....But they just play..... where's the learning in that???

So often I hear the cry that children just play at kindergarten and that the real work begins at school. this is said directly or indirectly with the inference that some parents feel that if their child has been recommended for a second year of kindergarten that it would be wasted and they the child would be better off repeating a school year.

Play is never 'JUST' any one thing, children learn far more at this time in their lives and at a greater rate than they will ever again... They make sense of their world by playing out situations and roles and build the foundations for a love of learning that will carry them through their academic years and beyond...

And since when is doing one thing 'just' doing that thing??? An example would be since when is watching tv at the end of a busy day... simply 'just' watching tv... it is unwinding, tuning out, and often rarely is it just watching tv.
The same can be said of play, very rarely is it just what we often observe on the surface. Play is complex and a skilled early childhood educator interpretes this play and extends it where it needs extension and plans and predicts for more challenges and outcomes. Play is never 'just' play... it is fun, absorbing, intricate, simple, solitary, social....