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Early Years Learning Through Play – It helps children understand the world around them through discovery, allowing them to develop cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically.
Piaget saw play as an integral part of the development of intelligence in children. His theory of play argues that as a child matures, his environment and play should encourage more cognitive and language development.
Early Years Learning Through Play
A child is always at play, above his average age, above his daily behaviour, it is as if he is a head taller than himself.’ (Lev Vygotsky 1978)
Learning Through Play In Early Childhood
Child-led play and guided play both have a fundamental role in a child’s development. In child-led play, children have complete freedom and true autonomy.
Alternatively, through guided play teachers can provide games, activities or a setting for children to play and target specific areas of development.
Now that we have established the importance of play and learning, several recent studies have shown that indoor play can be harmful to children’s development.
Research by Burdett and Whittaker in 2005 showed that outdoor imaginary play encourages the brain to mature at a much faster rate than children who play indoors.
Making Learning Visible In Early Childhood Through Play
When it comes to play time, many parents and teachers often worry about exposing kids to germs, which can result in them becoming unwell, choosing indoor play instead.
This is a common misconception and in fact, recent research by Epstein (2001) found that indoor play is more likely to promote asthma than outdoor play.
In fact, research shows that children from rural areas or children who spend a lot of time playing outside have the best overall general health.
Playing outside increases children’s levels of vitamin D, which comes from sunlight. Vitamin D is fundamental to the overall health of children because it encourages; A better mood, increased energy levels and improved memory.
Play A Key To Learning For 3 5 Year Olds
Outdoor learning experiences through play can work alongside the curriculum. Through play, children are encouraged to make sense of the ‘real world’ and to put into practice the concepts and skills they have acquired in the classroom. This in turn makes them better prepared for the future.
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What Is Play Based Learning In Early Years?
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Making a Big Impact in the Winter Season with Small World Games That Aid Children’s Development Reading Finding Wonder In this article, we’ll look at nine amazing benefits of play in child development. We’ll also review research results that highlight the importance of children’s play.
National Week Of Play: The Role Of The Adult In Learning Through Play
Many parents instinctively know the importance of play in a child’s development, but despite its many benefits, we rarely associate play with learning.
For most people, learning involves acquiring a specific new skill, such as memorizing letters, counting, writing, etc. They often believe that playing is just for fun and there is no real learning involved.
The importance of play in early childhood education cannot be underestimated as learning through play is essential to a child’s development.
Child play can promote brain development in many ways, including providing a child with a better understanding of the world and laying the groundwork for later brain development.
Promoting Children’s Learning And Development Through Their Environment And Play
At birth, babies’ brains are equipped with a plethora of brain cell connections (synapses). Synapse overproduction allows information received from the early years to form the foundation for the brain.
An environment rich in play, sensory play and play toys as building blocks to provide true to life experiences. A lack of play will result in the loss of neuron connections related to play.
Neuroscientists discovered that enrichment such as toys, games, and play can change the brain’s chemistry and a child’s development. The brain region associated with higher cognitive processing (cerebral cortex) may benefit more from environmental enrichment and children’s play than other parts of the brain.
A University of Arkansas study suggests that regularly giving infants toys to play with results in higher IQs by age three. Later psychologist Edward Fischer analyzed 46 studies done on the game. They found that play can enhance a child’s cognitive, linguistic and social development 4, 5 .
Play In Early Childhood Education: Learning In Diverse Contexts
Creativity is closely related to divergent thinking, which is the thought process that explores multiple possible solutions and generates new ideas. Several studies have found that playing is linked to divergent thinking.
In one study to test this association, researchers randomly assigned 52 children aged six to seven to two activities. In the first activity, the children copied the text from the chalkboard. In another the children used to play with salt and flour.
Later, all the children were asked to do a creative project. A panel of ten judges found that the projects created by the children in the salt-dough group had higher creative qualities than those in the other group.
Free play or independent play is an unstructured form of play that encourages children to design their own play. Pretend play requires the child to imagine scenarios and then act them out. The freedom of this type of play allows children to be creative 10, 11.
Benefits Of Learning Through Play By Thebanyanworld
Imagination fosters creativity and some studies have even found that creative teens have imaginary friends in childhood.
One study sought to understand whether communication could benefit from sports. Researchers looked at what happened when an infant started playing with a toy. They found that if the mother responded by manipulating and naming the toys, the children – when tested three months later – would have better language skills13.
In another study conducted by the University of Georgia, sixty-five kindergartners were observed in their classrooms over four weeks. The presence of drama, particularly dramatic play, was found to predict performance in pre-reading, language, and writing14.
Pretend-play is especially beneficial because it allows young children to practice new vocabulary when they speak and try to understand others. During social play, they often exchange each other’s words and actions to reach agreement15.
Different Types Of Play In Early Years
Self-regulation is one of the most important skills for school preparation. Well-regulated children can wait a turn, resist the temptation to grab objects from other children, control negative emotions, and persevere through challenging activities.
In a New Zealand study, psychologists examined how children handled negative events during pretend plays. They found that children who had more playtime with their caregivers were better able to regulate their emotions by continuing to play 16, 17 .
Regulation of emotions is essential not only for academic success but also for psychosocial aspects of child development. It is a strong predictor of a child’s social success18. In preschool, children who display better emotional control tend to be more likeable and socially competent.
Play is important for enhancing social development in children. Unstructured active play with others – including parents, siblings and peers – is an important opportunity to develop social skills. While playing, the act of pretending as well as interacting with peers enhances children’s social skills 20.
Um Early Childhood Education Students Teach Preschoolers Through Play
Play also provides opportunities for children to learn social interactions. By playing together, children learn to cooperate, follow rules, develop self-control, and generally socialize with other people.
Psychologists found that the amount and complexity of fantasy play by preschoolers predicted their social skills and popularity, as well as their positive social activities.
Playful children tend to be happier, better adjusted, more cooperative and more popular with their peers than those who play less.
Children who play more also develop more empathy, another essential element that leads to social skills. Such children grow up to have a better understanding of other people’s feelings and beliefs.
Assessing Children’s Understanding During Play Based Maths Activities
We already know that play promotes a child’s emotional development. Emotional intelligence is important for a child’s resilience and mental health.
When children act out life’s problems in pretend play, it helps them deal with conflicts in their own way. It also provides a safe opportunity for children to rehearse skills and future social roles.
When children try out different roles, they learn to adopt different points of view, which in turn will help them with abstract thinking.
Parents who play with their children form a stronger bond with them. Even simple games like scavenger hunts can become a special bonding moment for both parents and children. These interactions provide positive life experiences that encourage children’s brain development.
Learning Through Play
Last but not the least, happy, playful moments are some of the most precious gifts we can give to our children.
Because play is essential to a child’s development, play-based preschools may provide a better learning environment than other options. When choosing a preschool, parents should pay attention to how classes are conducted, whether a “learning by playing” approach is used, and how much free-play is allowed. Creating a Montessori home is also a good option.
* All information on is for educational purposes only. parenting for the brain
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