Significance of Play in Early Childhood Development helping children learn and understand Life.
A Paper
Presented to
The Faculty of the
College of Undergraduate Studies
Bethany College
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Art in Physical Health and Wellness
By
Justin Burns
November 16th, 2017
Introduction “Significance of Play in Early Childhood Development helping children learn and understand Life”.This literature review will cover the research i’ve collected, that elaborate on how play for children is essential in early childhood development. Through play, children practice control and coordination of large body movements of arms, legs, and feet, as well as small movements of head,hands and fingers.these skills are Gross and Fine motor skills. Average child brain precipitate cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and motor development in the first five years. Researchers have taken a careful look at the relationship between movements the child makes and their thought process.
Article 1 In my research “The Importance of Play in Early Childhood Development” States.. “Play is essential for a child’s development and for learning life skills. While
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(Anderson-McNamee, J. K., & Bailey, S. J. 2010) article wants you to understand that play starts in the child's infancy and continues throughout his or her life. “Child Development and Early Learning”, emphasizes that support comfort from the caregiver/parent and play is essential to the motor development. According to (David, S. K. 2011). “As young children grow older they need opportunities to learn and socialize with other children of their age. Group learning activities, run by a trained caregiver or teacher at home or in a nursery school or kindergarten, are important in helping children get ready for
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 second section will evaluate the importance of play on different aspects of social development and in various stages of an individual. The third section will analyze how viewpoints on function of play on development are shaped by historical and contextual factors such as culture and economy. Developmental psychologists use various research methods such as naturalistic observations, interviews, experimental research and examining the natural context of children’s everyday interaction within the family to study the role of play in children’s development. They apply different approaches to study different types of play. Play by nature, creates a natural learning environment for the child.
Play is instrumental in the healthy development of children. The development of play throughout an individual life is essential in providing the necessary methods to foster growth and development in critical developmental areas. According to Davies (2011), play is instrumental in providing a bridge for the child to transition from a toddler with a limited capacity to understand the world into a child in the middle years who can think logically. Play is also important in fostering cognitive development, social development, language and communication, moral development, self-regulation, and sense identity.
Play is important for a child’s holistic development which comprises of physical (gross and fine motor development), intellectual (analyzing, understanding, concentrating), language (communicating with others like speech), emotional (emotions, identity) and social (relationship with others) (MCI, Child development module, chapter I, 2013). A holistic approach revolves around the child and sees each child as an individual. All children pass through each area of development and learn different things at different stages of growth like crawling, walking, etc. All are linked together and if any one aspect is not achieved then the child will have delays or problem reaching his milestones (Sheridan, 2002). The play should be always initiated by the child otherwise the child will not enjoy their play or get creative.
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
Does the how matter? Playing is one of the first activities children learn in the process of development. Is it a good idea? Playing is very important in child development. Most people agree that playing is important, but still today psychologists are conducting research to see what is the best way that children can learn.
A major question that is continuously being researched and observed is whether children’s play is beneficial to children’s development. While many scientists have proved that play is, in fact, helpful in the development of children, I want to research how the different types of play affect children’s development, specifically children that are transitioning from late infancy to toddlerhood. The four different types of play that I will focus on observing is exploratory and manipulative play, functional or relational play, social play routines and pretend play. Furthermore, I would observe the children’s agency during their play and the social structures that can prevent children from playing, thus, resulting in lack of development.
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.
When children play, is a way for them to develop and learn new skills. The children that play have a positive future comparing to those that don’t play at all. For example, I was a reading an article regarding the generation from today. There was a study conducted with two groups of children. One group had no technology and was in nature camping. The other group wasn’t in the nature camp. The children that had no technology were able to recognize the emotions from the picture. Playing helps the children to interact and assimilate the roles to the real life world. According to the text, we learn best when we are having fun (p. 287). The reason is that the children are having first-hand experience and impact events are easily to recognize. When we play, we start to develop his concepts: imaginary friend, cognitive, language, feelings, empathy, empathy, and many more. It seems that as young children play, they learn many cognitive and social skills that result in social competence later in their childhood (p. 287). Also, as
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:
The resources that support my curriculum plan are described in these articles. The first article that I chose to read is The Power of Play. The article focuses on the importance of how children can learn and grow through playand self-directed play as well as how play is vital to young children’s development.According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), play is a vitally important part of child development and is essential for every child’s health and well-being. Play provides a wide range of benefits, including socio-emotional health, physical health, social learning, improvement of problem solving skills, and improved self-regulation. Self-directed play also, creates success in creativity, problem solving, and decision making skills.
...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.
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.
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.
To clarify the importance of play I would first explain what is the character of play in early childhood