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ITS ALL ABOUT PLAYTIME

Its All about Playtime

Andrya E. Mariscal
12/2/2012

ITS ALL ABOUT PLAYTIME

Jumping rope, building blocks, and playing pretend with friends are all memories we
share from childhood. People do not realize the importance of play in a childs life. Children all
around the world play, and with it comes hands-on learning. That is why you see play as one of
the curriculums in early childhood programs. Simply, play is how children learn which is like a
door that they use to express their understandings of the world, and with that childhood educators
can provide curriculum and learning materials for children to explore. Play is a learning activity
that supports all aspects of development including physical, emotional, social, and cognitive.
What parents might see the most improvement in their child is physical development
when it comes to play, but what they do not see is how physical development helps them succeed
as learners. According to the text, Children learn best when they have bodies that are strong,
healthy, flexible, and coordinated and when all their senses are operating. (Feeney et al., 2013, p.
316) All children have the same drive to discover, explore, and master skills, with it comes
activities like running, jumping, and riding bikes. We do not consider these activities as an
important part of a childs development, but in fact they support the development of perceptualmotor coordination (the ability to use sensory information to direct motor activity) (Feeney et al.,
2013, p. 316).
Alyna, Demetrius, Aundrea, Nick, and Amaras are lining up to play bowling. I set up the
pins to start off and Demetrius, the smallest and youngest, was first in line to start. He grabs one
of the pretend bowling balls and gives it a nice roll. He knocks over three pins, Nice roll! Go
ahead and roll it one more time. I said. He knocks over two more pins, Aww! One more! he
exclaims. I reply, Next turn youll knock over all of them. Next up is Alyna and right on the
first roll she knocks over all the pins. This continues with each child taking turns to roll the ball,

ITS ALL ABOUT PLAYTIME

each having fun knocking over pins. While playing, the children are developing eye and arm
coordination by aiming and throwing the ball.
Not only does play support physical development but it can also support emotional
development. Play provides children with a way to express themselves and deal with certain
things like fear, anxiety, and desire. While at play children experience different challenges that
they have to learn how to confront. In doing so, they master their fears; resolve eternal conflicts;
act out anger, hostility, and frustrations; and resolve personal problems for which the real world
offers no apparent solutions. (Feeney et al., 2013, p. 317) Without this expression of emotions
children will not have the ability to maintain self-control, making it harder for them to have
relationships with other children (Feeney et al., 2013, p. 317).
As the children rolled the balls and knocked over pins each would react differently
depending on the amount knocked down. Some children would knock down all of them and
others just one. Aundrea would even assist Alyna by showing her how to hold and roll the ball.
They were able to let out some anger when they kept missing the pin but soon regained
themselves knowing that next turn they were going to try harder. A sense of accomplishment
occurs as they knock down all the pins. Lastly, competence is accomplished as they learn
different angles and ways of rolling the ball.
Relating to emotional development is social development. Social development is used to
develop positive relationships with others as children and later as adults. The first few things
children learn as they play are sharing, social language, and cooperation. As the text states,
They become aware of group membership, develop a social identity, and learn a lot about the
rules and values governing the family, community, and culture. (Feeney et al., 2013, p. 317)

ITS ALL ABOUT PLAYTIME

Dramatic play is one of the main contributions to how children begin to develop these social
relationships. Social concepts like fairness, justice, and cooperation are accomplished through
the use of dramatic play (Feeney et al., 2013, p 317).
Conner, Josh, Cohen, and Izzy are setting up the pretend kitchen area to play restaurant.
Conner takes control and assigns everyone a job. Josh and Cohen will be waiters and Izzy will be
the chef. Not leaving himself out, Conner was the manager the boss as he called himself. Josh
and Conner would take turns asking other children around them what they would like to eat with
a pen and a pad of paper in their hands. As they wrote down their orders, they come back to the
kitchen so that Izzy would make the food. This process went on for a while with each time a new
order. As they each work together and do what they were assigned they are learning cooperation.
While Conner assigned everyone a job a form of justice was accomplished and because they
agreed on doing the job assigned to them they learned the concept of fairness.
To really understand the way play contributes to development in a child, is knowing how
it supports the development of learning and problem solving known as cognitive development.
Who Am I in the Lives of Children? (2013), explains play as a way children know to set goals,
plan how to proceed, develop the ability to focus, and create ways to organize their approach to
cognitive tasks (p. 317). Sociodramatic play is one of the top forms of play that help build
cognitive development. It comes with the ability to operate symbols, providing a foundation for
later learning (Feeney et al., 2013, p. 318).
Tim, Capris, Josh are playing with a 40 piece puzzle. As they try putting all the pieces
together, Tim is stuck on one piece that he cant seem to find where it belongs. Capris says to
him, Oh, I think I might know where that one goes. Tim hands her the piece and together they

ITS ALL ABOUT PLAYTIME

try finding the area it goes to. Finally, Tim spots it and tells Capris where to put it. Problemsolving skills are developed as they rearrange and determine where the puzzle pieces belong
while also communicating to each other where they think the piece might belong.
Play is the first step for a child to learn and grow. And with it comes an opportunity to
learn what they can do and understand. You can also get to see the individuals they are and
appreciate what their interests and characteristics are. Childrens play provides us with an open
door into their lives.

ITS ALL ABOUT PLAYTIME

References
Feeney, Stephanie, and Eva Moravick. Who Am I in the Lives of Chidren (An Introduction to
Early Childhood Education). 9th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.