Flinders University: EDUC9532 Early Intervention: Learning from and through play- Assignment 2- Essay
Christina Kraly (2149733)
Essay Question #1: Discuss and analyse how play is similar and different for young children with and without special education needs (SEN).
Describe why this knowledge is of value to professionals working in the early childhood sector, and make recommendations on the knowledge professionals should have in order to support children with SEN learning from and through play.
Introduction
During the early years, the roles of the average child are characterised by play. Children actively explore and interact with people and objects in their world. These interactions provide the child with an understanding of control and connectedness. Children repeat actions to establish relationships between materials and objects. Students then modify their interactions to examine new relationships. During the first few years of life language develops and play evolves, from exploration to using objects to pretend and mimic activities in the world. This paper will firstly look at what play is and how it benefits children, secondly the paper will look at how play is similar and different for children with and without special education needs (SEN), thirdly the paper will explain why this knowledge of play is valuable to professionals in education, and lastly the paper will suggest recommendations on knowledge that professionals should have when supporting children in
As an early years practitioner you will recognise that children’s play is closely linked to their learning and development. Children learn in so many different ways but you will notice that they learn mainly through play. When children are able to do many different activity’s that allows them to lean but have fun at the same time thy will find what they are doing fun and will engage the children. It is important that when in you your setting you set up a variety of educational activity’s this way the children will be able to choose freely what they want to do.
“Current theories about inclusive play revolve around the idea that play is important for life and that all play workers should be committed to creating play environments that are inclusive and that offer multi-sensory experiences for all children. Play environments should ensure children and young people can become involved in imaginary play and can help develop motor activity. They should also allow interaction in a safe environment. Play is seen as the language that can bring children of all different abilities together. All children and young people have the same basic needs and go through the same development stages, even though they may not all go through them at the same pace: some go through some stages more quickly than most, while others may become static in their development for a while. None of this should prevent access to any setting. Through play with other children they develop social skills and learn about behaviour, communication and friendship. Play is the tool for practical learning
The current framework is relation to inclusive play for 0 to 5 years is The Early Years Foundation Stage. The EYFS framework and guidance states that every children can join in play and learning activities at the level that they are able to do so. A good way for early year’s settings to develop inclusive play is to consider the entitlements and needs for each child in their early years setting and to work with practitioners to build up resources to meet those
The practitioner in an early years setting supporting children’s play learning and development is extremely important, as play helps stimulate the child’s brain, supports their needs on an educational level, as well as helping them with social difficulties such as building relationships, developing them and helping them gain confidence. Many people believe that a child learns best when they are motivated, such as Fredrich Froebel. He believed that children benefitted from all types of play. The McMillan sisters believed that outdoor play was extra important as they studied children who played and slept outside and discovered that they were the happier and healthier children in comparison to those who only played inside.
In this program our child care providers have a hands-on interaction with the children. They guide our early learners through child directed play. The child care staff provides different learning opportunities by supplying an array of activities based on the children’s interests. This program will allow the children an opportunity to become leaders in their learning, by exploring and discovering their play environment on their own, with peers and through guidance from the staff. Although we have many open-ended play opportunities, we will have a few structured activities for the children to participate in. We find it important to keep some structure within the daily schedule as this will allow the children the
Play contributes to children’s “physical, emotional and social well-being” (Else, 2009, p.8) and through play, the child’s holistic development and well-being is being constantly accounted for as is it led by the individual. The child decides what s/he wants to do and does it; it is
There are many theories into how children develop and how they learn. These are extremely important as they can be applied to modern strategies used for child behaviours. Presently, learning theories are placed into 3 categories:
The Early Years Learning Framework relates the importance of play to notions of belonging, being and becoming. It states that children make sense of their social worlds through playing with others (DEEWR, 2009). Article 13 of the UN Convention reads that every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child (Connor, 2010). It is important to note that play has multiple approaches and that children’s play varies greatly according to culture, interests,
This school is a licensed childcare program and NAEYC accelerated. The center is providing child care program for children age from 2.9 to 5 years old. There is 2 preschool classroom, I did my observation in preschool classroom room no: 1 on 10/2/2017 time from 9am to 10am. There are around 13 children in the classroom. All the children’s engaged several activities like
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).
1.3 Outline the requirements of the UN Convention of the rights of the child in relation to Relaxation and Play
2 . Explain the importance of observing and analysing children’s and young people’s play. Through observing a child, it helps you to understand and be aware of the child’s interests
Secondly, it is important to consider the strengths of naturalistic observation as a method. This was identified when the child was consistently moving and doing different activities that allowed me to understand how he communicates with other children, how he behaves and what he learns from others. In the play setting the child was able to develop his thinking and according to the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DOH, 2000) through social relationships, the child was encouraged to express his feelings, emotions, which was achieved by the setting creating an enjoyment environment.
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?
Play is the foundation stone of children’s healthy and productive lives (Oliver & Klugman, 2002) and is also a significant means of child’s learning and development (Zigler, Singer & Bishop-