Essay on The Value of Play

The terms “play”, “learn” and “teach” are commonly used in the early childhood sector. This essay attempts to define and interconnect these terms to produce a holistic understanding of how play can be used as a medium to help children learn.

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:

By taking advantage of the children's high interest and engagement in different areas of play, educators can plan for play based activities that encourage learning and development in children. In order to do this the teacher needs to set up an environment that stimulates various play activities. Providing the children with a multitude of materials and props for different activities, will give them the freedom of choice to choose what they wish to use and how they want to use it. There must be a period of time structured into the daily schedule that will allow for play based learning activities, and reflection on them. Children can learn not only by engaging in play, but by discussing what they were

There is a part in the handbook, learning and teaching play. Play involves the holistic child, from the physical, psychological, intellectual, social, and emotional. Either by working independently or group work. Play is now a big part of the curriculum as doesn’t just help with the teaching side, but it also gives the children a way to relax and be themselves, and to express their feelings or what is going on in their life through play. (http://ccea.org.uk accessed on 29th November 2016)

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.

Contrary to the popular belief that play-based curriculum isn’t sufficiently academic, play isn’t just fun, leisure, and games. In fact, there are several different types of play that children engage in, each of which help them grow in a different way. Play is a key factor in a child’s cognitive, social, and physical development, as well as the development of important communication skills. As an instructor, my role is to be a facilitator of play by providing children with appropriate materials and sustaining a safe and ideal environment where children can play comfortably.

Our society as a whole has begun to drift away from this idea and the ones who suffer due to this are the children. There is just no way to replicate the benefits that play provides. It plays such an important role in developments progression. The main characteristics of play that were covered throughout this assignment were stages, influences of culture, personal framework, challenges, current research, an example based on expanded instruction, and the ways in which each part works together in order to create cognizance, aptitude, and complete development in

There are many misconceptions about play and the role it plays in a child’s development and overall well-being. Many see play as nonessential because it is not associated with academic learning, that it is nothing more than a distraction and merely takes up time in the day. The problem is that none of it is true. When young children play we can plainly see that the learning and progress has begun in their awakening of abstract thought. There is a freedom that accompanies play because it allows children to achieve a higher level of thought away from their more concrete familiarities (Frost, Wortham, & Reifel, 2011).

This course was emphasized on learning through play and how children can learn to understand the world around them. When children engage in a new experiences and environments, it contributes to the developmental of social and emotional, and cognitive. Children’s play can also help children build confidence, develop social skills, develop physical skills, language and communication skills. Unstructured free play is one of the most important things we can do with the children.

Play is valuable in school, as it enables children to freely express themselves. This may occur during social interactions with their peers or as an individual. Play provides a valuable opportunity for a child to use their imagination as a tool for learning, by extracting and processing new information in regard to the world around them. This is supported by Lev Vygotsky a psychologist, who believed that “play led children’s development, as it could enable them to step outside their actual lives to explore, through imagination, a wider set of meanings and understanding”.(Study topic 13, page 165).

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.

How do we define play within the context of education? This is an important question in the research on play. The word “play” is extremely complex with multiple contexts attached to it, yet it lacks a clear definition or role within the education system. If play is looked up in Wikipedia one will find over a dozen links to different contexts of the word. The Oxford English Dictionary (O.E.D.) provides five three-column pages of definitions and usages of play.

In chapter 3, the idea that play is an integral aspect of human development is proposed. The chapter illustrates that play has been theorized to help with cognitive functioning, as well as mastering conflicts by playing them out and communication skills. Play allows children to actively participate in situations that they otherwise would be passive spectators in. It allows for children to navigate the world that is still new to them, it does so by forcing them to problem solve, be inclusive, and effectively communicate. Not only is play a few moments of fun, but it is also an activity which cultivates creativity, one of the tools that teachers rely on most. Despite the many theories addressed in this chapter, they all agree that “the value

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.

When you think of play you don’t really think about or realize how important it really is in a child’s life. It consists of five elements, and these elements are the make-up and the meaning of play. The first element is that it is pleasurable and enjoyable. This means it must be fun! In order for it to be considered play, there must be a fun and enjoyable element to it. Play also has no extrinsic goal which means it is engaged for