ATLANTA, GA, Sept. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChildCare Education Institute® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, offers CHD104: The Importance of Play in Early Childhood as a no-cost trial course to new CCEI users September 1-30, 2021.
The world is more complex, and both the challenges and opportunities are greater than ever before. Although the types and frequency of activities may differ depending on income or geography, many modern American children are likely to find themselves in the “highly scheduled” category, where life is a constant shuffle between school, sports, church, camps, lessons, or various other activities. Still other children will spend most of their non−school hours in dim rooms in front of screens, watching TV or playing video games. They may think they’re having fun, but they’re not getting what they need.
The list of things we can do as educators and parents to enrich our children’s lives goes on and on. And it’s all great! But it’s not everything. All too often, there is one crucial ingredient missing in modern American life (and life for children all over the world): PLAY! Play is essential for children. That’s not a news flash. No major breakthrough here. Researchers have understood the importance of play for at least a century, and wise writers, philosophers, and other observers have known for centuries.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is certainly not shy about showing its support for play. Pediatricians see the effects of play (or lack thereof) every day in their offices. And while children come into the office from different backgrounds and with different experiences and preferences, you can bet that an experienced pediatrician can guess, even after a brief visit, which children engage in frequent play, because there are some things a child gets from play that he or she can’t get anywhere else.
Children develop and express their creativity through play, developing their imaginations and a host of complex cognitive skills, as well as physical strength and dexterity, social skills, and emotional strengths like self−confidence and self−identity. This course provides an overview of the importance of play for promoting optimal development across all domains during early childhood and beyond. Participants will learn about the benefits of play, different types of play, and ways to promote more play in children's lives.
“Today, many children are "over-scheduled," meaning that their days are often devoted to structured, extracurricular activities which, though beneficial in many ways, often take the place of play,” says Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI. “It is essential for teachers and caregivers in today's world to understand that play is more important than ever for promoting optimal development.”
CHD104: The Importance of Play in Early Childhood is a two-hour, intermediate-level course and grants 0.2 IACET CEU upon successful completion. The course is also offered in Spanish. Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as block hours through CCEI online enrollment.
For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST
ChildCare Education Institute, LLC
ChildCare Education Institute®, a division of Excelligence Learning Corporation, provides high-quality, distance education certificates and child care training programs in an array of child care settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 150 English and Spanish child care training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ training provider, is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).
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