Kids and fantasy play

Deena Weisberg out of University of Pennsylvania is exploring the importance of imagination and fantasy play in building cognitive skills: http://www.wpr.org/leave-reality-adults-fantasy-helps-kids-learn https://aeon.co/ideas/why-kids-can-learn-more-from-tales-of-fantasy-than-realism?utm_content=buffer36e9b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

This opinion piece discusses the benefits of hanging back and resisting stepping in to resolve disputes in play: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/12/11/why-adults-have-to-stop-trying-so-darn-hard-to-control-how-children-play/

Some articles discussing the important life experience and mental health benefits that kids get when they go out for unstructured play: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/03/researchers-let-your-kids-fall-off-the-damn-monkey-bars.html https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201001/the-decline-play-and-rise-in-childrens-mental-disorders?utm_source=FacebookPost&utm_medium=FBPost&utm_campaign=FBPost  

An interesting article on the correlation between the amount of playtime per day for kids, and their academic performance: http://qz.com/554780/america-is-wrong-to-think-reducing-kids-playtime-will-improve-academic-performance/