"Just Playing"

"Just Playing"  I've touched on this a bit before, but it is important to talk about it again.  And again.  And again.

My kids are "just playing" outside.  Right now.  Barefoot in January.  In the rain. 

Yep.  You read that right.  We live in the Los Angeles area of California.  It's 65 degrees out there right now. 

Am I worried they are going to 'catch their death of cold'?  Nope.  Know why?  They are running.  And jumping.  And swinging.  And PLAYING.  They are enjoying the feel of the drops on their skin.  They are dancing and singing about rain.  Yes, I know.  We don't get a lot of rain.  And that's why it's so much more fun for them! 

They are seeing how much rain it takes to fill their buckets.  They are watching the clouds migrate from white to gray to dark gray and back and deciding which ones will rain on them.   This is science!  It's learning about the cycles of life!  The kids noticed that when it was actually raining, the birds didn't seem to be flying around.  When I asked them why, they observed them sitting quietly on the lines or in the trees.  They came to the conclusion that the birds didn't want their feathers to get wet.  They found a wet chicken feather on the ground and realized it was a matted mess instead of fluffy like normal.  But they are "just playing."

When they DO get cold, guess what?  If they are a muddy mess, which they most likely will be, I will have them get undressed right outside the back door.  They will then hop into a nice warm shower which I will start while they are getting undressed.  And they will shower off and get warm and clean.

(They weren't a muddy mess and came in when they were cold, and went back out a few extra times to make sure the rain had stopped.  The rain lasted long enough to show drops on the ground, but not actively get things wet.  Typical CA rain.  LOL)

And then we will have a nicer evening overall.  Know why?  Because they PLAYED.  They got energy out.

By "just playing" my 6 year old figured out the monkey bars at the park the other day and went all the way across!!!  We made chocolate chip cookies to celebrate! 

"Just playing" today led to my kids making books and to my oldest son teaching the other kids how to write each others names.  How to fold the paper so it looks like a book.  Suddenly, my 3 year old was telling me  about the spine of the book and that he was the illustrator who draws the pictures.  But it was '"Just play" according to some people. 

Play leads to learning.  Play leads to friendships.  Play leads to more play which leads to life skills! 

Let your kids play!  And let them play for long stretches of time.  Not 10 minutes.  10 minutes is not a long stretch of time.  An hour is a long stretch of time.  More is better if you can swing it! 

Homeschooling leads to long stretches of play.  And I'm seeing wonderful things come out of it with my kids. 

And, for the record.  Play does not cancel out their official homeschool time.   We still have official work that we do every day.  The play happens after our work is done, but the play is what inspires the work many days! 

I'd love to hear about your children's learning through play experiences!  Comment or email me!!