Yale Bulletin and Calendar

June 23, 2000Volume 28, Number 34



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Scientists say play prepares children for school

Yale researchers have found that make-believe play enhances school-readiness skills in children, particularly those from low-income families.

Dorothy and Jerome Singer, directors of the Yale Family Television Research and Consultation Center, found that training low-income parents and inner-city daycare teachers to engage three- to five-year-olds in make-believe play can significantly strengthen children's skills for succeeding in school. Nearly a third of U.S. children, especially children from poor families, start kindergarten lacking basic skills for learning.

"Play is fun, easy to do, requires no special training, costs nothing and can help children, especially those at risk for school failure, succeed in school," says Jerome Singer, who is also professor of psychology and a professor at the Yale Child Study Center. "After training parents and caregivers for just two weeks, the children showed measurable gains in key school-readiness skills ranging from enhanced vocabulary and language usage to counting, fine motor control, and social and emotional growth."

Unlike rote learning, which isn't much fun, according to Jerome Singer, learning through play is intrinsically motivating. It's fun for children and adults, he says. In addition, he adds, play can miniaturize a part of the complex world children experience, reduce it to understandable dimensions, manipulate it and help them begin to understand how it works.

"Through the shared laughter and joy of play, adults, even those with limited literacy skills, can become full partners in children's development," says Jerome Singer. "The activities that are the easiest, cheapest and most fun to do, such as singing, playing games, reading, story-telling, and just talking and listening, are also the best for child development."

To train parents and caregivers, the husband-and-wife team developed a video-based training program called Learning through Play for School Readiness, along with Emmy Award-winning producer and director Harvey F. Bellin of the Media Group of Connecticut. A U.S. Department of Education Early Childhood Institute grant funded the video.

The program teaches adults learning games adapted from the Singers' book, "Make Believe: Games and Activities to Foster Imaginative Play in Young Children." The games can be played in homes, preschools or other childcare settings using common household objects such as cardboard boxes, bags and socks. Each game engages children in a simple make-believe story with multiple opportunities to practice specific ready-to-learn skills.

The program was extensively revised and refined through two years of testing with low-income families and inner-city preschools. Testing began with the parents of 103 children in New Haven. Testing continued with 107 additional children whose caregivers, as well as parents, went through the training. The Singers found even more of an improvement when parents and caregivers were trained to play learning games.

The final phase of research included 77 teachers at 29 daycare centers in Atlanta and Los Angeles and confirmed the training program's effectiveness in other low-income communities.

At the end of testing, 2,700 free copies of "Learning through Play for School Readiness" were sent to Head Start centers, public libraries, PBS Ready-to-Learn directors and other organizations that serve low-income communities across the country.

"Any parent, relative, preschool teacher, home care provider or other caregiver can easily apply our research findings on their own," says Dorothy Singer, research scientist in psychology and at the Yale Child Study Center. "Simply play make-believe stories with children -- a trip to the moon, a birthday party, a visit to the local library, zoo or post office. Find opportunities in the story to practice new words, counting, social skills such as politeness and sharing, movements and using school supplies such as drawing pictures with crayons."

-- By Karen Peart


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Janet Yellen joins Yale Corporation as the newest alumni fellow

Center for the study of frontier experience honors Howard Lamar

Editor Claude-Anne Lopez describes her 'life with Benjamin Franklin'

Pediatrician invents shampoo to light up head lice in children

Reunions bring record numbers to campus

Yale SOM taking to the high seas to offer educational seminars for executives

School of Music awards first Simeone scholarship

Rubenfeld named to Law School's Slaughter chair

Events to celebrate the arrival of 'Amistad' ship

MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWS


OBITUARIES

SOM Dean Jeffrey Garten assembles panel to explore 'new economy'

Study proposes tax on snack foods to fight obesity

Employees honored at awards dinner for their many years of service to Yale

Holmes is inducted into American Philosophical Society

Ian Shapiro selected as a Carnegie Scholar . . .

Comer lauded as leader in American education

DeVita honored for his research on lymphoma

Yale Athletics joins in venture to lure sports fans

Summer Cabaret season celebrates Yale playwrights

Yale Repertory Theatre marks milestones during its fall season

Diana D. Brooks resigns her post as Yale trustee

David Bromwich earns prestigious award for his literary works

Campus Notes

In the News


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