Play is of utmost importance in my opinion - and quality unplugged play that much more so. This coming from an educator who specializes in technology might sound strange ( I left my job as Dir. of Technology after Claire was born) but as someone who spent countless hours learning about technology, education and how the brain "learns," I cannot find the value in toys that play for the child (and annoy me with incessant beeping and yapping!) By no means does Claire live in a media/technology free environment. We enjoy a few web and technology toys together, but the bulk of her play is imaginative and child-driven.
For all blog posts on play, click
here.