At Catalyst, play time is very important to us. We ensure our scholars get PE four days a week! Plus plenty of recess time and movement brain breaks. Why?
We’re very glad you asked.
Play creates a sense of adventure and nurtures imagination. Through play, children of all ages, learn valuable skills like working with others, sharing, problem-solving and more. In turn, play can also help our scholars develop their ability to concentrate.
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
— FRED ROGERS
It’s easy to dismiss the importance of play. We grown-ups sometimes underestimate the significance of play for children. But in actuality, play is hugely profound for growth, critical to creativity, and builds foundational skills that support a lifetime of learning.
And who better to weigh in on the importance of play for our Catalyst Academy scholars, than Morgan Lovely, our founding PE Teacher. Here’s some insight from Morgan:
“As we navigate through these unique and unprecedented times, my intention as an educator of wellness is to not just teach motor, body and mind care skills, but to also equip our students with resilience, growth mindsets and perseverance skills to overcome any obstacle in their path.
I am a Physical Education teacher because I love to motivate and challenge my students through experiential learning, movement and life skills; to inspire a love of lifetime physical activity and self-care. The best part about teaching early elementary students is the contagious exhilaration and curiosity that younger students share to learn new things and make connections to their world.”
And while we recognize that play is hugely important to brain development, we also like to celebrate our scholars efforts as they learn different ways to move their bodies. In their Physical Education classes, scholars earned their Locomotor Licenses for their mastery of specific locomotive movements.
At Catalyst, we believe play is a critical part of a well-rounded curriculum. Through play, our scholars build socially-resilient, cognitively-flexible brains. Hooray for play!
About Catalyst
Catalyst Academy Charter School’s mission is to prepare all students for college, career, and life. Catalyst Academy Charter School’s core values of Belong. Grow. Achieve. reflect the school’s deep commitment to cultivating an inclusive supportive school community where everyone – children and adults – is focused on learning every day, in order for all students to define and achieve their dreams. Catalyst Academy Charter School’s education model is designed to close both the achievement and opportunity gap. The approach couples rigorous core academics with a broad offering in the arts and sciences. Students will experience STEM learning daily and arts programming four days per week. Enroll your Kinder, first or second grader today!
