Interactive Neighborhood

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

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.

“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

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

When learning becomes fun the teachers find it less challenging for trying to keep the child engaged in the activity at hand. The job of the educator working with a play-based curriculum is to facilitate play, to draw out and extend what children learn through play (Play Based Programmes, 2015). Children have a variety of play spaces available that mimic their regular world around them, each space can be intertwined with another centre such as combining the truck centre with the block centre, or adding in some zoo animals to the area. The play based approach can be used by children of all abilities, it allows children to play independently or as a small group, and allows the children the opportunity to bring their home life into their play.

It is difficult to picture a city or town without a park or a playground for everyone to enjoy free of charge. This thought is not as far fetched, as some might believe. The massive movement for communities to provide public lands for relaxation, leisure and play has its roots in the Progressive Reforms around the turn of the twentieth century. The congestion of urban centers and the fading concept of child labor creates unintended consequences such as an increase in crime, lack of natural landscape and no place for children to play. To combat this problem cities across the country begin the process of implementing government inspired play to replace the open country that children generations before used as their playground.

In this lab, I helped the teachers to organize the classroom. I set with group of children when they play on the magnetic to build a house, and I talked with them about their works. Also, I stay with two girls who try to read story about the animals, and they ask me to read to for them. In addition, I collaborate with the teacher on the gym when the children had conflicts with each other. I always try to keep the classroom clean and organize. When the children were outside, I walked around the playground, and make sure the children are safe. In addition, I played with a two boys ball and we have fun.

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,

Last February, five other students and myself decided to take the initiative to tackle an overlooked issue in Washington D.C., kid’s access to play. Hopscotch, hide-and-go-seek, and tag are a few examples of memorable aspects of childhood; moreover, playing is a major component of prepubescence. Studies even show that play is crucial to a

I conducted my field experience at Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (INK) museum and observed peer interactions with various forms of play and how this influences the socioemotional development of the child as well as the management of the class. Different teachers had varying approaches to managing their classes at their time at INK. Both preventative and responsive measures were taken by teachers to reduce the incidence of inappropriate behavior. Overall the experience provided insight on potential areas for necessary attention when working towards the holistic development of the student.

Play is inevitable when it comes to children. Given the right environment and objects (of any sort), children will find a way to play. Jarvis, et al state that educators must offer inspiring, playful environments which include hands-on activities and interesting resources. This will empower children to educate themselves (2009). Along the same line, Wood and Attfield consider that an environment inclusive of varied resources will provide room for growth in their learning and will support the child’s “creativity, inventiveness and originally” (2005, p.231).

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).

One of my initial reactions from observing Maria at the playground was that decreasing the amount of play time that children have in school will not foster positive outcomes. As schooldays are increasingly getting longer and children are asked to sit still for extended periods of time, play provides them with the opportunity to use their imagination, have some physical activity, and collaborate with their peers in an unstructured setting. Play can also become a time where children pick up social cues from others in their age range and explore things that are not possible in real life. As the American job market is increasingly looking for people that are creative, divergent thinkers, it is imperative that children have time to play

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-