I'm one of those people who insist that play is young children's work. I hate reading news articles like this one , about a school that canceled their kindergarten play so children could focus on, "college and career". It frustrates me that kindergarten is no longer a gentle transition but the new first grade. Children need to develop syllogistic reasoning abilities. Which doesn't happen until most kids are six so pressuring kids to learn reading and math before they are ready, really only amounts to rote memorization. They become echoes but they don't internalize and thus can't apply it to new situations. Studies have also shown that while kids who attend an academic preschool/kindergarten may test higher at age six, there really is no difference by age nine. Even more important, it robs children of the discover of learning; thus, taking away much of the joy. It's shoving it down their faces instead of giving them the chance to see, touch, and ...