Posted
on September 21, 2013
Nickelodeon
is sponsoring a Worldwide Day of Play to celebrate what we play, why
we play, and how we play. Nick is offering a huge free event at
Prospect Park in Brooklyn (a really large, really great park!), with
everything from football and tennis to dancing and double-dutch
jumprope. There's free water, concerts, and a Nick Jr. Zone—and
loads of activities from partner organizations such as the YMCA, the
NBA, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Did
you know that play is really important? It is one of the best ways
that mammals learn whatever they need to know.
Young lions learn
hunting skills by playing at sneaking up on others and pouncing;
young zebras learn how to escape dangers by playing chase games. 
Humans have to learn more than any other creature—and we learn many
things best in freely-chosen play activities!
Watch babies turn meal time into a game of drop-the-spoon. (They're not being ornery, they are trying to figure out how gravity works!) Watch toddlers play by moving things, stacking things, threading things, pushing things—learning how the world works, and practicing hand-eye coordination. Listen to little kids learning language by playing rhyming games and babbling silly sounds. Older kids playing a pick-up game of basketball or kickball are learning all sorts of things about forces and momentum, and they are also learning how to get along, how to negotiate rules—lots of stuff!
Remember,
it's not really play unless you are choosing it – and unless you
can always choose to quit playing. Free play, pretend play, game play
– do it all today!
Some
great ways to play...
...water play
...hoop play 
...goop play
Also
on this date:
Check
out my Pinterest pages on September
holidays, September
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in September.
And
here are my Pinterest pages on October
holidays, October
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in October.
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