are just seven reasons why, if we want children to achieve optimal intellectual, social/emotional, and physical success, they should not be denied recess.

10 Reasons to Promote Emergent Literacy through Movement & Active Learning Early childhood professionals know the many benefits of physical activity and play. They understand that young children are experiential learners -- that they need to move, and they move to learn. Today there is a clamor for more accountability and testing, although children have not changed. They still need to experience concepts using their whole bodies to understand the concepts completely, including literacy and language arts concepts.

How a Child Is Smart Especially during the early years, children must have the chance to explore on their own. Whether you’re fostering what biology specifically endowed or awakening new interests, allowing a child to freely dabble in many pursuits -- rather than specialize in one or two --will help her learn where her strengths and weaknesses, her likes and dislikes, and her passions and indifferences lie.

 Helping a child utilize his own special strengths and skills may mean looking beyond what the policy makers and society typically consider “smart.” Or as developmental psychologist Howard Gardner has put it, you shouldn’t be trying to determine how smart a child is; rather, you should be trying to determine how a child is smart.

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Rae Pica has been a children’s physical activity specialist since 1980.  Today she is a much sought-after keynote speaker and consultant. Read More...

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Napa, California

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 A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity, & Free Time Create a Successful Child
In this guide, Rae Pica explains how the best head start we can give our children is literally A Running Start. New research shows it's the free time spent interacting with the real world -- exploring the outdoors, playing tag at recess, and inventing games -- that helps boost creativity, confidence, and resourceful problem-solving skills. In fact, at young ages, highly competitive activities can actually interfere with kids' natural development. And when it comes to academics, starting earlier is not better.

     Practical throughout, A Running Start offers techniques for raising a child with the right balance of free play and structured activity. With more than 50 "Play & Learn" ideas to nurture a child's unique personality, A Running Start is a guide for every parent who wants to help her or his child succeed naturally -- with less stress, more fun.

"I absolutely LOVED your book--this message is so very important. There have been a couple of other books on the subject, but yours was better researched and covered the topic more fully and clearly!"

Shelley Butler

Field Guide to Parenting

"Your book reassured me that it is OK for me to let [my daughter] be a kid and not give into the super kid’s mentality many parents have.   THANK YOU!!!!"

Melissa Warner

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Relax! Suggestions for promoting relaxation. Because it's important for adults, too, don't just encourage children to do these exercises; whenever possible, relax along with them!

Activities to Promote Creativity These activities use divergent production (multiple possible responses) to stimulate children's imaginations and problem-solving skills.

7 Things You Can Do to Save Recess Here are seven steps you can take to fight the demise of recess!

Ideas for Counteracting Boredom Practice makes perfect!

Activities that Promote Emergent Literacy These activities are adapted from Jump into Literacy: Active Learning for Preschool Children by Rae Pica (Gryphon House, 2007). Included are one each from the four main sections: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing...

Play & Learn Activities  Alphabet Fun, Sound Games, Everyday Science Experiments, & More!

Fitness Fun  Physical activity is the key to combating body fat (and thus overweight and obesity), with aerobic (cardiovascular) and muscle-strengthening movement offering the most bang for the buck.