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. Julie Fisher (1996) suggests that young children learn by ‘being active’, ‘organising their own learning experiences’, ‘using language’ and ‘interacting with others’. I would agree with this statement up to a point. However, she does not mention if the activities should be structured. While I agree that children will learn from being active through a process of trial and improvement, I believe that with older children it would be a lot more beneficial to give the child a structure build upon. For example, before I began this PCGE course, I used to train my local under eleven Gaelic Football team. Say for instance they had never played before and they turned up to training at 7:00 but the training was not until 7... ... middle of paper ... ...ctive. Play is an essential learning tool and one that must not be ignored within the classroom. It is a catalyst to help children develop socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. It is not only an important part of a child’s development as a pupil but also a child’s development as an individual. Works Cited • Moyles, J (2007) Beginning Teaching Beginning Learning in Primary Education, 3rd ed. London: Open University Press • Doherty, J and Hughes, M (2009) Child Development: Theory and Practice 0-11, Essex: Pearson Education Ltd • Kyriacou, C. (2001) Effective Teaching in Schools: Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. Nelson Thornes Ltd. • Drake, J. (2005) Planning Children’s play and learning in the foundation stage, 2nd ed. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. • Moyles, J. (2005) The Excellence of Play, 2nd edition, London: Open University Press
In this essay I will outline the curricular systems for the 0-5 age group in England and Scotland. I will examine in detail the planning and assessment provisions of these systems which allow early years practitioners to gain insight into children's learning and to aid them in that regard. I will draw comparison between the practices of these two countries where possible, and provide criticism of each.
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
Doherty, J & Hughes M. (2009). Introducing Child Development. In: Child Development Theory and Practice 0-11. England: Pearson Education Limited. p12-52.
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.
All children play and it is something that most children do because they are having fun, but without realising children are developing and learning skills when they are engaged in play. Play helps stimulate the mind as it is practical and gives children the chance to explore and experience new situations. It can also ensure that children get to think by themselves and be spontaneous as they control their own play. Children get the chance to be creative and imaginative which develops independence for children. Play is vital for child development and helps children develop five main areas of development:
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.
In life, no action is absent of a reaction. Every effect is linked to a cause, whether seen or unseen and play is no exception. As adults, play is not a foreign concept to us, we just chose not to engage in it and have diminutive space for it reserved in our day-to-day schedules. However, it is essential in the lives of young children.
As time goes on, things change. Some of these changes are positive, while others can be seen as negative. This is true for most things, including childhood play. It has been proven that children need play time for developmental purposes. Play promotes all types of learning. It teaches kids how to function in social systems, interact with others, solve problems, and deal with emotions. Playtime is not just for fun! Playtime in schools used to be more prominent. Schools now focus on the paper aspect, children are taught to test. Educators need to see the flaws in our current system. Play based learning is best for young kids. It is engaging as well as beneficial for the student. Teaching children to test may make the school look good, but it
Play is important aspect of life, whether it is in school, at home, or just for fun. It is something that we should all take into consideration, to make things more engaging. Play increased my ability to engage the other parts of the brain in order to be creative. It encouraged me to try new things, to be imaginative in ways that I never thought possible. Play allowed me to feel various levels of joy and focus with less stress. It also allowed me to challenge different parts of our brain and adapt a sense of Mental Mobility (Brown, 2010).
The book, Exploring Your role in Early Childhood Education, defines play as, “any activity that is freely chosen, meaningful, active, enjoyable, and open-ended.”(pg. 140) Play has many positive characteristics such as freedom to explore and create. Suppose when a child enters his/her classroom and has various self-selection activities available, the child can become engaged in something of interest specifically to that individual child. The book also states, “Play is active and is natural process of mentally and actively doing something.”(pg. 140) When children can act out or explore experiences they are having hands on experience and learning by actually doing. Without knowing it, children are practicing body movements as well as mental processing though acting imaginary games out.
...S., … Killen, R. (2009). Professional Practice in Primary Education. South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited.
Play is necessary element of healthy development for children of all ages. They will gain knowledge on how parents and educators use play to help children learn and develop. My presentation title for this conference will be The Importance of Play. Play influences all areas of development; it offers children the opportunity to learn about the self, others, and the physical environment (Catron & Allen, 2007). It encourages aspects of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development that cannot be achieved any other way. Children learn how to interact with peers when engaged in play activities while also building on important schemas about the real world. Although play has been looked at by many as just a time filler for caretakers, much research has been dedicated to the benefits of play that would suggest that play is vital for every
Before diving into my research, I reflected on the knowledge I already knew regarding play and play based learning. From experience, I know that play is an enjoyable activity for children, and even some adults. I know that there are different ways one can play. For example, playing with others is known as cooperative play and playing alone is considered solitary play. There are different types of play. For example, there is dress up or pretend games, which is considered dramatic, play and there is playing with building blocks which is constructive play. After my reflection I realized that I was more knowledgeable on the action of playing rather then the benefits of it.
What is play? Is it an activity one does for enjoyment? Is it an essential learning tool? The answer is that there is no definite answer. There are professionals who have studied play and formulated their own answers as to what play is. Some say it’s unstructured peer interactions, others say it’s structured interactions. Some say it’s a special and undefinable activity while others say it’s a basic life activity. The reason for the clear differences about what play is, is because play encompasses many different things and has many different forms. From the moment babies are born until the moment adults die, they all participate in some form of play, whether it be smiling at somebody 's movement, playing hide and seek, or participating in a sport or group. Although the definition of play is not definite, there is at least one definite thing about play. That is that play is an important and crucial part of any developmentally appropriate early childhood classroom and has unfortunately been reduced and replaced by standardized tests and teacher-based teaching and learning. Play is an enormously important tool that human beings use to help them learn new information and without it
Sylva, M., Kyriacou, M., Wild, M. and Glenny, G. (2009). (2009). Learning, Playing and Interacting Good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage. [online], available: http://www.keap.org.uk/documents/LearningPlayingInteracting.pdf [accessed 5 March, 2014].