New After-School Play Clubs For Kids Promote Wellness, Fun

NORTH FORK, NY — Two North Fork elementary schools have launched afternoon "play clubs" to promote student wellness.

According to David Gamberg, superintendent of both the Greenport and Southold school districts, "an understanding of the importance of play in human development goes back as far as the late 1700s, when French Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau stated, 'You will never accomplish your design of forming sensible adults unless you begin by making playful children.'"

To that end, he said, both Southold and Greenport Schools have joined with dozens of other elementary schools around the United States to promote play through the Let Grow Play Club. According to its website, the Let Grow Play Club is "a program that gives kids the chance to organize their own games and fun, developing social skills."

The play club meets one hour after school each week, and by design, children are free to play any way they like, unlike the typically structured activities in which many children participate.

Since the club started two weeks ago, 40 to 50 children have attended, in both Southold and Greenport, Gamberg said.

In a letter to families, the principals of the two schools, Ellen O’Neill and Joe Tsaveras, of Southold and Greenport Elementary Schools respectively, stated: “To many people, ‘play’ sounds like the opposite of ‘learning,’ but the American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a blockbuster report: Want creative, curious, healthier children with 21st century skills? Let them play . . . play is not frivolous, it is brain-building,' stated the country’s premier pediatric organization."

(Southold Union Free School District)

The letter continued: "The kind of play they're talking about isn't an adult-led activity, like Little League or chess club. It is old-fashioned, unstructured and kid-run. But even when it looks like just plain fun — which it is — children at play are learning '21st century skills such as collaboration, problem solving and creativity.' Organize a kickball game? That involves 'learning to cooperate and negotiate,' according to the doctors. Rough and tumble play? That aids 'the development of empathy' as kids figure out how not to go too far. Imaginative play enhances creativity. And playing almost any game teaches kids another key lesson: How to lose. Because they will. All those social-emotional skills are key to a happy, successful life."

One "big shock", the letter continues, is that play even makes kids academically smarter. "The benefits of play are extensive and well-documented and include improvements in executive functioning [self-control], language, early math skills, social development, peer relations, physical development and health." The opposite — play deprivation, 'is associated with the increasing prevalence of of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.' One cool study? When preschoolers were given blocks to play with at home, on their own, they showed improvements in language acquisition after just six months. Language! And they were just playing with blocks! In play, the brain opens up and turns on," the letter said.

The clubs are open to all students K to 8. "While an adult will be on premises, they will not organize the games, solve the disputes, or pick the children up when they fall; they are just there for emergencies, like lifeguards. That way, the children really get to play. Which means they really get to learn," educators said.

O’Neill said she finds the mixed age play to be one of several benefits of the club. “It is great to see children of all ages playing together, working things out, and helping one another.”

She also outlined other benefits of the new program. “Our students have at least two opportunities to engage in outdoor learning during the school day, and this gives them even more access to healthy engagement that helps keep a balance in their lives,"s he said.

Gamberg has long been a proponent of play and its invaluable gifts: In 2016, he launched a GoFundMe to raise funds for a "Magical Playscape" that's since been installed at Southold Elementary School.

"I think Albert Einstein said it best when he stated, 'Play is the highest form of research,'" Gamberg said. "I am firmly convinced that if we pay attention to giving children plenty of opportunities to play, we will ensure a better future for all they do in life."