Letter from our Headmaster

Greetings Spartan Families

The past quarter and a half, our students have worked hard. And now it’s time to let your children play… let them sleep in, run around, play in the backyard, build forts, and grow bored listening to grandparents tell familiar stories… all of these are good things, and I hope that you and your family have a very restful Thanksgiving break. Here’s some food for thought around the idea of play:

It may seem trivial to be concerned about child’s play. Aren’t there more pressing dangers confronting modern children?

 

But play isn’t minor at all. For decades, child development researchers have amassed evidence that play is a crucial building block in children’s growth, helping them develop abstract thought, self-control, social cooperation, and other essential skills…

 

Games also help kids develop self-regulation. Both the inherent fun and the social pressure to keep a game going give children strong incentives to control their actions. If a child pushes and shoves, their peers may refuse to play with them again, or they may hit back. This reaction gives the disruptive child a powerful reason to override the urge to last out – stronger motivation than if an adult intervened. By practicing self-control in play, they gain greater impulse control in other areas of life.

Excerpt from Chapter 2, An Epidemic of Misbehavior

“The Good News About Bad Behavior”

By Katherine Reynolds Lewis

Best,

Matthew Vlahovich

Headmaster