Time to Play

Nowadays, teachers are pressed to squeeze in as much instruction as possible before their students take their standardized tests. As a result, many children don't have big chunks of time to just creatively experiment or self-explore. Even in teaching art, I feel pressed for instructional time when I only see students for 45 minutes per week. Every once in a while, I'll give my students a free choice day, in which they choose their materials & there are no rules on what they make. A while back, I handed my kindergarteners & first graders some paper and just told them to "make it pretty". They were SO engaged & what they made was truly beautiful! Seriously, I'd frame some of these! I was reminded of the importance of giving children time to play. Please read this amazing article by The Art of Ed on this subject :]

P.S. We later turned these pretty papers into beautiful Eric Carle inspired collages!