Chapter 8 Sensory Play Analysis

Explain the role of play in literacy learning and examine its position in relation to society, the National Curriculum, and cultural issues. In what ways should early playful learning encounters be built upon in the context of schooling?

There are many different theories of development that help us to understand children’s behaviour, reactions and ways of learning. All equally important as they influence practice. To begin with there is Piaget’s constructivist theories which look at the way in which children seem to be able to make sense of their world as a result of their experiences and how they are active learners. He also suggested that as children develop so does their thinking. Piaget’s work has influenced early years settings into providing more hands on and relevant tasks for children and young people. In other words the children are ‘learning through play’. Teachers are working out the needs of children and plan activities accordingly.

There are many theoretical perspectives which underpin and support the sensory experience, whom have based their theories around sensory engagement. Jean Piaget is one theorist whom believed that thought developed from actions. Piaget had four stages of development, these are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. The sensorimotor stage is right at the start of our lives. Piaget stated that babies are born with many means of interacting and exploring their environment around them. (Goswami, 1998). According to Piaget, during the sensorimotor stage children build up a mental picture which is based on their sensory contact with the environment. (Introducing sensory-rich play, 2012). Along with Piaget, Maria Montessori also based her theory around sensorial experiences. However, unlike Piaget, she believed in a non-symbolic way. She argued that children have ‘sensitive periods’, these are times In a child’s life when their senses are ready to learn and develop, she believed that we can support and encourage a child’s development if we are able to spot these periods. She believed that children’s senses come first in their intellect, and that adults have the role in providing new and exciting opportunities to promote a stimulating environment which will enhance learning and development. (Introducing sensory-rich play, 2012). Montessori believed that if a child is placed in an environment which is catered specifically to their needs, they can

Piaget developed a workable theory that has had considerable implications for education, most notably for child-centred learning methods in nursery and infant schools. Piaget argued that young children think quite differently from adults so therefore the teacher should adapt the teaching methods to suit the child. For example, nursery school classrooms can provide children with play materials that encourage their learning. Using sets of toys that encourage the practice of sorting, grading and counting. Play areas, where children can develop role-taking skills through imaginative play. Materials like water, sand, bricks and crayons that help children make their own constructions and create symbolic representations of objects and people in their lives. A teacher’s role is to create the conditions in which learning may best take place.

Did you know that play expands a child’s learning and development? Once parents understand that play is crucial in their child’s life then they can begin to help their son or daughter be the best he or she can be. According to Lev Vygotsky “play shapes how children make sense of their worlds, how they learn thinking skills, and how they acquire language.” After spending time at the Bombeck Center I learned that children play in many diverse ways, thus learning numerous new things within each center in which they interact. Lev Vygotsky along with Jean Piaget researched the need for guided social interaction as well as the necessity for spontaneous, self-discovered learning. The Bombeck Center focuses on a play-based learning curriculum to ensure a child’s ability to access social interactions and self-discoveries at the tip of their fingers.

This assignment is all about play and learning for children and young people. Play is engaging in an activity for enjoyment and pleasure however can also be used for learning purposes and development in children and young people. Play activities can be planned by practitioners within the setting or can be free-play, when a child goes off and plays by themselves. Play can be carried out individually or in groups and can also be carried out in different environments such as indoors and outdoors. ‘Research confirms the importance of play for infants in developing children’s brains and minds.’ (http://playtherapy.org.uk/ChildrensEmotionalWellBeing/AboutPlayTherapy/MainPrinciples/PlayDefinition) this is why practitioners encourage young children

Young children learn and grow everyday. Especially, young children, the ages three years to five years old, learn important skills while they play with friends and interact with their teachers. Janice J. Beaty (2014) states that for young children, “play is their way of learning” (p. 167) Thus, teachers need to observe children while they play and assess the development of the child because “Knowing the development of a young child helps a teacher to plan the curriculum, to set up activities for individuals, or to ask for special help when necessary” (Beaty, 2014, p. 3).

There are numerous theories of play and countless theorists, from Freud and Spencer to Piaget and Vygotsky, who have studied play in relation to what it is and what it does for the child. This essay will outline the definition and value of play and the importance of how it can foster the child’s learning in regards to these theorists who studied the effects in great detail. It will discuss the how the environments constructed by educators can impact play and the theories of learning relating to the quote “play and learning are inextricably woven together ...” Ebbeck and Waniganayake, 2010, p. 5).

In addition to play promoting pleasure as well as physical activity, play forms the holistic growth in children’s development, or to put it in another way using Brown (2003) acronym, acknowledged as ‘SPICE’; play represents the ‘social interaction’; ‘physical activity’; ‘intellectual stimulation’; creative achievement and emotional stability, (with the addition of “compound flexibility”) in a child’s development. Compound flexibility is the idea that a child’s psychological development occurs using the relationship between his/her environment with the adaptability of the child himself. Thus the flexibility of surroundings and his/her adaptableness can provide children the means to explore; experiment and investigate (Brown, 2003, pp. 53-4). On the contrary, the absence of social interaction and physical activity through the means of play can inhibit children’s overall development and without the consistency of play children suffer a “chronic lack of sensory interaction with the world, [which leads to] a form of sensory deprivation” (Hughes, 2001, p.217 in Lester and Maudsley 2006).

Play is very instrumental to young children’s learning. The design, layout and physical environment play a definitive role in the quality of children learning. To introduce play to young children through props and materials and the possible roles that children may play. Free play is the best way to make sure children are learning through play. Free play also provides an extended conversation that will lead to language literacy. Creating a play environment in the classroom to tailored to the interest, experience, and needs of young children. Some of the play environment a teacher can create to facilitate to the students can be, grocery store, pet store, post office, school, or weather

As you know, I’m a proud Daddy & love spending time with my toddler son. My wife & I enjoy coming up with new and creative ideas to entertain him. Right now he’s very much into dinosaurs. Every time he sees a dinosaur toy (or anything) he says “Grrr” and Dine-”O”! It’s just the cutest thing how excited he gets over them. Over the weekend we put together this cool (pun intended) dinosaur ice excavation sensory activity for the munchkin. I found a similar project on Pinterest where they used balloons to freeze small toy dinosaurs and thought I would try it with leftover Easter eggs. (Insert Link) My munchkin also had a T-Rex sand mold laying around in his beach toys so I wanted to incorporate that as well.

Play is an important part of children’s life that keeps them healthy both physically and mentally. It is a way through which children explore their imagination, build various skills required for their development in different areas. In this essay, importance of play in children’s learning and development is discussed in relation to Piaget’s cognitive theory, Vygotsky socio-cultural theory and Te Whaariki. Moreover, the teacher’s role and strategies used in encouraging the play-based curriculum in early childhood education are also discussed.

Research, past and present, clearly points to the importance of play for the healthy and full development of the young child. Piaget theorized that a child's mental models, or cognitive structures, are based on the child's activities: engagement makes meaning. Many children today are not benefiting from a balance of intellect and imagination. Play is declining in our schools and preschools to meet the social

I can recall my first experience getting burned, my Mom was baking a cake and she told me the oven was hot. I responded “hot?”,” yes very hot, so be careful near the oven or you can get burned.” Well I waited until she left the kitchen and I reached over and pulled opened the oven door. My face was very close and I could feel the heated air bellow into my personal space, “Whoa that’s what hot is!” I thought to myself. Looking back, this was a firsthand learning experience taught to me by my senses, this scenario perfectly describes the way children learn the senses enhance play, they are natures ultimate teacher. In the document “The Importance of Sensory Experience for Learning: Jean Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development” It gives the reader a quick understanding of Piaget’s understanding of children and their important use of senses. It is described as the foundation of learning and this learning style guides infants into adulthood. This learning style takes input and stores those experiences in the brain, whether it be smell, taste, touch or even emotion. The brain uses this information to assimilate, or understand the information it is receiving. As children grow this process becomes acquainted with accommodation, this is the process of forming new pieces of information with old pieces and connecting those to create ideas and thinking patterns, to begin to attribute and label all of what is being received via senses. Once accommodation begins adaptation joins the

Alice Sterling Honig, author of an article “Play: Ten Power Boosts for Children’s Early Learning”, states that “children gain powerful knowledge and useful social skills through play” (p.126). Honig, who believes that play is essential for young children’s development, points out ten ways in which children can learn through play activity.