Running head: PLAY AND ACADEMICS 1

The Value of Play, Music, and Art in Early Child Development and Academics

Christina Mariscal

Fresno Pacific University

PLAY AND ACADEMICS 2

The Value of Play, Music, Art in Early Child Development and Academics

Children are naturally movers, and learners. It has been recorded that they move as they

are conceive in their mothers womb. They flip, toss, and suck their fingers. They are exploring

their environment in the womb as they would do when they enter to the world. Children

movement even in the womb is important because it helps them develop and grow properly

inside the womb, of course there are other factors that are needed for a child to be born healthy

but for now we will focus on the value of play (movement) in early child development.

Many child development programs and schools have eliminated completely play time and

the arts from their curriculum focusing only on academics. This is an enormous miscalculation

because it is known that children learn and develop through play and art as expressed on Child

Action Inc article, Through play, children try out new skills, explore their imagination and

creativity, and develop relationships with other people in their lives (para.1). There are children

who do not have the opportunity of exploring, playing, or even develop social skills in their

home environment, and only receive this opportunities at a school or child care center. By

eliminating sports, recess, play time, music, and, art in school the children are being limited to

develop properly according to the stages of development on gross motors skills, creativity, and

the possibility of developing social skills. Schools and child care programs should reconsider the

importance and the value of play time in a young childs life, and added it once again into their

curriculum.

When children play outdoor either by being part of a sport team or just in recess time the

child is jumping, running, hopping, bicycling, climbing, and pushing which all this activities help

the child develop stronger gross motor skills therefore they will need as they grow older and

taller. Kidspace a Southern California Museum located in the Los Angeles area agrees with this
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theory as they state in their website Kidspace Children Museum; Kidspace believes that outdoor

play supports many factors of development, and they also agree that outdoor play helps

children to socialize, increases confidence and promotes physical activity (para.1). Because they

see the value of active play the museum offers a variety of ways of outdoor activities in which

the child will participate in a nature setting environment.

Outdoor play is not only a way of an adult getting a break from the child, but instead it is

crucial for the child growth development the quality time they spent outdoors. The NAEYC

offers a list of the importance and the value of outdoor play for children in the article title The

value of school recess and outdoor play. They state first of all that unstructured physical play is

a developmentally appropriate outlet for reducing stress in childrens lives, and research shows

that physical activity improves childrens attentiveness and decreases restlessness never less

reducing or eliminating recess time at school and centers children will not focus and learn as if

they have extended unstructured outdoor play (para. 4). In their list they point six basic but

important factors of play, which the writer of this paper will only state three of them. The

NAEYC declared that play is an active form of learning that unites the mind, body, and spirit

in which defines that learning occurs best when the whole self is involved. They also

expressed that children express and work out emotional aspects of everyday experiences

through unstructured play. During this type of play the child develops the problem solving skills

with its peers. The NAEYC believed also that children permitted to play freely with peers

develop skills for seeing things through another persons point of view--cooperating, helping,

sharing, and solving problems which favors the development of social skills among children.

(para.5). Additionally, to children learning through active play they are also decreasing the

possibility of becoming obese.

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Another valuable resource schools are eliminating from their curriculum beside outdoor

play is art and music. Art and music are elements in which children need to become active

learners. Through art and music children expressed their emotions which are important for

language development among children, and develop social skills. An article tilted The Benefit of

Music Education by Loren Lewis Brown states that Research has found that learning music

facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas

meaning that through music and art children will develop skills that will improve their academic

levels (para 2). The article also states that children who are involved either in school or private

music lessons are more likely to excel in their language development . Brown shares that

recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part

of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can

actually wire the brains circuits in specific ways , and also, music training can help with

basic memory recall. . She also expressed that children involved in music have larger

growth of neural activity than people not in music training. When youre a musician and

youre playing an instrument, you have to be using more of your brain proving that

music is beneficial for the childs academic growth (para.9).

Incorporating art into the curriculum has implacable value in a child growth

development, but as well in their academics. By providing art experiences to children they will

gain the ability to develop motor skills, language development, decision making, visual learning,

and cultural awareness. This all are importance for children to obtain a healthy and proper

development. Grace Hwang Lynch who writes the article The Importance of Art in Child

Development states that a report by Americans for the Arts states that young people who

participate regularly in arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic
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achievement (para. 8). There for art is not only an outlet of communication but also an stimulate

of self-confidence and learning experience among young children.

It has been stated by the writer of this paper the value and importance of active play,

music, and art in young children development. The more time a child participates in such

activities, it will have a most effective learning academic outcome as the child grows. Overall

what it has been discovered is that more than benefiting a child by eliminating active play,

music, and art it will eventually affect him in their academic learning, and it will reflect on state

testing and required academic standards.

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References

Brown, Loren L. (n.d). The beneofit of music education. PBS parents. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/

Child Action Inc. (n.d). The importance of play. Retrieved from

http://www.childaction.org/families/publications/docs/guidance/Handout13-

The_Importance_of_Play.pdf

Kifddpsvr Children Museum. (2014).Value of play. Retrieved from

http://www.kidspacemuseum.org/connect/blog/value-outdoor-play

Lynch, Grace H. (n.d). The importance of art in child development. PBS parents. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/

NAEYC. (1998). The value of school recess and outdoor play. Retrieved from

http://oldweb.naeyc.org/ece/1998/08.asp