Albert Einstein believed that “play is the highest form of research.” For a small child there is not an exact division between the things that are educational and the things that he or she does for fun or play. Through living and playing a child is learning and developing in many ways. Through analyzing the play episodes of a four year old girl named Noelle, I was able to relate my observations to research and theory regarding the development and benefits of play that influence the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. The different types and classifications of play occur throughout different stages of a child’s development. Indications of social, emotional, cognitive, and language development in a child can be seen when analyzing the different aspects of pretend play or make-believe play that he or she engages in. Pretend play occurs when objects and actions are transformed symbolically. Catherine Garvey (2000) and Angeline Lillard (2006) emphasize that role-taking, balancing of social roles, testing of the reality- pretense distinction, metacognition, and numerous non-egocentric capacities that reveal exceptional cognitive skills that are hidden in young children’s pretend play narratives (Santrock, 2010, p. 342). There are three different levels that make up pretend play: make-believe regarding self, meaning throughout time a child’s play shows increasing focus away from the self; make-believe regarding objects and beings, meaning a child’s play becomes less dependent on objects that look like the items being represented; a child’s ability to craft a story, meaning an increase in ability to plan and maintain stories with multiple steps (Lesson 14 commentary). When analyzing each aspect of pretend play, I ob... ... middle of paper ... ...o choose a more feminine color for his cup, which none of them did, it might have challenged Noelle and help advance her and the other childrens thinking. When Albert Einstein stated that “play is the highest form of research,” I believe that from a child's perspective he could not have been anymore right. Through analyzing the play episodes of a four year old girl named Noelle, I was able to relate my observations to research and theory regarding the development and benefits of play that influence the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. As children play they learn which helps them to progress and develop their minds and social skills. Play is one of the most influential exercises to progressively develop children. Works Cited http://www.childsplaymagazine.com/Quotes/ Santrock, John W. 2010. Children. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies
Dr. Alison Gopnik’s drew the following truth that “children are intellectually more skilled and far more sophisticated in their thinking then we ever imagined”(Gopnik2009). Gopnik also stated preschoolers are extremely well designed for learning. They are naturally curious. They learn through exploring and playing. “The value of play” was also presented in Gopnik’s research. He clarified that when children engage in pretend play, they will have imaginary characters and explore other world. They are learning peoples’ nature, how people think, do, and work. This helps them understand themselves and other people, to improve their social traits or in balancing school, and to increase their social competences in life. Gopnik demonstrated the idea
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 earliest years of life are some of the most important in a person's life. Childhood is a time of physical, mental, emotional, and social development. There are many factors that help contribute to these developments such as a nutritious diet, nurturing, emotional support, and physical activity, especially play. Playing is a very important part of childhood and can be beneficial to the development of the child and is the focus of my discussion. First, I will describe the four different types of play; second, I will argue the beneficial effects of dramatic play on cognitive and creative skills by presenting the significant findings of two correlation studies as well as their limitations.
Lillard, A. S. (1993). Pretend play skills and the child's theory of mind. Child Development, 64(2), 348-371. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.ep9306035466
Who defines what play is? Reed and Brown suggest that play is something that is felt (2000, as cited in Jarvis et al, 2009), whereas Piaget (1962), Bruner (1974), and Vygotsky (1978) saw play as “a means for learning” (ibid). Play is what we do in our spare time and it is generally fun; the element of fun is what keeps us engaged. This essay will discuss the forms of play and its relevance and will mainly focus on 3-6 year old children but may refer to ‘us’ or ‘we’ as people (infants, children and adults) on occasion.
Researches indicate that play is an increasingly more varied and complex activity than what it was thought to be and has a significant influence on the physical, cognitive and social development of children along with academic activities.
The word “play” has numerous meanings to different people in different contexts. Therefore it cannot have one definition and is described in a number of ways. Smith (2010) describes play as involvement in an activity, purely for amusement and to take part for fun. That play is “done for it’s own sake, for fun, not for any external purpose.” (Smith, 2010. P4) Therefore, as one precise definition cannot be presented for the word ‘play,’ it is described in a number of ways such as social dramatic play. Briggs and Hanson (2012) portray social dramatic play as the building blocks of a child’s ability to accept the possibility to step into another world, building and developing on children’s higher order thinking, accentuating the child as a social learner. Another example of play is exploratory play, which is described as children being placed in an explorer or investigator role, to identify the cause or affect a resources that is presented to them has. (Briggs, M and Hanson, A. 2012) Games are also another example of play. They are included on the basis that playing games with rules, regardless of age, can develop a child’s intellectual capabilities along with their physical, behavioural and emotional health. (Briggs, M and Hanson, A. 2012).
Psychologists have recently been following the progression of child’s games and play involve to symbolic play from non-symbolic manipulation and sensorimotor exploration. Amongst the two and three year old, there is a presence in the shifts of nature of play. During this period, children go from self-directed to others- directed forms of play. They also lean to difference between literal to abstract among other things. This phase is basically when symbolic or “pretend” play manifests. Parents play and small but significant role during this phase too. Most of the times, parents do not even realize that they promote various levels of plays which promote variety of social stereotype and social norms to the children, for good or
Pretend play links cognitive events, one thing leads to another, hence ‘as if’ element (Fein 1987). Through play, children develop cognitive skills such as ability to stream thoughts and organize it into cause-and-effect sequence. Through divergent thinking, children develop multiple solutions to a single problem (Russ et all 1999). How does it work? Russ (2004) presented broad perspective in understanding the concept, while playing; children access, learn about, and experience emotional thought. They are able to make decisions in real time; control emotions, pleasure, enjoy and creativity (singer 1990). There is clear relationship between play, affect, and creativity. Children who play demonstrate affect, and tend to perform better in life over ally. They tend to adapt to different life situations and express themselves
The article states that Piaget “envisioned play as lending from activity to representation. In so far as it evolves from its initial stage of sensorimotor activity to its second stage of symbolic or imaginary play” (Casby 2003). As we know the second stage of Piaget’s cognitive development is the preoperational thought period. According to Piaget, children begin to use symbolic representation for objects or circumstance during the preoperational stage (Zastrow, Kirst-Ashnam 2009). Piaget’s theory on the development of symbolic play coincide...
...Fein, G. G. 1981. Pretend play in childhood: An integrative review. Child development, pp. 1095--1118.
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
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.
Play directly influences how children develop both emotionally and socially. Children learn how to express their emotions and cope with their feelings as they experiment with different characters in their play. Play gives children a “harmless outlet to their built up aggression” (CHETN). This is displayed when a child becomes angry, upset, or stressed about a situation in their lives; these young children may not be old enough or have the proper communication tools to communicate what they are feeling. Therefor they may choose to play with objects that depict the emotions that they are feeling and attempt to cope. Simply said, a child will use play to explain how they are feeling rather than acting out in a negative fashion (Wehrman 351). This not only works for the child when expressing emotions, it can also be effective for whole families in coping with emotions. When families come together and play they may be “less analytical and intellectual and more ...
Science has determined us that play is necessary for essentially all aspects of child development. It has been described as the means by which children learn about their world and prepare to take their place in it. Frederich Froebel said “Play is the work of Children.” (Hammond, 2009) It has been established that play is crucial for learning how to interact in a group setting. This includes essential life skills such as sharing and taking turns; developing the ability to communicate effectively, demonstrating personal wants and needs and being able to discern the same in others. Other features of social growth learned through play are conflict resolution and problem solving, either individually or with others. Leadership skills are practiced, teaching children how to be in charge and how to follow others. In play children use and enlarge imagination, are presented with success and failure, and build confidence. (Kail. 2007) Rough and tumble play demands use of physical skills, contributes to social development, and increases sensory awareness. (Forenchich. 2006) When children play with their parents, it presents an opportunity to get to know and bond with each other. Play is preparation for adulthood and adult