The Lifetime Montessori School Difference: Letting Kids Play Fosters Creativity

SAN DIEGO - Nov. 15, 2018 - PRLog -- Did you know that doctors are now prescribing playtime? It's true! Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics detailed the developmental importance of play and suggested that doctors write 'prescriptions' for it.

Sadly, "play can't be just what children do or what they enjoy—it has to serve a purpose," writes Katherine Marsh in The Washington Post article on September 17, 2018, entitled, "We've so overscheduled our kids that doctors are now prescribing playtime". She also is the author of 'Nowhere Boy'.

Letting kids be kids and letting them play—for long periods of time—is a luxury in today's every moment in my kid's life must be structured mantra.

True Play is Freedom From Purpose

Are parents pushing our kids into a world without downtime? Must every minute be micromanaged? What can we parents do so our kids can just be kids?

The Lifetime Montessori School Difference: Play Builds Imagination and Creativity

"Kids playing together heightens their imagination and creativity," Kristin Edwards, M.Ed. and Director of Lifetime Montessori school, says. "Kids build stories in their heads when they're hiding, jumping and climbing. Recess and playtime builds bodies, hand/eye coordination and motor skills better than video games on an iPad."

Lifetime Montessori's New Playground

Over the summer, LMS built a new, natural 6,000 square foot playground. The new structure, a 100' x 60' rectangle, is a mix of nature and psychology based on play.

Built into a hill, the new LMS playground features a fort at the top with slides, tunnels, boulders and logs for climbing and sitting. There's a labyrinth of rocks and 10 newly planted trees.

Plus, a courtyard garden for planting and harvesting. It's safe and features a forest-like terrain in its build-out.

Richard Louv, author of 'Last Child in the Woods' and 'Vitamin N: An Essential Guide to a Nature Filled Life,' was a spiritual architect for the new playground, Edwards says.

"Louv wrote that decreased exposure of children to nature in American society is creating nature deficit disorder and harming kids," Edwards said. "Thinking back to my childhood, we lived in a suburban area. But there was still a connection… and it in me due to the fact I was outside exploring most of my playtime. Our new, natural playground tries to put nature in play as a part of our students' young lives." Beyond the aspect of nature and connection within the child, play also develops key social habits and cues. Children being creative and exploring without adults guiding them will need to collaborate. They will run into problems and arguments that they need to solve. The will come up with solutions we adults may never have considered. To truly be a person who can engage peers, society and the "work place" we need moments to speak up for our ideas, defend ourselves, listen to others and think outside of the box. Unstructured play offers all of this and more.

Summary

"Dr. Maria Montessori felt strongly that play (and the freedom to explore) is a key component of growing up," Edwards says. "Our new playground illustrates our mission: we build whole children with the idea of teaching them to be independent, empathetic, confident and lifelong learners who use the skills we teach early in their development to ensure they can manage middle school, high school and beyond. How kids play is part of that ."

Lifetime Montessori School in Santaluz is celebrating its 11th year teaching toddlers, preschoolers and elementary school students. Two hundred students living in Carmel Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Penasquitos, Del Sur and 4S Ranch attend. Tuition is about $14,000/yr. The school offers low student- to- teacher ratios that helps each child learn at their own speed. Book your free group tour to see Lifetime Montessori school: https://lifetimemontessorischool.com/free-tours.

Other sources referenced in this article are based on material from 'Last Child in the Woods,' and 'Vitamin N,' by Richard Louv.