The Importance Of Creative Play

I always knew recess was important, but after taking this course I learned how it targets all aspects of child development such as cognitive, creative, emotional, physical, and social on the whole child. Recess should be an unstructured, positive experience that should influence children’s learning, social development, and health.

There are significant cognitive benefits of recess that should be taken into serious consideration in schools. The American Association for the Child 's Right to Play reports that as many as 40 percent of school districts in the United States have reduced recess in the past few years. Researchers keep finding more evidence that play and recess are essential in a child’s everyday life. Studies have been shown that

I think children are becoming less creative due to the increase in use of technology. Children are constantly playing video games or games on their phones. Recess is a time for children to engage in free, non-structured play and learn through exploring. Stephanie Pappas suggests that plans need to be put into action to improve children’s playground experiences. She discusses an organization Playworks, that has trained play workers teach traditional playground games such as four square, rock-paper-scissor, and hopscotch to promote play and creativity.

Children have the ability to express themselves emotionally on the playground. There are opportunities to play alone or with other children. Children engage in problem solving skills and confrontation when playing games with peers. When playing a game in a group, children have to compromise and agree on the rules of a game. Catherine Bohn-Gettler states “Children are able to build confidence and self-esteem by experimenting with their skills, taking risks, using their imaginations and adapting to different

Google offers a definition: “Forest School is an inspirational process that offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees.” The program usually serves children of the ages 3-6. The school is child led and functions year round. Children are encouraged to discover, explore, observe, and question what they find in the woods. Small, achievable tasks are set for the children to wok on throughout the year so their confidence increases over time. Adults use aspirational language to encourage self-esteem and