"Back to the Days of Christopher Robin and Pooh..."

"Christopher Robin and I walked along

Under branches lit up by the moon.

Posing our questions to Owl and Eeyore

As our days disappeared all too soon

But I've wandered much further today than I should

And I can't find my way to get back to the wood.

So help me if you can, I've got to get

Back to the house at Pooh Corner by one.

You'd be surprised there's so much to be done.

Count all the bees in the hive

Chase all the clouds from the sky

Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh"

Excerpted from "Return to Pooh Corner" by Kenny Loggins

I was a child of the 1960's. My kindergarten experience was designed for socialization. "Plays well with others" was the premier report card remark from a mom's point of view. Our childhood in small town Indiana was marked by long luscious days playing with Janet and Marti, my neighbors and best friends. Our summer days were spent creating marvelous new scenarios for our Barbies, or riding our bikes all over town pretending to be the stars of imaginary adventures. Our nights often featured outdoor sleepovers. I remember seeing the Milky Way for the first time while lying on their patio, guarded by their dog, Tawn. The sight was magical. The childhood was magical.

Fast forward a few years, and I was a mom of a much loved three year old who's favorite toy companion was her Winnie the Pooh. I was also a practicing teacher working on licensing renewal. The course that changed my professional life happened that year. It was in an early childhood education course that I was introduced to the concept of developmentally appropriate practices for young children. I learned what that should look like, sound like. And that look and sound reminded me a lot of my own early childhood.

I was also introduced to the work of David Elkind, Ph.D, professor emeritus of child development at Tufts University, and author of several scholarly books and articles, including The Hurried Child and The Power of Play His research documented the dramatic changes in the experiences of childhood and early education that had occurred in our society since my youth. For so many societal reasons, childhood had become a race--hectic, intense, scheduled and future oriented. Standards guiding education had become increasingly academic in the name of rigor, and changes in our neighborhoods, as well as our technology focus that our children know so well, had created the perfect storm...playtime was disappearing and being replaced by structured and isolating curricular and screen time activities.

We all want the best for our children, our goal is to give them all they need to succeed. But we had lost sight of what part play and personal connections enhance that very goal. We are biologically wired to play and interact with our world. Play is essential for understanding how our world works, how our relationships with others work, and how our brain best develops as we strive to raise creative, growing, fully actualized humans. As I looked at my 3 year old, I knew my mission. I knew what kind of educator I wanted to be to insure that she had the best childhood experiences, the ones that gave her truly developmental opportunities, to explore, grow, play and learn. I became convinced that play was the way for children to learn. I became so emboldened by my cause that I smugly considered myself the defender of childhood. I figure there's more than a few teachers in my daughter's life that would give me that "she's not wrong on that perception of herself" side-eye.

Recently my career as a Title I teacher became entwined with a kindergarten teacher whose philosophy and demeanor I deeply admired. I felt like I'd come home to my soul mate in this work. I knew the theory and the desire from the 80's, she knew the research that informed her practice in her kindergarten classroom. That research took me right back to those days when I wanted my little girl holding her Pooh Bear to have a global education that truly honored what children needed, and in turn honors what the adults they will become need. We felt moved to research and apply what was going on in the fields of child development, play based education, and neuro-education to further our mission to give children a holistic, play based childhood education. As we explore this form of teaching, this blog was born to chronicle our work and verify or adapt our beliefs. We want to share what works, and how it can be accomplished in today's busy and demanding classroom environment that expects children to grow and master academic goals. Maybe together we can make it work through a play based lens that honors children's innate curiousity and creativity.

"Believe me if you can, I've finally come

Back to the house at pooh corner by one.

What do you know there's so much to be done.

Count all the bees in the hive

Chase all the clouds from the sky

Back to the days of Christopher Robin

Back to the ways of Christopher Robin

Back to the days of Pooh." Kenny Loggins Return to Pooh Corner copyright Universal Music Publishing Group.