Outdoor play is a very important factor in every child’s development. “Outdoor environments are both comfortable, supportive and encourage skill building” (Sachs 4). (Hillman 67). “Positive outdoor experiences can foster a happier, healthier, smarter and better adjusted children and can create future stewards of the earth” (Hillman 67). Many children with disabilities are mostly structured to indoor environments and outside play can provide them with great benefits (Christensen 1). An example of this is how children with autism benefit greatly from nature. “Play through nature can help develop the five major areas of proper growth; social/emotional, intellectual, perceptual motor, physical development and sensory”, therefore when designing an outdoor play space for children with disabilities it is essential to have a proper, fun and safe design.
All children including children with disabilities require special care and attention. Five major areas where these children need special attention are physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Physiological needs are the physical requirements for human survival, safety needs are what should be met to be kept safe, love and belonging is being able to feel love and accepted, esteem is about feeling respected, and self-actualization refers to what a person's full potential is and the realization of that potential. All of these areas are referred to in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs Pyramid made by Abraham Maslow in 1943 (see addendum one). With all of this being said, it is very important for children with disabilities to be able to meet all of these areas. This can be done be creating an outdoor environment that is designed for thos...
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Works Cited
Atmakur, Sruthi. “Playgrounds of Inclusion.” Unicef.org. Casey, Theresa. 12 April 2013. Web. 1 December 2013. http://www.unicef.org/sowc2013/focus_playgrounds_of_inclusion.html
Christensen, Keith. “Creating Inclusive Outdoor Play Environments Designing for Ability
Rather than Disability.” adventureislandplayground.org. Christensen, Keith. June 2000.
Web. 14 December 2013. http://www.adventureislandplayground.org/Keith.
Hillman, Carol. "Creating an Intimate Relationship with Nature” Exchange children’s Journal.
2 Jan. 2010.
Nemours Foundation. "Playground Safety" KidsHeath.org. Nemours Foundation. June 2013.
Web. 15 December 2013.
Sachs, Naomi. "Outdoor Environments for Children with Autism and Special Needs."
Implications. 25 April 2011. Print.
Early childhood teachers often say that “play is a child’s work” while some parents ask ‘Did my child just play all day?’” (Rice 1). Many people do not realise how important play is and what role it plays in the development of their children. Teachers provide opportunities for children to have spontaneous, unstructured child-initiated play experiences by providing stimulating materials to “enhance and entice children into play” (Rice 2). These materials include loose parts and are open-ended and spark creativity by providing children opportunities to think, plan, and carry out their play (Rice 2). Limited learning may take place if teachers do not make play easier and maximize the benefits (Rice 2). Teacher support is also a necessary component
The living room was dark and the only thing you could see was the brightness of the TV. Also, I could still hear many people talking from down stairs, fire truck siren going off, and the city lights that were still shining bright. At the age of seven, on a cold Friday night in Brooklyn; my mom, cousin, and I started watching some scary movies since it was around Halloween. There was this movie called “Child’s Play” and as a child, I didn’t like the movie at all due to the fact that there was an ugly doll that was moving and killing people. During, that weekend it was showing marathons all weekend long since it was the Halloween weekend. The bed was pulled out with all the warm blankets and snacks besides us waiting for the move to start.
Many children enjoy outdoor play, all aspects of development and learning are related in play. When children have ample time to play, their style of play will grow in how complex and also socially demanding it will become, for example as children maybe grow older they will choose who they will want in their friendship groups to play with them. As children play they are able to explore different materials in their environment and also discover different properties. As play continues children are able to use their knowledge of materials to play imaginatively with
Recess holds great potential for promoting positive playground and school experiences among children. According to Pellegrini and Glickman, “Recess is one of
Play supports children’s physical development as when they are playing they are being active and exercising their body. It is important that children develop strength and stamina from a young age and through
Many theorists have tried to define play as a concept, however, no two agree on a set definition. Their backgrounds and induvial lifestyles influence the way they see the importance of play. Reed and Brown also believe that there isn’t an agreed definition of play because is something that is felt rather than done (Reed & Brown, 2000 cited in Brock, Dodd’s, Jarvis & Olusoga, 2009). In spite of this, it is clear that most theorists uphold the ethos that play is imperative to a child’s learning and development. There is a wide range of different studies and theories which helps us develop our own perception of what play is. In my personal experience I have found play to be a way of expressive our emotions, exploring and learning new things, thus
The Target store located at Dallas Highway in Marietta, Georgia, was chosen for the fieldwork assignment. This particular store was selected because of recent renovations to the toy area. The new arrangement of the toy department appears slightly different than traditional organizations of toys in the past. The location of the toys is in direct relation and physical flow from the baby equipment, supplies, and apparel. Toys transition from birth in the infant area initially in terms of age demographics, type of activity, and brand of toy to more obvious gender divisions beginning in the preschool toys. In the toy section for school age children, gender separation is clearly established. Gender divisions become more obvious in this age group according to colors, themes, and character depiction. The girl toys feature pink, purple, and pastel colors. The highlighted décor in the store’s displays and packaging for girls involves embellishments such as pictures of girls, flowers, glitter, and jewels. The boy section portrays color schemes that are primarily in blue, red, yellow, gray, and black. Packaging images are of male children. The sections including educational toys, games, sporting equipment, outdoor play, sound and music, building, puzzles, and arts appear to be more gender neutral although some gender specific items can be identified by color or themes such as princess/fairytale or Ninja Turtle. The configuration of the toys clearly states that color, themes, and character representation are irrelevant to infants and toddlers, while parent’s attitudes about color and gender may be important aspects of unintentional socialization in the maturation of children. Marketing strategies appeal to children, but adult’s perception of ...
Thinking back on my childhood, I first remember all the times I played outside in my backyard. I would pretend to dig up dinosaur bones or create imaginary realms of ancient lands; there I would perform diplomatic services for the people in need. I was usually alone, and those are some of my fondest memories. When I first decided to become a teacher and thought about what is important to my philosophy on how children learn, I immediately knew I was a strong believer in play. Although, many decision makers such as legislators and school district leaders believe in more academic types of learning styles, my paper will discuss why play is so powerful and important to children.
Children have a natural inclination to play, alongside a natural instinct to learn and to be curious and inventive, which are characteristics of the human race in general. This quote taken from Janet Moyles is a good starting point for this essay. It is well known that children love to play. If a child were to be left to his/her own devices they would happily play and create new worlds anywhere they were left. It has been well documented and researched that children learn excellently through play. However they are not always given the opportunity to do so, instead being told to, ‘finish your work and then you can go play’. Obviously this is not always the case, but the fact that it is a common practice shows that we do not all fully appreciate the importance of play to children’s learning. This essay will attempt to show how children learn through play, making reference to current theory and practice. I will also give examples from my own first-hand experience of how children learn and develop as people through play.
An Article by Dr. Leong and Dr. Bodrova (2016) stated that play is beneficial to children’s learning especially when it reaches a certain degree of complexity. When they engage in play activities most of their early years, they learn to delay gratification and to prioritize their goals and actions. They also learn to consider the perspectives and needs of other people and to represent things significantly to regulate their behavior and actions in a cautious, intentional way.
Children develop normally when they are exposed to different types of play that allow them to express themselves while using their imaginations and being physically active. According to the Center for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness, “Play is child’s work”; this is true because it is a child’s job to learn and develop in their first few years of life, in order for them to do this, they play. Not only is playing a child’s full time job, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights listed play as a right of every child. Through their full time job of play, the children develop emotionally, socially, physically, and creatively. Children need to participate in child-led play in order to facilitate healthy development of their minds, body, and creativity.
What is play? Play is defined as engaging in activates for enjoyment & recreation rather than a serious practical purpose. Playing is a disorganized voluntary spontaneous activity, which may include objects, one’s body, symbol usage, and relationships. Play is flexible, individualize, grouped, motivating, self-directed, open-ended, or self-directed. (Smith, 2013) (Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2010)
According to Gajendra and Kanka (2005, p.2) “Educational research refers to both the collection and analysis of information on the world of education”.
In my opinion the outdoor area in any setting is often the childrens’ favourite place to be, as all the natural features engage children’s senses and provide opportunities for hands on learning. By letting children play with sticks, climb trees and roll around on the ground children develop physically and mentally. This is an area where there is often greater freedom and scope to investigate their surroundings and whilst there is exploration there is also very good opportunity to develop gross motor skills through physical activity. Such activities also spark their imaginations (Cooper, a
it provides different play and children can face new skills and challenges. outdoor play does not just mean the garden, it progresses further for example, the park, walks, shopping malls, day trips out and much more. it gives children the opportunity for healthy exercise and the opportunity to learn more about the world and nature. To begin with, children will have less restrictions than being indoors, they have more space as large scale play can be provided. It also allows children to be able to use all of their senses, sight, hearing, smells, and they can enjoy the sense of being free and not restricted indoors. Being outdoors means the play is often open ended and furthermore children can play in different types of weather. The outdoor play encourages children to use their imagination and be creative with the resources at hand. Outdoor play often goes well with indoor play as it provides different experiences, however it is also important to remember that after outdoor play there also needs to be quiet play/areas for