The Importance Of Guided Play In Preschool Schools

Play is an activity which is chosen freely, is motivated and directed from within each child. Adequate space for children to play and a wide variety of play materials, can be crucial in the development of children (Goldstein, 2012). Therefore it is so crucial for children to continue to learn. In early childhood education, play is particularly valued and embedded in the curriculum. The

Mallory L. Swartz details the importance of children’s play in her article “Playdough: what’s standard about it?” In her article Swartz details the advantages of children utilizing playdough during play time. Playdough acts as an outlet for children to grasp concepts about the world, better communication skills, science skills, engineering skills, and even a way to cope with external stressors. When children use playdough they often create shapes they can connect to tangible resources such as worms or tomatoes. Children begin to test their visualization skills as

Play is one of the most critical aspect of a child development. Play will positively affect a child physical, cognitive, emotional and social development. Children learns various skills through play that will benefit them for the rest of their life. Play helps children develop vocabulary and literacy capability, social skills. Research shows that children benefit, both from guided and unstructured play. Specialists define guided play as play structured to teach academic skills and concepts (Roskos, Tabors, and Lenhart 2004).

Free play is a wonderful way for children to develop their social skills. During playtime children are able to explore and find out the differences each child has and be able to accept those differences. While doing research on this topic of playtime I have found a study showing how guided play is more beneficial to the child.

It is necessary for children to play. Play-based learning can lead children to greater opportunities such as social, emotional, and academic success. “Play is a powerful tool for self control and self regulation which has shown to be a predictor of optimal early future success in life.” Through play, many children learn about themselves. As they play, they develop a sense of social cognitive and emotion skills. It brings out their creativity and they develop self-confidence, a sense of leadership, language skills, persistence and a positive self-image. “As they play, they learn to problem solve and how to get along with others.” (Jane K. Frubose, 2008). Play encourages children to learn and grow. It also encourages them to use their brain in different ways, cooperate, and take turns. At home, parents are children’s playmates. “One of the best ways that children learn and develop both at home and during school is through play. Especially in the early years of a child’s life is essential for discovering and understanding the world around them.” (Barbra, M.B, 2011). “Studies show that children’s time is well spent during play experiences, which is why many educators refer to play as “work of

If we had a tool that would improve our children's performance in school and social settings, lower the crime rate, lower teenage pregnancy, and save taxpayers' money, who wouldn't want to use it? Preschool is that tool, but few people pay attention to or care about preschool's potential benefits. For many parents, preschool is a valuable asset, providing their children with social play, fun, and an experience within a school-like setting. Children in preschool learn social skills like respect for authority, listening, and sharing; they also benefit from interaction with peers, which results in improved language and relational skills. Unfortunately, many parents simply cannot afford the expensive cost

There are many benefits of play for young children physically, emotionally, and academically. In an article on play, Wheatley (2011), found research that stated children in more play-oriented classroom were just as successful at problem solving skills as those in traditional classrooms from Smith and Simon (1984) (located in Zigler, Singer, & Bishop-Josef, 2004, p. 70). These children in play-oriented classrooms also had more problem solving ideas. Another research done by Hart, Charlesworth, Burts & DeWold (1993) (located in Zigler, Singer, & Bishop-Josef, 2004, p. 70) found that children were “more distractible, less willing to follow directions and less prosocial” when they were in direct instruction classrooms compared to children in more natural-based play oriented environments. More evidence from Stipek and colleagues (1995) (located in Zigler, Singer, & Bishop-Josef, 2004, p. 70) shows that children who are exposed to direct instruction style classrooms were very dependent on adults, had very little pride in their work, showed more signs of negative motivation than positive, and did not have high academic expectations for themselves. Therefore, with this research we can infer that play has the ability to generate more problem solving ideas, make kids prosocial, less distracted, willing to learn, and hold themselves to higher academic standards.

Play is an innate ability of children and is gaining recognition in early childhood education. “Through play, young children engage in active learning when they reconstruct their experiences, generate ideas, and test these ideas” (Saracho, 2012). Children often display reluctance when it comes to resisting work on a play-based activity and switching to a new one due to time constraints (Rimm-Kaufman et al, 2009). Rimm-Kauffman et al. (2009) also mentioned that “Classroom quality, particularly the nature of teachers’ interactions towards children, is hypothesized to support children’s display adaptive classroom behaviours in kindergarten” (p. 960). With effective communication present, teachers help to promote children’s internal management of behaviour and enhance their achievement. Therefore, it is vital that well-planned facilitation strategies are being implemented to help children regulate their behaviours at the end of play-based activities.

Early childhood development occurs in six domains. This paper discusses the role of play and its effects on these domains in children learning. Different types play and play centers were discussed to show connectivity of the play type and domain development. Interactions among children during play can enhance cooperative learning using methods and materials used in the play center. Teacher plays important role to set-up the play center, method and materials to be used, and create the learning environment with specific goal setting. Intervention approach by asking different types of questions help them to engage, make learning fun, and effective collaborative learning.

Mature make-believe play is an important and unique context, providing opportunities to learn not afforded by other classroom activities. It should not be considered something extra that can be cut to accommodate more time for academic skills, nor should it be used as a means of adding “entertainment value” for inherently boring and decontextualized drills. Instead, play should be preserved and nurtured as one of the “uniquely preschool” activities that provide the most beneficial context for children’s development. Mature play, as researchers provide, say that child develop social skills, mathematical ability, mastery of early literacy concepts, and self-regulation. In order to enhance play to mature play teachers must follow Vygostkian’s approach of scaffolding play into PRoPELS approach of critical elements of children’s play in the classroom. For some children, early childhood is the only setting that children have the opportunity to learn how to play the proper and mature way with the PRoPELS. Since children are almost always segregated by age and have to interact with play partners who are as inexperience as they are without getting the playground play of elder interactions; hinders children’s ways of maturing make believe play, which is when teachers need to come in allow improvement and growth with play. Playtime in today’s early childhood classroom is limited and rarely exceeds one or two hours, which means that in order to achieve progress in the quality of play,

In this essay, I am going to talk about the relevance of play to children’s development in early childhood education, which has a great influence in children’s developmental stages. Play is the progress that children could relax and have fun. Children need to be provided chances and encouraged to play, because from play, they could develop their physical wellbeing (physical health and mental health). This term, I will mention to how dose play influence children’s physical health, but I will be more concentrated on how does play influence children’s mental health and their cognitive thinking.

When children play with other children they learn and develop social skills through the interactions they have. Additionally, they will learn unfamiliar words and phrases by taking in the words and phrases vocalised by the other children they are interacting with (Villarroel, 2015). Children may be more eager to cooperate in a classroom that uses play based learning methods as the additional stimulation can maintain their interest for longer. With this in mind, teachers in an early childhood environment should not only encourage play in a classroom environment, they should set time for it in class and organise lesson plans with play based learning methods in mind. Examples of play based learning in an early childhood setting include: Role playing to learn about a particular historical figure, learning times tables through song or simply encouraging children to group up and use their imaginations during recess.

I believe that Early Childhood Education heavily impacts the lives of children and their families. As an educator and a mother of three young children, I have witness first-hand the benefits of Early Childhood Education programs. Over the years, I found that what happens early, matters for a lifetime. Preschools are not just about learning the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors. Instead, its about developing critical thinking, problem solving, social-emotional, and motor skills. I think it is essential for children to discover, communicate, and play. Learning through play and constant interaction is an appropriate way for children to learn in the beginning stages of their life. I feel that when play is purposeful, it provides children with opportunities to be creative, build on skills, and develop their understanding of specific concepts. Over the course of my studies this semester, I have learned that it takes a high-quality Early Childhood Education program to enhance the learning outcomes of children attending preschool in preparation of kindergarten and the world of education ahead.

Watching this video was interesting, as it changed the way I viewed early childhood education in other countries. I had always assumed that all children’s preschool experiences were similar, and while they are to a certain extent, they also vary greatly. All of these unique preschool curricula incorporated something valuable that should be considered when creating one's own curriculum. As a future early childhood educator, I will make a point to borrow some strategies from other preschool systems that I deem valuable to the development of young

Over the last two centuries, there have been major changes in early childhood education. Children are found to have a more lasting grasp on education, when they are taught in a play based developmentally age appropriate environment.