Monday, September 6, 2010

WHY PLAY??

Our most basic human developmental learning strategies are imitation and dramatic play, which begin universally at about age 3 in most children. Due to the fact that theatre --whether watched or participated in -- is an embodied, three dimensional, sensory experience, all possible learning styles are encompassed with students listening, speaking, seeing, moving, thinking, feeling, inventing, and replaying by turns or simultaneously. In addition, all the intelligences are accessed at some point in the process:


VERBAL - LINGUISTIC PLOT, LANGUAGE (Words spoken or signed)

LOGICAL - MATHEMATICAL PLOT, THOUGHT (Sequence, logical reasoning)

VISUAL - SPATIAL SPECTACLE (Costumes, Sets, Props, Stage pictures)

BODILY- KINESTHETIC DANCE/CHARACTER (Blocking, Gesture, Dance, Posture, Pose)

By incorporating all the multiple intelligences, our program helps to grow the WHOLE CHILD. Our games, skits, and songs are designed to build the young child's motor skills, verbal proficiency, and creativity. We use role play to enhance the child's social skills and explore common behavior issues, such as sharing, calling names, using manners, etc...

As children get older, they use the skills they develop through Play to express themselves, to "put themselves in others' shoes", and to work through the different emotional changes they are experiencing. Their academic studies benefit from their increased verbal, kinesthetic, visual and logical skills developed through Play, which in turn leads to a greater sense of self-esteem, increasing their chances of success in whatever endeavors life sends their way.

Also? It's FUN! Pure, unadulterated, silly-willy-nilly FUN.

PEACE, LOVE, PLAY!

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