Evaluation Of Children 's Cognitive Development

“Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. Children and young people determine and control the content and intent of their play by following their instincts, ideas and interests in their own way and for their own reasons. The child chooses when and how to play and this is seen as a biological drive, essential to health and well-being.”

Play is the way children learn and is a word that is used to describe the different activities behaviours that children participate in, this would concur with “Vygotsky’s (1978) social constructivist theory that suggests that play promotes both mental and social development for children” (cited in Goulding, 2016, p16). Early childhood educators such as Froebel and Vygotsky have always promoted the importance of the outdoor learning environment. According to Vygotsky (1978), children learn through interacting with the environment and through social interaction with others. Social constructivist theory, believes play is important for the growth of a child’s cognitive emotional and social development and

The relationship between play and learning seems obvious to many child professionals and parents, and yet there are still lack of understanding surrounding the importance of children's play. Some people believe that children need to "work" not play, and that playing serves no useful purpose in a learning and development environment. This is surprising considering that play, with its high levels of motivation and potential enjoyment empowers children (as well as people

Play is central to the development of children, enabling them to make sense of their world as they learn through exploration and experimentation. Susan Isaacs said ‘play is indeed the child’s work and the means whereby he grows and develops’. (Isaacs,1929) Play can support a child’s social, emotional and behavioural development through the following:

Play doesn’t just happen. It is true that babies and young children are biologically disposed to play, but they will not develop their play unless they meet people and experience the situation that encourage the development of play. What adults provide has a direct impact on play. If adults

Play is a fundamental element to a child’s well-being and happiness. Evidence has shown that play contributes to a child’s health and future life chances. Without play or having restricted play it can negativity impact a child’s physical and mental health which can then lead to things such as obesity, rickets and attention deficit disorder.

This document examines the current research as well as the views from theorists such as Vygotsky who believe that play supports children in all areas of development (CMEC, 2012). When children are playing they are learning and discovering a great deal of information about their world. In the document it provides information about the scientific evidence supporting learning through play and the benefits that it has on brain development (CMEC, 2012). It has been proven that children will develop better social, emotional and cognitive skills when they are playing (CMEC, 2012). Through play children are able to make sense of their world and acquire and practice skills that they can use for their entire lives. In the document that the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada released it emphasizes the need for children to play and to be actively engaged in their environment (CMEC, 2012). This documents states that early childhood educators should plan and create play- based learning experiences for children (CMEC, 2012). I think it is important that early childhood educators recognize the importance in play based learning and provide children with experiences that encourage them to challenge and expand their own thinking and

In order to understand play and how it may benefit young children we must first be able to define it, however this creates the initial issue. This is due to the fact that the concept of play is disreputably difficult to define (Burghardt 2011). Although despite this we are able to split the concept of play into four various aspects, as described by Linda Rose Krasnor and Debra J. Pepler (1980), positive affect, flexibility, intrinsic movement and nonliterality.

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

Play is defined as an “intrinsically motivated activity that is experienced as pleasurable” (Parham, 1996, p. 71). Rather than a specific behavior, play is an “attitude or process” (Parham, 1996, p. 71). The functionalist view of play is that children engage in play occupations in order to develop skills (Parham, 1996, p. 77). For example, children may be “playing” while riding a bike, but they are also improving balance and gross motor skills. Later in life, play is not a means of development, but rather as a way to relax and achieve a sense of well-being. According to Parham, this is “play for its own sake” (1996, p. 78). Play is important across the lifespan, but serves different purposes over time.

Play is important for children’s learning and developing because children explore and learn from play. Play is not established by conditioning or learning and this is how they learn and experience. All children need to play who are born with a natural drive to play even when children are living in a bad condition place they still possess a natural drive play. Play helps children to develop skills which they need in life. It is also important to recognize the risk involved in play and the fact that this is an important part of positive child development. For children play is a progression that is freely chosen by them and personally, directed and motivated. Children and young people decide and control their play by following their natures,

Play is one of the main ingredients in helping a child develop a healthy brain. When we think of play, we think of children developing their imagination and using their creativity as well as their physical, cognitive, emotional and social strengths. Children start to interact with the world around them from a very young age through play. Classical theories go back to the nineteenth century, while modern theories have been around for the last fifty to sixty years. These theories have helped in evaluating children’s development. In this essay I will discuss a classical theory and a modern theory of play and emphasize on the similarities and differences of both, the surplus energy theory and the social learning theory. Our textbook mentions that the main purpose of the classical theories is to “explain why play exists and what purpose it serves”(pg. 34), while modern theories also try to explain why play exists but also explain “Play’s role in different aspects of child development”

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-

Play is extremely valuable to the development of children, it helps them grow strong muscles. endurance and balance, on the other hand play will also tire them and help them sleep. From infancy through childhood there is a desire for play, an activity that they chose to do which brings pleasure. Play helps to build confidence, form social and language skills, consequently learns to care about others while developing their physical abilities.

According chapter 12 of the book, Play at the Center of the Curriculum (5th Edition) written by Judith Van Hoorn, Patricia Monighan Nourot, Barbara Scales, Keith Rodriguez Alward, I have learned play can foster children to develop many skills such as physical, cognitive concepts language, social and emotional. In this chapter, these authors discussed the importance of different types of outdoor play such as physically active outdoor play, outdoor nature play, and child-initiated outdoor play. Physically active outdoor play contributes to children’s healthy development because it fosters children physical development including a child’s whole body in practice and skill development. For example, children will run, balance, jump, hop, skip, gallop, walk, climb, swing, skip, throw, catch, grasp, crawl, push, and pull heavy play props. While playing outside, children will learn best when their whole body is engaged in active physical play. In addition, children at play are making sense of the world, and through play children will have enjoyment, self-expression, and social interaction. In this chapter, the authors (2010) also mention that as children play outside, they will have active physical exercise in spontaneous play, they also will experience the cognitive and social demands because physically active play will stimulate children to think, speak, and negotiate with their playmates as well as their teachers. Moreover, physically active outdoor play will help children to