It’s All Child’s Play by Sonia Bestulic

#ReeceGiveMeSomePeace #blogtour #BooksOnTour #Day12

Author Article by Sonia Bestulic

Sonia Bestulic, mother of three, Speech Pathologist and Children’s Author reminds us of the power of learning through play. Thanks, Sonia! 🥁🎻🎸

Children seem to be busier than ever before! With all sorts of extra-curricular activities available to them, there is an endless list of choices to schedule them into a cycle of busy-ness.

Consider however scheduling in some unstructured time – time where children can explore, use their imaginations, interact with objects and/ or people in their environment, and when they can make their own choices as to what and how they play (note: I am not referring to play time on any sort of device or screen!).

There are all different types of play that children can engage in; such as active play, where they are using physical, verbal or mental actions, or pretend play which can be fantasy (e.g. pretending they can fly) or dramatic (e.g. playing doctor). The benefits of play are well documented, including that play creates a brain with increased ‘flexibility and improved learning later in life’ (Lester & Russell, 2008) as well as the reassuring evidence stating that children who engage in play have better developed memory skills, language development and ability to regulate their behaviours more effectively.

In my picture book Reece Give Me Some Peace! we share in a day of active play with cheeky Reece, who loves exploring the musical instruments in his environment. Inevitably this results in his mother not enjoying too much peace in the process, but hey, Reece is certainly enjoying himself!  The musically noisy scenario of Reece and his mother is one many parents can relate to no doubt, and in the midst of all the calamity Reece reminds us of the joy and learning that comes with play!

So next time you’re looking at the family calendar schedule in some time for play, and there is no reason you can’t join in too!

Check out Sonia’s fabulous new Author Spotlight page at Readilearn with Norah Colvin!

Play it LOUD for a Chance to WIN!

If you love music and noisy play then this book giveaway is right up your jazzy alley! Click the image to enter.

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