Play Provides Children with a Good Opportunity to Learn - Essay Example

Play and learning Children learn best when they are actively engaged in any learning process. Play provides children with good opportunity to learn. It builds skills that help them in future, in learning practical things; for instance problem solving, counting, learning, and making new words etc. For instance, in the observation from setting 1, the play not only motivates other child fellow to play but helps them in learning and imagining things their way, for example in the setting, it not only made Tom to participate in building the racing track but also act the way Ollie was behaving and later building up the whole drama as if it was a real race. When children participate in dramatic plays like car racing, playing house, shopping etc., they use their imaginations and art of story making, for instance in the observations taken from the second setting, the kids assume an imaginary shark, and the colored mat to be ocean. From this, the caretakers and parents can easily analyze about the type of thinking their child has, whether they have a constructive mind or they possess destructive ideas. The mental disturbance or problems that some children face can also be evaluated from the type of games they play or how they conceive it. The observations that were done earlier were to evaluate how children initialize a play and how they assume something during their play. Playing not only facilitate them in learning new things but also helps them in improving their thinking and creativity (Encyclopedia on early childhood development, 2010). Interaction with a child during his play assists in their confidence building. It develops language creativity and problem analyzing skills. It stimulates a child’s imagination, for instance in observation 2, Charlie tells the observer about what he and his fellows were playing. For their future learning and development the children must be provided with maximum space and opportunities where they can play whatever they want to like the costumes and ideas by adult. Letters and numbers can help them in learning words, making new words, and mathematical operations etc. Shapes can also assist them in making new things from them. Reading books and stories can help them with language, vocabulary. Parents must let them play what they want to play and how they want to play. This helps them in developing new ideas and portraying their thoughts (Encyclopedia on early childhood development, 2010). EYFS can be integrated for improvement. It’s a framework designed by the government for children from 0 to 5 years. The integration can be made to achieve better options for child development and learning. The practitioners who are trained to teach children can be trained in such a way as to develop a child mentally and physically. Parents should also actively involve themselves in taking their child’s progress report. The practitioners will need to observe each child’s progress, interest, learning styles, and learning priorities and then make the assessment plan in relation to the observation (Policy Statements: Department of Children, Schools and Families, 2010). According to Dr. Maria Montessori, who presented the Montessori theory, the play develops mind, body, brain and senses (Saracho & Spodek 1995). Play helps in sharpening abilities to gather and manage information and organizing practical life. It helps in interpreting different things to make new things. From this theory it can be analyzed how important playing is for the development of a child; while the Froebel theory of play states that the significance of play is derived from how the play is imagined and begun. Froebel introduced the blocks and primary shapes. Through these shapes and blocks new things can be derived and invented. The main objective of this theory was to teach children use environment as an educational guide and develop interaction sense and creative nature (Saracho & Spodek 1995). The purpose of mentioning these theories is to provide with the evidence that playing in a child’s life is significant. Through the observations and these theories it can be analyzed that play not only helps in the learning process but also in the mental and physical development of a child. When a child is given full opportunity to flourish, his decision making power gets polished which helps him in future. The children who are given opportunity are more confident and energetic as compared to those who are least bothered to play. The plays that children initialize by themselves are much effective than the ones they are forced to play. In both the observations, the play that the group of children starts, they do it on their own and get fed up of it really quick. So a child can never be forced to play. It is his mind and decision as to what he wants to play and how. The parents can make some play attractive by either taking part or giving them new ideas. Designing curriculum that has parts is not as effective in producing results as a whole thing that has interrelated components. The totality of something is much greater than the sum of its components. The totality is also easier to understand. The EYFS can be redesigned with the prospect to fully develop and groom a child, from mental grooming to physical development and from learning basics to sharing imaginations and ideas. Furthermore, parents should also pay attention to what their child is learning in the care centers. For instance if the children from age 2 to 5 play at school, they would definitely like to play that game or drama at home too. Schools and care centers can assist children in imagining things from a larger perspective. Most of the child’s development is met through his desire to play. It is through play that they learn how to interact with their age fellows and adults, how to choose friends and tackle their enemies, they learn creativity, adapt new skills and how to control and show their emotions (The importance of play in child’s development, 2000). When analyzing critically, some plays and stories develop vivid fantasies in a child’s mind. Like when children play with their dolls they create fantasies and as they grow older they want their lives to be like those fantasies. These types of play not only disturb a child emotionally but also make her stubborn in fulfilling those fantasies. Moreover when playing in a group or team, sometimes there arise some conflicts or competitions that can be harmful both physically and in term of language usage. The child can hurt or abuse others in this type of situation. Sometimes the company that a child has is not according to his upbringing which can make a child disobedient, uncompromising and inflexible. The play, that is directed by adults not only refrains children from doing wrong but also provides them with confidence, for example in the second observation, Charlie keeps telling the observer what he is playing and why he is taking a particular action. It can make them share their ideas and imaginations and this can later help them in participating in school plays, theatres and debates. Nowadays many schools are admitting children with diverse needs. The diversity can be related to culture, race or ethics (Kail, 2006). There are many strategies that help when the educators are to face the diversity challenges. Two of them are discussed here. The first strategy is the Developmentally Appropriate Practice. This strategy states that when early childhood professionals make decisions about the developmental appropriateness of practices, they rely on three types of information: what is known about child development and learning; what is known about the strengths, interests, and needs of each individual child in the group; and knowledge of the social and cultural context in which children live (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1996). Second strategy for teaching students in a diverse situation is the Inclusive Curriculum. This strategy emphasizes on accommodating every individual child with his needs and interests. It provides balance between dominant and minority culture and supports the value of social communication (Rodriguez, 1998) When analyzing the above mentioned strategies it is difficult to provide and satisfy children individually with their needs and interest. It will not only make the whole process hectic but also make the learning and development process difficult. The educators will need special training for all this. Giving every child an opportunity with what they want to play and how they manage challenges and conflicts, hence results in a disaster. To practically practice these strategies, a new set of curriculum needs to be introduced that is designed especially for diverse natured schools and care centers. Further an influential figure among the group of children with diversity can make others play the same as the dominant one and do as he is commanding them to do, which is evident in both the observations. However this doesn’t happen always. REFERENCES Encyclopedia on early Childhood Development (2010) www.child-encyclopedia.com/pages/PDF/PlayANGmcP.pdf Kail, R.E. (2006), Children and their Development, 4th edition, Prentice Hall. National Association for the Education of Young Children (1996) www.education.com/partner/articles Policy Statements: Department of Children, Schools and Families (2010) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters Rodriguez, G. (1998), Critical Issues: Meeting the needs of diverse young children, North Central Educational Laboratory. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea400.htm Saracho, O.N. & Spodek, B. (1995), Children’s Play & Early Childhood Education: Insights from History and theory, Journal of Education The Importance of play in child’s development (2000) http://www.lbcma.org.uk/newsArticles/NAplay.asp Read More