The Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit partnership of educators and health professionals, released a report titled ‘Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why children need to play in schools.’ It argues that education in kindergarten has changed drastically. It has become overly focused on academics and test preparation. As a result, active play time has diminished and children no longer have the opportunity to learn through play and exploration. Studies have shown the vital importance of play in young children’s development. Children who engage in play have greater language skills, better social...

The report “A Research-Based Case for Recess” by Olga S.Jarrett of Georgia State University, published by the the U.S. Play Coalition, reveals the importance of recess for children. It cites that the majority of the top-ranking countries in international tests have schools that provide frequent play breaks. For example, English primary children have breaks in the morning and in the afternoon. They also have a long lunch break. Children in Japan receive 10-20 minute breaks between 45-minute lessons. In Finland, schools offer 15 minutes to play after each 45 minutes...

A recent study done by Stephen Leff and J. Munro, PhD “Bully-Proofing Playgrounds During School Recess” illustrates how to reduce playground bullying during recess. Their study sought to discover what strategies would promote cooperative play and positive social interaction among children during recess. It was carried out in an urban elementary school in Philadelphia, with approximately 750 students in kindergarten-4th grade. Bullying can be defined as teasing, hitting, pushing, or threatening. The victims of bullying can suffer from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. The students who are the perpetrators of...

The National Institute for Play is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to raise awareness of the benefits of play to public life. It promotes research on the subject of play and seeks to expand the scientific knowledge of human play. The National Institute for Play aims to provide resources for society so that every member can take advantage of the boons offered by play. The nonprofit was founded by Dr. Stuart Brown. His first foray into the impact of play was through the study of a group of homicidal...

The team at educational building toy company Click-A-Brick say they are pleased to see startup toy companies using crowdfunding sites to create more toys that teach science, technology, engineering and math to children -- especially girls -- to fill a void left by the major toy companies. In a recent Bloomberg article, Amanda Albright wrote that the push for startup toy companies to use crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter to get their toys on store shelves is being fueled by millennials who grew up with gendered toys, but who don’t want...

Building block company Click-A-Brick is responding to fans that have continually requested more eyes, spinners, and wheels for their Click-A-Brick sets by announcing the launch of its 16-piece Booster Box to fulfill this need. The Booster Box, slated for release later this month, will contain four eye pieces, which can be used to give creations a distinct face; eight spinner pieces, which can be used to make one area of a creation spin while still being connected to the rest of the creation, and four wheels, which can be used...

The team at educational building toy company Click-A-Brick agree with expert tips to get children interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. In a recent television segment, Burns and McDonnell Foundation director Julee Koncak provided tips on how parents can engage their children and get them excited about studying STEM subjects. Among the tips Koncak offered were buying building blocks for young children, giving them science and engineering based toys to play with and performing simple science experiments with them at home that they can do with household...

The team behind building block toy Click-A-Brick says while students at Lehigh University have admirable intentions, their development of a mobile app to help preschoolers understand geometry concepts is misguided. The as-yet-unnamed app, which is still in the development stage, is being touted as a way to give young children "a meaningful and accessible block-building experience — without actual blocks," according to a news release from the developers. To build their app, Lehigh University undergraduate students Faye Sheppard and Luke Zhang, school psychology doctoral student Brittany Kuder, and associate professor...

The team behind building set company Click-A-Brick says they are pleased to see Amazon has started Amazon Launchpad, a storefront that focuses on products from startup companies and products that got their start on crowdfunding platforms. Amazon Launchpad, which the online retailer began in late July, makes it simple for startups to launch, market, and distribute their products to Amazon shoppers. Companies that participate in Amazon Launchpad benefit from an onboarding process that has been streamlined for them to get started as quickly and effortlessly as possible, customized product pages,...

Click-A-Brick is an educational toy company founded by Jason Smith and Georg de Gorostiza. They are a small, family-owned company with a passion for toys. Their corporate philosophy is based on helping children use their imaginations, develop critical thinking skills and fostering the belief that education can be fun. Click-A-Brick is committed to the cause of children’s education. They believe that creativity is the key to the door of endless possibilities. To that end, they have implemented bulk rates on their popular toy sets to increase access to all organizations...