Play is Purposeful
10/12/2018
There is a lot of play in preschool. And in the current trends of education to give children every advantage possible, play is often overlooked and under prioritized. But play is extremely important to a child's development. For a child, play is not solely a form of entertainment, it is how children process and integrate information. Play, for young children, is learning. Dr. Rachel White, researcher and author of the paper The Power of Play writes "Through play, children learn to regulate their behavior, lay the foundations for later learning in science and mathematics, figure out the complex negotiations of social relationships, build a repertoire of creative problem solving skills, and so much more." What may seem like a simple game of house is actually, for a child, a complicated process of using creativity, memory recall, negotiation, fine motor skills, and communication. Sustaining this play also requires a child to develop flexibility, collaboration, and independence.
The value of play has been recognized by The American Academy of Pediatrics. They recently released a report titled The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children where they state (footnotes removed): "The benefits of play are extensive and well documented and include improvements in executive functioning, language, early math skills (numerosity and spatial concepts), social development, peer relations, physical development and health, and enhanced sense of agency." These benefits translate to greater success in school and adulthood. In our Trees study we have enhanced our centers with materials that allow children to explore and integrate their knowledge of trees from the books we read, to the walks we take, to the discussions we have at morning meeting into their play. I have observed our explorers making homes for animals out of tree pieces, drawing and creating branches and leaves for our pretend tree, even punching holes into the leaves to show where bugs have eaten the leaves, and pretending to be birds and ladybugs hunting out aphids to eat to help trees. I love listening to their conversations during center play, they are learning so much. As a preschool teacher I am very grateful to be at a school that uses a play-based curriculum and encourages this very important and powerful activity: Play. Comments are closed.
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April 2021
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