What does your student need? It’s not what you think.
New plan… Next summer, I’ll just tape my eyelids open so I can’t blink and maybe summer will last a little longer. I’ve heard many moms say their kids need to get “back into a routine” this fall, but I’d like to suggest (and research supports) that we need to intentionally keep a little summer in our fall in order for our kids to be successful at school!
Let me explain.
Unfortunately, my to-do list doesn’t care very much about play.
I’m addicted to crossing off the day’s tasks and I don’t think I’ve ever put “open-ended play” on my list.
It’s much too… open-ended.
Approximately how long will it last? Will it take the place of something “more” important? What if it bumps into a task that really needs to be done? What if I schedule open-ended play and we miss something else? Now that would just be awful, wouldn’t it?
Or maybe – it would be exactly the opposite.
“According to research by Dr. Karyn Purvis, scientists have discovered that it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain, unless it is done with play, in which case it only takes 10 to 20 repetitions.” (Dr. Brad Johnson Instagram Post)
Just hang on a hot second with me here.
Do you realize what that means?
The difference between 20 and 400 is staggering. If we’re trying to teach our kids anything, why wouldn’t we want to make it that much more efficient for them (and for us?)
That’s a 95% decrease in mom-effort.
Do you realize the decrease in stress that would cause?
Do you realize how many more things we could learn if we could learn 95% more quickly?!
Do you realize how much less frustration there would be if kids could grab a concept that much more quickly?
In first grade, one of my kids struggled with reading which would inevitably induce tears and a large amount of frustration. At that time, I used play as a “last” resort because nothing – and I mean nothing – else was working. I turned her reading sounds for each day into a pirate game with a heavy dose of competition and pirates’ “booty” (chocolate chips) at the end of the game if she won. The game switched it all for her (and me!). Instead of struggling and crying, we were having fun together.
You would think that I got the memo and kept adding play into her schooling, but apparently, in my brain, third grade starts the busy grind of college prep exams because we didn’t have time for play. (most days)
What if play is exactly what our kids need?
What if play is exactly what WE need as moms?
What if play is a tool that is going to make all of life easier?
Perhaps we’ve lost the learning that can take place in unstructured routines among the “need” for getting kids strapped into a fall structure.
When my kids are at true play (we’re not talking Nintendo switch here), they can go for hours crafting forts or stirring mud concoctions in their play “kitchen.”
When fall comes around, do we have time for such “nonsense”? Not usually.
Where is the play that they can do for hours?
Have we let them try?
Or have we rushed it?
I rush play all the time. And I want to stop.
If learning is going to be 95% easier for everyone if we play, then I need to reorient my brain away from my crazy to-dos and circle back to the value in open-ended play.
This won’t happen accidentally.
But here’s what I can do:
Schedule play.
Yeah, yeah, I know that’s maybe not the point of true “play,” but it’s trying something.
If I’m looking for ways to allow play instead of looking for ways to cross things off, I’ll at least be moving in the right direction.
What about you?
Do you need permission to seek play for your kids?
What if we tried? Together?
What if we made time in our fall, for a little summer fun and everyone was better off for it?
Meet your farmer – Liz Gerdes. She & her husband run a farm-to-table Raw Milk dairy and farm Airbnb in Caledonia. If you’re looking for raw milk fresh from the farm, visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow her on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram @gerdesliz for more info.
Family Favorite: Cheesy Bratwurst Hotdish
3-4 fully cooked brats (boiled or grilled), chopped
3 medium red potatoes, cubed
4 carrots, cubed
½ large onion, chopped
2 cups fresh green beans, cut in 1 inch lengths
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Cream Soup:
½ stick butter
¼ cup flour
1 ½ cup whipping cream
¼ cup raw milk
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon dried mustard
Pepper to taste
In a large pot, boil potatoes, carrots and onion in water until almost tender. Add green beans when potatoes and carrots are almost tender and cover the pot to steam the beans. (Once all veggies are tender, you’ll need to remove from heat, drain them, and return them to the pot.)
While the veggies are cooking, use another saucepan to make your cream soup. First, melt butter. After butter is melted, whisk in flour. When the flour is totally incorporated with the butter, whisk in your whipping cream, milk, and spices. Boil 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
Stir the cream soup into the cooked veggies and add the chopped brats. Place in a 13×9 pan and cover with cheese. Bake at 375 for 30 min.
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