2nd March: Eva discovered the goop this morning. The sensory aspect of the experience appealed to Eva, she splashing in the mixture with her hands, transferred the liquid and poured and filled from containers.
Sensory play is a wonderful medium for children. Through hands on investigations Eva is able to build her own theories about her world and explore new ideas. It is also a great way to introduce early math and science skills. During the experience we use descriptive language and propose questions that promote the development of these skills “is it full? is it empty? Is it heavy? how can we? why do you think that?”
9th March: To support Eva’s interest and ongoing learning we offered the goop again this morning. We began by letting
A: According to the observations in the table above, I have concluded that icing sugar is the mystery powder. From the very beginning of the experiment it was narrowed down to two substances, icing sugar and cornstarch. It was concluded to be those two because the physical appearance and the texture only matched with icing sugar and cornstarch. The two main factors of finding the mystery powder was the reaction with water and vinegar.
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
More specifically, imaginative play is very important during this stage of development because it serves as a means of understanding the world. For example, imaginative play allows the child to comment and try to understand reality via an imaginary world that the child can control and manipulate. This in turn, allows the child to express their feelings in a pretend scenario without receiving the same responses if expressed in reality. As a result, this assists the child in the understanding of emotions and perspective thinking because during imaginative play, the child expresses strong emotions and must empathize with each other’s ideas and feeling (Davies,
Concrete operations (ages 7-11) – As a child accumulates experience with the physical world, he/she begins to conceptualize to explain those experiences. Abstract thought is also emerging.
In the early stages of development, it was noticed that children learn by playing. In fact, play, in a developmentally appropriate environment, inspires the child to relate oneself to the environment while making sense of the infinite elements where the children unites internal processes with external influences. Therefore, as children play, they learn. This theory demonstrates that the children learn while having fun. As the children internalize the sensations of the environment, they somehow integrate personal experiences to hypothesize the so-called impossible. This brings us to the concept of imaginary play where such play is constant as children relate their hopes and experiences to the new sensations. However, as their minds translate external experiences with personal meaning, children become masters of their environment and such environment may be defined as a continuum between the imaginary and the sensory (Bodrova and Leong, 2006). In addition, complex yet accessible relationships occurring in the classroom enrich the mental processes of young students. This is proven when children reflect on their environment, as they instinctively classify experiences according to both individual personality and the surrounding culture (DeVries, 2008). As children become familiar with the syntax of social knowledge, their worlds are somehow shared with one another to form a social imagination. According to Gardner (2007), a child struggles to comprehend new experiences, he or she will naturally utilize scientific notions of problem-solving and critical thinking. As the child begins to understand experience, social cooperation augments skills of perspective and interpretation. In one hand, shared activity provides a meaningful social co...
Numerous sources have concluded that it is a necessity for children to have time to play for countless reasons; this includes the development of their mind and bodies. When observing a young child at the age of 4 on November 1st, 2016 I found information that supported why play was essential to children 's development. When conducting this observation I was unable to participate in the children 's classroom activities, but only allowed to watch and listen. During this observation, we were asked to pick one student to observe for this observation. I chose a student whose name was Wyatt, he demonstrated that play is a crucial part of their learning in terms of mood and interactions.
Play is an important part of emotional-social development. Play can act as a way for children to reveal their innermost feelings and express thought. As defined by the text, play is “voluntary activities done for enjoyment or recreation that are not performed for any sake beyond themselves.” Children move through different levels of play as they mature. One form of play which scientists have become increasingly interested in is imaginative play. With imagination children learn how to be creative. Many children between ages 3-5 create imaginary friends for themselves.
Children's development is supported by different types of play and “From age’s three to five, children learn through play by pretending with materials and practicing language.” As children are practicing their language
In doing so I had chosen two activities based on the learning domain literacy, the first resource exposes the child to blocks and the second was an alphabetic sensory table, both of theses resources provided the basic understanding of how literacy can develop from play based learning. Blocks can be placed in any part of the early childhood setting either indoors or outdoor play spaces, however the sensory table can be used in any indoor play space area. As educators we all know that the first few years of any child’s life is essential to their learning, development and growth, and with theses activities we can give new meaning to the interactions young children have towards language, communication and their
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.
3.Embodiment – This concept is more related to participation in daily activities than physical reality. In this sense, performing perception is used as an everyday experience. In other words, instead of presenting a supposition to children, it is represe...
Play is important for a child’s well-being, but it can also be a vehicle to learn literacy skills. Very few things are learned just by watching someone else do something, which means the majority of things have to be experienced in order to grasp the concept. This is true for literacy as well. When children play they are attaching meaning with toys, the same is true when reading; meaning must be attached to the written words (Roskos, et al.
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.
Inquiry-based learning is supported when educators are co-learners with children as they develop, supporting and extending on a child’s own attempts at understanding. This knowledge can be broadened by ensuring that children have the time, space and resources to become deeply involved in their investigations and there are opportunities for reflections during and after activities (Touhill, 2012a). Furthermore, it is imperative that the physical environment contains spaces as well as materials that encourage a child’s curiosity and investigation (Touhill, 2012a). By providing interesting and engaging materials educators are able to provide stimulus for children’s investigation and
Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.