Please take a moment to listen to this TEDx Talk by Peter Gray on The Decline of Play.  Then read the California Common Core State Standards for Transitional Kindergarten for 4 year olds.  

 

 Whether you are a parent, a teacher, a community worker, a health care or a mental health professional, please take a moment to share in the comment section below, how children under the age of eight, are playing (or perhaps NOT playing) in your immediate environment (home, classroom, playground, neighborhood, health practice, etc). We would especially like to hear from the professionals working directly with preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade children; particularly, your thoughts or observations on the manifestations of play deprivation as Dr. Gray shared in the TEDx Talk above.  Your commentary is a way of helping us all by sharing, analyzing, and evaluating our experiences.  Feel free to use these comment to inform ways in which you may advocate for PLAY, particularly in our early developmental years.