Play in Early Childhood

The benefits and acceptance of play in the early year’s classroom is not a universal attitude. Differing cultural, social and political aspects determine the importance given to play in early years settings. However the Irish curriculum strongly believes in play being an important part of a child’s learning experience. The main aim of this essay is to make the point that work and play are not necessarily separate activities and can be integrated to maximise the child’s learning in many areas of development for example oral language “Using play to develop cognitive abilities through oral language” (http://www.curriculumonline.ie/uploadedfiles/PSC/Exemplar_2.pdf). Not only do children enjoy play but we are in breach of their rights of a child by depriving them of play in the early stage in their life, although going to school is one the steps in entering a more grown up world, in which certain rules and procedures must be followed it is also a chance to experience a more developed and more social type of play and explore new experiences through play. “According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), however, all children have a right to play. (OHCHR, 1990)”.

In the primary classroom there are many different types of social play and they usually take on the form of Parten’s five types, Onlooker behaviour—Playing passively by watching or conversing with other children engaged in play activities, solitary independent—Playing by oneself, parallel—Playing, even in the middle of a group, while remaining engrossed in one 's own activity, Cooperative—When children organize themselves into roles with specific goals in mind (e.g., roles of mommy daddy and child in home setting), associative—When children share materials and talk to each other, but do not coordinate play objectives or interests. (Parten, M. 1932). These different types of play can happen during various activities of play and the type of learning which occurs and how this learning occurs varies as well. From my reading on play in early years classrooms and that of which I experienced in lectures I have learned that play does not necessarily come in the form of toys or dress up. Many materials and resources can be used by the teacher to incorporate learning through play into the early year’s classroom for example learning through Dramatic Play, Sand Play, Water Play, Dough and Clay Play, Table Top Play, Small World Play, Construction Play, and Creative Play. In many of these play settings children draw upon their past experiences not only things that they have done but things that they have seen others do, parents, family members, teachers friends or people in their communities. They also play based on more indirect experiences for example things they read about see on television or in computer games and they build or create games based on these experiences, create play scenarios, and engage in activities. Children learn mental, emotional, social and physical skills from these play experiences. Depending on the category of play in which the child is engaged they must use fine and gross motor skills, react to each other socially, think about what they are doing or going to do, use language to talk to each other or to themselves and they very often respond emotionally to the play activity. Music games can be used to promote language development, motor skills and co-ordination, they are also leaning to listen and gain confidence through performance activities. Creative movement expands a child 's imagination. By transforming everyday objects in role plays or dramatic play, such as egg cartons into caterpillars, the child gains independence in creating their own world of play. They learn the different attributes of certain materials and how they can be used effectively to recreate something familiar to the child. These types of activities can also reinforce mathematical skills such as sorting, classifying, sharing, counting and using one to one correspondence. Even games based upon stories such as the three bears can reinforce such mathematical skills as the children must organise collect and design their play area around number activities, i.e. we will need three bowls, three spoons, one big chair one small and one medium, many mathematical concepts are being utilised. Play is an excellent way not only to teach children academic skills but also for them to learn practical skills which will benefit them in their day to day lives, for example the manipulation of clay or cutting with a scissors require fine motor skills which will help the child to gain mastery of such skills as tying their own shoes, cutting food, buttoning clothes or writing their own names. It is important for teachers and parents to remember that play focuses on the process rather than the product. Gross-motor skills are developed in many outdoor and some indoor play situations which is critical to a child 's later success in reading and writing. Outdoor play gives children the freedom and space required to explore and manipulate a different environment and is physically active. Cooking, kitchen and household games not only help children learn life skills but also incorporate mathematical and scientific skills such as counting, measuring and following a certain process as well as healthy eating and daily chores which need to be done. Play activities such as these also encourage reasoning and logic skills e.g. we need to put the food in the oven in order for it to cook. Construction play creates a rich learning environment with children learning scientific, mathematical, art, social studies, and language concepts; use small-motor skills; and fostering competence and self-esteem. Building with blocks for example also teaches life skills, using concepts of spatial relations, stability, and balance in order to fit things together, create certain structures and manipulating space in order to maximise it. Mathematical skills about depth, width, height, length, measurement, volume, area, classification, shape, symmetry and mapping can be learned using construction materials such as blocks as well. The child’s language is enhanced when teacher or other children talk and ask questions about their methods of building, where they got their ideas from and to direct or give instructions to others in order to imitate the construct. Young children often create stories with their constructs, which encourage them to use topic specific vocabulary. Small world play allows children to recreate adult worlds in a controlled environment. The must concentrate and be attentive and use self-control. They must often improvise and use their imaginations to establish props and the setting. They must follow steps or do things in a certain order when playing in this way and it helps them to make sense of the world, e.g. in a doctor hospital situation the person is hurt, they tell the doctor of their injury, the doctor examines them and heals them, certain steps must be followed. Children learn to empathise with others in the way adults do and have been demonstrated to them. Puzzles are a very good form of play and children learn fine-motor control and also spacial awareness. It teaches them trial and error and also following a map in the picture. Clean up after play is an important part of the play process. It is important for young children to learn these skills as it teaches them to care for the environment, self-discipline and also that if things are in their designated spots it makes life easier for everyone. Co-operation is enhanced and children feel a sense of achievement when positive feedback is given by the teacher.

Activities

← I would create a water play activity based on filling and pouring. Children would learn about capacity and the attributes which make certain containers better fillers or pourers. Children would develop vocabulary and oral language through talking about the containers and the amounts they can hold e.g. full, empty, nearly full, holds more, pour. They would experiment the different and most effective ways to fill the containers, submerging, from one container to another etc. Many materials would be needed i.e. water bath, cups, range of wide necked containers, plastic funnels of various sizes, range of bottles, tea pots, jugs, cups etc. ← Farm house: this is a game in which children would be allowed to take on roles from the farm. I would first teach the children the song Old McDonald. The children would take on roles of animals and the farmer doing daily farmyard tasks. I would allow them to play amongst themselves freely first and then create tension by saying that one of the animals (bull perhaps) was being a bully to others on the farm and that the animals had to decide how to resolve the problem with the help of the farmer. ← Three little pigs: The wolfs side of the story. The children revise the story and play a game of “what time is it Mr.wolf”. I would allow the children in a circle to retell the story of the three little pigs. I would take on the role of the wolf and tell them my side of the story. In groups I would allow them to discuss both stories. I would put them in groups in which two people were the wolfs lawyers, two the pigs lawyers and one person the judge, with props for each. The play time would end with a classroom vote on who they believed.

Role of teacher

In early childhood the teacher must act as a facilitator of play. The teacher is responsible for providing play environments. The teacher must observe play activities in order to ensure the safety of the children and also to monitor/assess learning which is happening. The teacher can then alter materials or other factors to ensure that there is progression in the play. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure the safety of the children at any level. This entails the clever and careful choice of materials and props for the children. This can also enhance child learning by allowing them to be part of the rule making process for safe play.

Materials linked to thematic instruction must be supplied by teachers in order to link play to the curriculum. It is important that the teacher creates a play area/corner in the room in which the children can play and that this area is changed and varied every so often.

The teacher must be on hand to help children who have difficulties interacting in groups to become more engaged in the play without disrupting or ordering the children’s play.

It is important for the teacher to be a partner in the learning, and let the children know that the teacher does not know everything and that the teacher can guide them in new paths on which they can elaborate. The teacher must be prepared and organised when it comes to planning for play. The children must be supplied with adequate materials and time in order for them to learn from the play. Play cannot be rushed in the classroom and if the teacher is allowing time for play it must be adequate time for the children to fulfil the play activity.

The teacher must be flexible especially with younger children and be able to adapt, especially in fantasy play, although the teacher might have predicted outcomes, children can often have completely different agendas. Julie Dunn (2003) speaks of the importance of tension in dramatic play. This is often the role of the teacher. By taking on a role and creating tension the teacher ensures that the children are challenged in the play and that progress is occurring and that the children are taking it to the next level of thinking and reasoning.

In conclusion I definitely believe in the importance of learning through play in the early childhood years. After reading about the topic and also experiencing it first hand, both in lecture and to our visit to the Rutland street project playschool I believe that I will find play very beneficial in my future classroom.

Bibliography

- Bennett, N., Wood, L. and Rogers, S. (1997) Teaching Through Play: Teachers’ Thinking and Classroom Practice Buckingham: Open University Press.

- Borden,M. E. (1997) SMART START The Parents ' Guide To Preschool Education. Facts On File, Inc. 0-8160-3677-2; Oct. 97

-Dunn, J. (2003) Wright, S. Enhancing dramatic activities in the early childhood years. The Arts Young children and learning, Pearson Education (pp.211-227) USA: Pearson Education, Australia.

- Johnsen, E.P. & Christie, J.F. (1986). Pretend play and logical operations. In K. Blanchard (Ed.). The many faces of play (pp. 50-58). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
- Parten, M. (1932). Social participation among preschool children. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 27, 243-269.

Bibliography: - Bennett, N., Wood, L. and Rogers, S. (1997) Teaching Through Play: Teachers’ Thinking and Classroom Practice Buckingham: Open University Press. - Borden,M. E. (1997) SMART START The Parents ' Guide To Preschool Education. Facts On File, Inc. 0-8160-3677-2; Oct. 97 -Dunn, J. (2003) Wright, S. Enhancing dramatic activities in the early childhood years. The Arts Young children and learning, Pearson Education (pp.211-227) USA: Pearson Education, Australia. - Johnsen, E.P. & Christie, J.F. (1986). Pretend play and logical operations. In K. Blanchard (Ed.). The many faces of play (pp. 50-58). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. - Parten, M. (1932). Social participation among preschool children. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 27, 243-269.