Early Childhood Development Expert To Speak On The Importance Of Play

Early childhood development expert Bev Bos will present her teachings to the El Cerrito community when she discusses “Exploring the Real Power of Play” early next month.

Bos' discussion will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the El Cerrito High School auditorium, 540 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito.

Bos wants parents to live for the moment when it comes to their children.

“This minute, this second — that’s what’s important,” Bos writes in her 2005 book (with Jenny Chapman), Tumbling over the Edge: A Rant for Children’s Play.

She encourages parents to infuse the early childhood environment at home and school with basic, natural materials that foster each child’s sense of wonder — facilitating healthy intrapersonal, interpersonal, emotional, cognitive and physical development.

Bos argues that real play is universal and essential to the development and well-being of children, and that there are serious consequences that result from not playing.

Her Oct. 5 presentation will focus on how children spontaneously engage in play. The format for the morning includes music, storytelling and the opportunity for participants to examine the power of real play from their own childhood and families.

The workshop is sponsored by the El Cerrito Preschool Cooperative, 7200 Moeser Lane, a nonprofit co-op founded in 1940 that embraces Bos’ philosophy on play.

Tickets are $12 in advance through brownpapertickets.com, or $15 at the door. College students and West Contra Costa Unified School District employees are $10. Group discounts are available. Adults only, please.

For more information, please email marketing@ecpckids.com.