Play, It’s more important than you think

Play, It’s more important than you think...

May 15, 2015 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

I ran across this fun article floating around Facebook. 33 Activities for Kids That Cost Under $10 Dollars. Some of these activities looked like a lot of fun. While the examples they show look a little too “neat” to be done by kids, with some of the activities you can hand them the materials they need and step back. As a matter of fact it might be a good idea to let them develop their own style of play with their friends. The amount of learning, experimentation and problem solving the kids can do on their own is amazing if you let them try before swooping in to help. Take a look at the tin foil and hose experiment, what is the worse that could happen. First they could actually learn how to rip foil...

Play Skills Are More Important Than You Think!...

Jun 6, 2012 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

This article was originally posted in Your Middle Schooler: A Unique Age April 2008. I met with someone this week who runs corporate events, basically arranges for adults to “play” and was reminded of this article. I’ve always had strong feelings about play and development of play skills. I am seeing the trickle down effect with the older kids who don’t know how to “play”, get along with others, see others perspective or work in groups. This morning I read an article in Smithsonian Magazine by Monica Watrous call “Playing for Keepsies”. It was a small article about a gentleman named Bruce Breslow and his Moon Marble Company in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The Moon Marble Company produces both expensive hand crafted marbles and inexpensive machine made marbles. Breslow is a woodworker who became interested...

Pressure vs Expectations

Feb 15, 2012 by Teresa Sadowski MA CCC-SLP

This was originally posted in “Your Middle Schooler: A Unique Age” in October 2008. This information actually ties in with the message in the movie “The Road to Nowhere” Over the past several years, many books have been written about how we as parents and we as a society put too much pressure on kids. I’ve purchased several, read a couple and scanned a few. The world is different these days and kids are under a lot more pressure to perform earlier than we ever were. Pressure to perform at school, on the athletic field and with peers have lead to anxiety, acting out and even suicide. Obviously, too much continuous pressure is not a good thing for anyone.These days children grow up quicker, they are left alone more often and participate in organized...