Letter from the Editor

Come Out and Play

We are in the last couple of months at our play-based preschool. Come May, we will have to say goodbye to the community of families that welcomed us, wholeheartedly and unconditionally, when we moved to Indy from California almost six years ago. Next stop for my youngest son: elementary school!

But I’m not going to write about how much I will miss our little cooperative nursery school. Not yet, at least. We are still in the thick of it: playing, getting muddy, gluing, painting, building and sharing on the daily.

The other day, after I picked him up from another day of play, my son asked me why he doesn’t do any learning at his school. He has seen his older brother, a second grader, come home with worksheets full of math problems and assignments that have him creating slideshows about Antarctica. My youngest wanted to know why he wasn’t doing any real learning like that. I tried to explain to my 5-year-old son that all the fun things he’s doing in school is learning. When he plays games, he’s learning how to take turns and cooperate with others. When he’s building with blocks, he’s learning simple geometry and logic. When he’s squishing slime, he’s being introduced to science. But that is what’s so magical about play: Kids are learning and they don’t even realize it.

As you can imagine, our feature article in this issue, Let Them Play on page 16, is right up my alley. I am a big proponent of play in early childhood. (I’ve seen the benefits first-hand!) This article will share with you many reasons why play — that oh-so-important thing that doesn’t always look so important when it is happening — is essential for a child’s development.

Fred Rogers said it better than I ever could: “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” Publisher Mary Wynne Cox mary@cincinnatiparent.com

Associate Publisher + Creative Director Katie Clark katie@cincinnatiparent.com

Editor Nicole Sipe nicolesipe@cincinnatiparent.com

Account Executives Hannah Mohler hannah@cincinnatiparent.com

Trisha Brand trisha@cincinnatiparent.com

Production Manager Karen Ring karen@cincinnatiparent.com

Community Outreach + Social Media Sarah McCosham sarah@cincinnatiparent.com

Digital Publisher Wendy Hasser wendy@cincinnatiparent.com

Event Coordinator Brooke Litherland brooke@cincinnatiparent.com

Billing billing@cincinnatiparent.com

Contributing Writers Lisa Davis, Rachael Dupree, Rebecca Hill, Riane Konc, Laurel Price

Calendar of Events calendar@cincinnatiparent.com

Cincinnati Parent Magazine is published monthly. Copyright 2020 by Midwest Parenting Publications, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Distribution of this magazine does not constitute an endorsement of products, commentary or services herein.

NEWS & Notes Our monthly roundup of news you can use

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THAT WAS THE YEAR THE FIRST OFFICIAL ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE WAS HELD IN NEW YORK CITY. THIS YEAR, HEAD TO DOWNTOWN CINCY ON SATURDAY, MARCH 14 FOR THE CINCINNATI ST. PATRICK'S PARADE, STARTING AT NOON.

DID YOU KNOW?

The first day of spring is also known as the vernal equinox. The term vernal is Latin for “spring” and equinox is Latin for “equal night” (because this day has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness). This year, the vernal equinox will fall

on March 20.

SNOW WHITE Who’s the “fairest of them all?” Find out this spring in a regional premiere of Cincinnati Ballet’s Snow White. It’s the classic fairy tale of a jealous queen, her beautiful stepdaughter and a kiss from a handsome Prince, reinterpreted and reimagined on stage by Cincinnati Ballet Second Company (CB2) dancers. Snow White is an hour-long, narrated, fully staged ballet with stunning costumes and sets that will dazzle audiences of all ages. Part of Cincinnati Ballet’s Family Series, it’s the perfect introduction to the ballet for the youngest patrons. Snow White opens March 28 and runs through April 5 at the Aronoff Center. cballet.org/snow-white

Explore Mayan Culture at the CMC

Here in Cincinnati, we are so lucky to have the eponymous Museum Center. This Ohio museum truly puts you there, whether it’s beside Neil Armstrong on the Moon, in the rainforests harvesting cacao beans or deep underground exploring the Earth’s cavernous underworld. This spring, the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) invites Cincinnatians to explore ancient Mayan culture. The Mayans are responsible for so many modern conveniences we use daily: the calendar, the number zero, rubber balls and even chocolate! Theirs was a civilization of innovators, astronomers, mathematicians, inventors and gods. Featuring over 300 artifacts, this exhibit shows how Mayan culture lives on today. Maya: The Exhibition opens March 14 and runs through September 7 at the CMC.

cincymuseum.org/maya