Designing a Complex Play-Based Learning Experience - Report Example

Design a complex, meaningful, and joyful play-based learning experience for children aged birth to five years. Children often learn how to interact with other people and communicate in the environment through play. Playing is a vey important part of children’s growing. Educators especially those of children that are at entry level in schools should ensure that the games that are made available to the children are meaningful, fun to engage in, and still form a basis through which the children can learn. The form of play that is designed for children should form a basis for motivating a form of interest in the children. Sparking interest in children can inspire the children so that they are able to learn at their own pace and based on their own curiosity. Educators can testify that the best form of learning experience for children is where interest is sparked in the learners without having to make the learners feel as if they are being forced to learn (Arthur, Beecher, Death & Farmer, 2008). Educators that are based in school age care surroundings usually strive to make available activities, an environment and chances where learning, growth and the safety of the children is enhanced. Even though the educators might want to create complex play games and leaning outcomes for the children. The games and play situations should be created in such a manner that even if complex, they are still fun and involving to the children. Immediately after birth, children have close relationships with their families, members of the society and the culture that they are born into. These close associations help the children learn how to interact with others. From the interests and understanding that they develop from interacting with the close and immediate family members, the children’s personalities are developed and attitudes of different aspects of their lives are shaped. The relationships of the children mature and grow once the children start going to school because they interact with their peers that have different personalities from theirs (Corrie, 2000). When children start attending school age care settings such as nursery schools and play groups, they develop skills and they are assisted to learn through the interacting environment. Most children learning settings create an environment through which they are assisted to develop their talents. The children also learn how to live with others and make positive contributions to the society. Basis for complex joyful play Most educators agree that all activities that are designed for children should feel unique to the children. Educators should also try and ensure that all the learning activities that are designed have a playful activity added to it. The learning should also be uninterrupted and be open to the addition of new themes or play activities. The play based learning should be designed in such a manner that it compliments other structured learning for the children. The learning should also be designed in such a way that there is no right or wrong in the manner of the playing and learning activities (Fleet & Robertson, 2004). There are different stages of learning based on the stages of learning of the children. Between birth to 6 months, children usually learn to tell sounds apart for example they can differentiate between people speaking and other sounds in the environment. The children learn familiar sounds around them especially their parents, caregivers, siblings and any other family members that might be around them. Children at this age can also be able to take hold of small objects in their hands. At this age, children should only be given medium size soft objects to play with. If the children are given small objects, they might endanger themselves by swallowing the objects. If the objects that they are given to play with are too heavy, then the children might not be able to play with the toys. Between the ages of 6 and 9 months, children are usually aware of sounds that they are used to (Bruner, 2006). Children at this age try and do things that people around them do this can be in form of noises or imitating their actions. At this age, one of the games that children can play with is putting things in a container. To assist the children with their learning, a game for this age group can be designed in such a manner that the children have to match pieces of colored objects. A soft, light medium different colored block can be utilized for the children. The block can have gap structures whereby the children fit differently shaped plastic objects which would also be differently colored. This would assist the children learn how to match up shapes and colors. It would be interesting to play this game because of the different brightly colored soft objects that the children would use to play the game(Arthur, Beecher, Death & Farmer, 2008). The next stage of development would be between 9 and 12 months. At this stage of development, children can relate actions to words that they are they are used to hearing in their surroundings. Children can also crawl and they can talk simple words calling out for their parents. Usually the children use dada and mama. The children also copy affection gestures such as kisses and waving goodbye. At this age, the children can play the same game as 6 to 9 months. The only difference can be the addition of the gaps in the blocks, and the number of colours that the children would have to match up on the blocks. The next age group should be between one to three years. At this age, the children can usually grasp a pen and scribble with it. At this age, children can also imitate the actions or noises that they hear form their surroundings in a better manner (Dockett & Fleer, 2003). Children can also relate different words that they know to construct sentences and express themselves. At this age, there is a risk that the children can develop poor habits in terms of discipline. Parents and caregivers should therefore ensure that they set and implement limits. Limits are usually designed to ensure that the children behave in an appropriate manner so that they can interact well with others. This is also a basis for how the children will behave in future in the society. This is also the age where the children develop likes and dislikes. So the games that the children are given to play with should enhance their discipline and their ability to interact with others in their surroundings (Arthur, Beecher, Death & Farmer, 2008). Some children at this age might throw fits if they do not get what they want they should therefore engage in games that encourage them to involve their peers. The complexity of the coloured blocks and pieces should be increased. The children should have to use crayons to color pieces of paper that would have to be glued on the different pieces of plastic. The different pieces of plastic should have different shapes such as triangles, circles, rectangles and all in different sizes. Once the learners have colored the different shapes, they can be assisted to stick the papers on the different shapes. This kind of complex play could be appropriate since it could also be used by multiple players. The children can learn how to play with others and co-operating in doing what they are told (Corrie, 2000). The children also have the ability to concentrate on one task for longer periods of time. This kind of play is appropriate because it allows the children the time to learn. Some play activities are only focused on the end process instead of being focused on the whole learning process for the children. The benefit of playing in a game that has a process is that it engages all aspects of the children. The cognitive, verbal and physical aspects of the children are all involved in such a process. The concept of using brightly colored shapes and blocks in the game offers a chance of motivating the children to play for the end product therefore offering the chance to actually finish the play process and end product (Arthur, Beecher, Death & Farmer, 2008). Children can easily get bored if they do not understand or take interest in what is used by educators to teach them in the learning environment. This form of learning process offers is interesting and offers the chance of learning new things that might be used later in elementary school. In elementary school mathematics, children are taught about different mathematical shapes such as triangles, circles, squares, rectangles and ova shapes. Since children are very curious, they would probably keep on asking which shapes they were using while pointing out to the shapes. This would continue until the children got used to the shapes and they could be able to tell their names off head. Children would feel like they were working for an end product when they were playing the game and therefore they would be motivated and interest to work and finish on it. This kind of play would also encourage interaction with the educator or parents. Interaction with authoritative figures would encourage obedience and recognition of instructions when given. Such kind of play would also inspire good modeling through teaching hands on with the teachers or educators. Responsibilities that might be attached to such play would involve putting away the play items (Arthur, Beecher, Death & Farmer, 2008). The learners can be taught the importance of keeping their environment tidy. They can be taught that removing of their play items from the way of everyone else would help to reduce accidents that might occur from tripping on things lying on the wall. Children at this age can be very receptive in terms of listening to what they are told to do or not to do. To enhance the effectiveness of what they are told, the children should have the reasons of the actions they are encouraged to do or not to do, explanations should be offered. To enhance the learning process, parents of the children can be encouraged to participate in the playing process for the children (Bruner, 2006). The parents can ask their child what other objects in the surrounding in their home is similar to the colored objects that the children play with. Such an action would be geared towards the recalling of the colours that the children use in their playing activity, their environment and the learning process. Relating of the colors used in the play with different objects in the environment would motivate the children to be curious and ask what colour different objects in the environment are. For example parents could assist their children by asking them what colour their clothes are. This kind of play would also be meaningful because it would contribute to children’s learning at present and in future. Knowledge of colours is important for elementary school art. Knowledge and identification of colours is also important in the society for proper description of objects (Dockett & Fleer, 2003). Conclusion Designing of a complex yet meaningful form of play that also inspires joy in children can be quite a challenging task. This is because what might be complex and meaningful, might not be fun for children. Designing a play item with bright colours where children would use a block with gaps that would be completed with by different shapes would offer possible solution. Between birth and the age of five years, children learn how to interact with those in their immediate surroundings and also communicate with them. Therefore the kind of play that is offered to the children should be involving and stimulating a lot of interest to the children. It is through the stimulation of the mental, physical and psychological aspects of children that they can be able to learn and grow in the environment (Dockett & Fleer, 2003). Educators such as teachers can participate in the designed game through instructing the learners on ways through which they should colour the different shapes and the crayons that they should use so that the different smaller shapes fit into the larger blocks. Parents of children that play using the designed play can be advised on means through which they can engage in the play to ensure that the children play in the required way. For example, the parents can ask the children to match up the different shapes that they color onto the shapes to objects in the home or to the kinds of clothes that the children wear. The different shapes that are fitted into the block can also be used as a learning tool for the children. The shapes would offer a great learning basis for the children when they move onto higher learning in elementary school. The designed play can offer a means for the children to interact with other members of the society through the proper identification of colours and the proper description of shapes around them ((Bruner, 2000). References Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., & Farmer, S. (2008). Programming and planning in early childhood settings. 4th edition. Melbourne. Thomson Learning Australia. Bruner, J. (2006). In Search of Pedagogy: Volume II. London. Routeledge. Corrie, L. (2000). Learning through Play. Perth. University of Western Australia. Dockett, S., & Fleer, M. (2003). Play and pedagogy in Childhood: Bending the Rules. Sydney: Australia. Fleet, A. & Robertson, J. (2004). Overlooked Curriculum: Seeing everyday possibilities. Canberra: Early Childhood Australia. Read More