UNIT 1: PLAYITS NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE

DEFINITIONS OF PLAY

PLAY is the work of children. It consists of children performed for selfamusement. It is child-directed and the rewards come from within the individual child. According to the theorists, researchers and educators across different disciplines and perspectives have documented that:

Play is the optimal vehicle for learning and development in the early childhood years. They also suggest that the absence of play is often an obstacle to the development of happy, healthy and creative individuals.

Play is an important part of the childhood development. Through play, children learn about shapes, colors, cause and effect. Besides cognitive thinking, play helps the child learn social and psychomotor skills. There are at least 5 essential elements that characterized play: Play is voluntary d intrinsically motivated.

Children freely choose the content and direction of their activity. Play is self-satisfying because it does not respond to external demands or expectations.

Play is symbolic, meaningful and transformational.

Play enables children to relate their past experiences to their present world. It empowers them to transform themselves into others roles.

Play is active.

- Children explore experiment, investigate and inquire with people, objects or events.

Play is rule-bound.

Children are governed by either explicit or implicit rules during play.

Play is pleasurable.

When children play, they pursue activity for the intrinsic pleasure it brings- not for an extrinsic reward.

Game

When play is only for self-amusement, a game is structured playing which has goals, rules, challenge and interaction. Games involve mental or physical stimulation. Games help develop practical skills serve as a form of exercise. Total Development Susan Isaacs is another historical figure who believed that play contributes to all aspects of childrens growth and development. Cognitive Development It is how children make sense of their world. They do this by building upon what they already know to interpret new experiences. Language Development Children use role appropriate statements, language used to maintain the play episode, plan a storyline and assign roles. It also helps them generate multiple ways of expressing their thinking. Literacy Development Childrens first attempts at reading and writing often occur during dramatic play. Their play can reveal literacy understanding such as: - Interest in stories, knowledge of story structure and story comprehension. - understand fantasy in books-world as if - use of symbols to represent their world Social and Emotional Development School success largely depends on childrens ability to interact positively with their peers and adults. Physical Development Play contributes to childrens fine and gross motor development and body awareness as they actively use their bodies. Creative Development Play and creativity are related because they both rely upon childrens ability to use symbols. The ability to engage in make believe is described as essential to childrens development for internal imagery, stimulating curiosity and experimenting with alternative responses to different situations. Socialization Practice both verbal and non verbal communication skills by negotiating roles, trying to gain access to ongoing play or appreciating the feelings of others.

Respond to their peers feelings while waiting their turn and sharing materials and experiences. Experiment with the roles of the people in their home, school and community by coming into contact with the needs and wishes of others. Experience others points of view by positively working through conflicts about space, materials or rules.

Approaches to Play
THEORETICAL APPROACHES Throughout the world children play, and this activity is such an important part of their lives that one is inclined to see it as the raison detre of childhood. A n d indeed, play is vital; it conditions the harmonious physical, intellectual and affective development of a child. A child w h o does not play is a sick child. A child w h o is prevented from playing will fall ill, physically and mentally. W a r and poverty, which compel an individual to concentrate solely o n survival and consequently m a k e it difficult or even impossible for him to indulge in play, ultimately have a crippling effect o n the h u m a n personality. Although the development of the child and childrens games and the overall need for play can be seen as a universal fact, play activities are none the less profoundly rooted in each individual people, whose cultural identity can be discerned through the games and toys it has invented. There is an infinite variety of play activities and Playthings, all bearing the stamp of their specific ethnic and social origin. Conditioned b y dwelling or subsistence patterns, curtailed or fostered by family, political and religious institutions, functioning as a veritable institution in their o w n right, childrens games and their history provide insights not only into societies as they are today, but into the past history of peoples as well. Each ethnic groups cultural capital is m a d e u p largely of its play heritage, which is enhanced by the contributions of successive generations but is also sometimes in danger of being distorted or even of dying out. Play is furthermore one of the most important of all educational activities and deserves acknowledgement of its rightful place in formal schooling, beyond the nursery school to which it is too often confined. For play provides the teacher not only with a w a y of improving his k n o w - ledge of the child, but also with a means of renewing his teaching methods. But bringing play into the classroom raises a great m a n y problems, particularly in view of the fact that there have so far been relatively few studies o n play, and those in existence have not c o m e u p with any general theory offering a response to the various questions involved. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES

In studying the development of play activities from birth to adolescence, reference will be made, on the one hand, to psychoanalytical theory, explaining play through the need to provide relief from drives and assigning it a primary role in the development of the ego; and on the other, to child psychologists w h o , since Piagets genetic psychology. have used play as a gauge of the maturation process and mental and affective development. These two theories are based on the postulate of the universal nature of mankind which would explain that the stages of development always follow one another in the same order; this concept of order is important, because it is universally applicable, whereas the ages at which the stages occur are unimportant, since they m a y vary not only from one culture to mother but also from individual to individual within the same culture. It will be seen, however, that the socio-economic context in which a child lives can have a considerable influence o n the relative importance of these different stages. Early childhood For a newborn baby and until the age of 3 months, play is confined to rocking or swaying movements reproducing the sensations experienced in the mothers w o m b . In societies in which infants are carried around virtually all the time, rocking movements are not really a game, for they correspond to the normal and permanent state of the child. At this stage, the child sees himself as an in dissociable whole and has not yet learnt to m a k e the distinction between his own body and the outside world. T h e African child, for example, w h o is carried around by his motherand fed o n demand is not systematically given a d u m m y , as is typical of the fust few months in the life of a European Figure 5: D u m m i e s exist in the Ivov Coast but are not very widely used, for babies child. Sucking gives the child his first inkling of the possible fragmentation of his body, and when the sucked object is not his finger, he is confronted with his first experience of what is in fact a pre-play object (initially through oral investigation only). Again it is in industrial societies, where babies are separated from their mothers at a very early age, that the mother will present her child with a toy that represents and replaces her and can be manipulated by the baby. This is the role of the rattle, which makes its appearance in the lives of children in industrial societies m u c h earlier than elsewhere. Primary school years While this accession to self-identity which passea through the discovery oE others does not efface the sensorimotor games of early childhoold, it becomes the predominant feature 3n what authors term variously M t ative, fictional or make-believe games. These games become all-important after the age of t w o or three. Childrens play can be seen as a dialectical balance between successive stages in identity-building and, at each stage, challenges to that identity, whence its fundamental role in the development of the ego, At this age the child constantly plays at make-believe; minute he is an animal, the shopkeeper or the doctor, the next he is himself but in a make-believe situation, like the little girl who said she played at $king asleep or crying.

Pre-adolescence During the following period, symbolic games, or at least those involving identification with an actual family model (mother or father) or a social model (hunter, schoolmistress, chief ...) tend to fade into the background. But fictional games,in which imagination plays a considerable part, continue to be extremely popular until the age of about twelve: pirates, cowboys and Indians, spacemen, film stars for girls, etc. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES Societies and their games In retracing the basic stages in the psychological development of the child as manifested through his games, one is aware time and again of close dependence on the environment; whichever way one looks at it, the childs play is directly linked to the social context. The mothers presence or premature absence, the family structure, the living and housing conditions, the environment and means of subsistence all have a direct bearing on play activities, which cannot develop w h e n children live in conditions too unfavorable. Play is a luxury, an implies leisure. The hungry do not play, writes Roger Caillois in the preface of Les jauc et les hommes3. For play cannot occur just anywhere, anytime, or anyhow. It comes about, writes Y.S. Toureh, in an environment which, without being altogether committed, is prepared to provide a dynamic setting that we may call a play context. Such a context is m a d e up of the following components: a. the actual space, qualified by its. Dimensions and I. b. the individual with his experiences, resources and c. pressure from outside; and d. adaptability to change . ETHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES For the ethnologist, play behaviour is as valid a subject for investigation and theorization as family relationships or table manners, and it is surprising that it has not been studied in greater depth. T h e reason m a y be that games are seen either as religious practices, to be studied as such, or as purely infantile, as yet non-formal and in a sense pre-cultural occupations. But in fact they form a substantial part of the activities of a section of the community and should on n o account be regarded as a random assortment of anecdotal elements. On the contrary, play is a complex structure, a coherent whole which must be studied in the same w a y as mythologies, and in which any artificially induced changes affect the whole and can have a profoundly disrupting effect on it. A s universal a g a m e as playing dolls, enjoyed b y little girls in nearly every society known to us, is far from being a meaningless pastime, or invariably the same. In this connection, the ethnologist P. Erny write 4: When a little African girls plays dolls, she is, to be sure, indulging in a specifically childlike occupation, fulfilling the same psychological functions as in the rest of the world; and yet in the eyes of the adult her g a m e is not

sheer recreation, but is recognized as having a meaning and an effective purpose of which the child is unaware to begin with but will discover little by little, sometimes in the course of a proper initiation. O n e might say that in these traditional societies there is no such thing as childish trivialities- Rae doll belongs to two worlds, the adults and the childs but in a very darken. way: the one it is treated with the obliviousness that make a game a game and in the other, the g a m e is watch, interpret, and speculated upon. PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES On the one hand, play activities and materials are the best w a y for a child to express himself and the best testimony by which the adult can attempt to understand him; and on the other, they can serve as a basis for the teaching methods and techniques which the adult wishes to devise for the child with whose education he has been entrusted.2 For it would seem only natural that play should have its place in the classroom. Nearly two thousand years ago, the R o m a n rhetorician Quintilian expressed the wish that learning be a game for the child. A n d yet despite the innovative theories advanced by Claparkde and subsequently by Decroly and Freinet, the role of play is far from being recognized by education authorities everywhere. For some adults are averse to childrens play and will even try to repress it, as though it were a waste of time and energy w h e n there are more urgent and serious things to do. This is the attitude of certain teachers, w h o are in a hurry for the child to reach the age of reason as quickly as possible, and some parents w h o regard their child as an investment that must bring in returns as soon as it can walk, talk and tell its left hand from the right, writes Y.S. Toureh, adding, this is true of parents living in poorer socioeconomic environments, in which the age for play is cut short or done away with altogether, SO as to turn the child into a miniature adult, expected to engage in subsistence activities before he has even really learnt to play.

History of Play
Play is present even in the times of the Ancient Greeks. There was an account in the History that Heraclitus said that the act of play was more virtuous than the act of governing. Plato and Aristotle contradicted this statement by saying that play and seriousness should be distinguished and that among the two, seriousness is more important. Also, Aristotle viewed play as mimesis or imitation. He also believes that childrens play and drama were very similar. During the Early Christian Church (347-407), St. Chrysostom stated that it is not God who gives us the right to play but the devil. At the time of The Enlightenment, John Locke (1632- 1704) believes that a childs mind is a tabula rasa or a blank slate and childrens play with toys

contributes to the learning. Another philosopher during this time emerged. He is Immanuel Kant (1724- 1804), who believes that adult play or imagination is what drives individuals to pursue knowledge. In the Romantic Period, the ideas of Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805), Johan Pestalozzi (1746-1827) and Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) about play have emerged. Schiller stated that seriousness and play can be reconciled (which is against Plato and Aristotles belief) and that play is the surplus energy that individuals use to explore creativity. Schiller was also the first to link play with creativity. Pestalozzi believes that children should learn by doing. Froebel was the inventor of kindergarten, building blocks and circle time. During the Scientific Era, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) updates Schillers surplus energy theory. G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924) developed the recapitulation theory which stated the purpose of play is to help individuals to overcome their uncivilized biological roots. Karl Groos (1861-1946) stated that the purpose of play is to prepare or practice the children for their adult lives. John Dewey (1859-1952) believes that play allows children to explore society and nature. Anthropological Aspects of Play Modern anthropologists now view play as universal and strikingly conspicuous human behavior that must be studied to reach the goal of understanding man and his culture. Physical anthropologists have concerned themselves with the play of nonhuman primates, giving attention to its bearing upon human behavior and the question of the evolutionary significance of play behavior. Cultural and social anthropologists look at play as culturally molded behavior and examine similarities and differences in its forms throughout the world. Although much variation exists in specific forms of play, all human societies are seen to be fundamentally alike in their play behavior. Greatest attention is now being given to the functional and dysfunctional significance of play in human life and the relationship of play to other elements of culture. Major subjects of current study are play and social control, play and social-psychological problems, play and communicationcognition, and play as related to a variety of other subjects including religion, law, economics, motivation toward achievement, politics, aggression, rolelearning, and creativity. Pedagogical Aspects of Play Education is what the child does in order to discover........it is not about pouring information into an empty vessel." David Attenborough, Enough Rope, ABC TV June 16th, 2008 Learning through play

"Children develop their self-concept through demonstrating competence. In their play they enjoy imagining, creating, constructing, and building and make believe. " "Children demonstrate a range of cognitive competencies and are constantly trying out comparisons by

analogous reasoning (it seems like this, or like that), hypothesizing and questioning, logical reasoning, and Understanding causal attribution.

Talking the problem through is often vital at this stage

some children will be synthesizers, others build understanding slowly and in segments, some will rely on leaps of insight, While others estimate and guess.

The match of effective scaffolding to the thinking and learning of the child is of vital importance. This includes

seeking to know the child through working with families, observing, questioning and Sharing information with previous educators to ensure that planning for the childs learning is tailored to individual and group interests and abilities."

"Learning experiences must allow children to use as many of their senses as possible, since it is through the sensory pathways that the brain interprets and creates its knowledge structures."

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PLAY

Psychology of play

Through play the child develops abstract meaning separate from the objects in the world, which is a critical feature in the development of higher mental functions. This is the Vygotsky s research on play as a psychological phenomenon and its role in the child's development. Vygotsky saw play as a moment where social rules were put into practice. For example, a child wants to ride a horse but cannot. If the child were under three, he would perhaps cry and be angry, but around the age of three the child's relationship with the world changes. As what Vygotsky said, "Henceforth play is such that the explanation for it must always be that it is the imaginary, illusory realization of unrealizable desires. Imagination is a new formation that is not present in the consciousness of the very raw young child, is totally absent in animals, and represents a specifically human form of conscious activity. Like all functions of consciousness, it originally arises from action." The child wishes to ride a horse but cannot, so he picks up a stick and stands astride of it, thus pretending he is riding a horse. A horse would behave as horse even though it was a stick. The stick is a pivot. According to Vygotsky, "Action according to rules begins to be determined by ideas, not by objects.... It is terribly difficult for a child to sever thought (the meaning of a word) from object. Play is a transitional stage in this direction. At that critical moment when a stick i.e., an object becomes a pivot for severing the meaning of horse from a real horse, one of the basic psychological structures determining the childs relationship to reality is radically altered". As children get older, their reliance on pivots such as sticks, dolls and other toys diminishes. They have internalized these pivots as imagination and abstract concepts through which they can understand the world. He said "The old adage that 'childrens play is imagination in action' can be reversed: we can say that imagination in adolescents and schoolchildren is play without action. Another aspect of play that Vygotsky referred to was the development of social rules that develop, for example, when children play house and adopt the roles of different family members. Vygotsky cites an example of two sisters playing at being sisters. Vygotsky believed that play contained all developmental levels in a condensed form. The rules of behavior between them that go unnoticed in daily life are consciously acquired through play. As well as social rules, the child acquires what we now refer to as self-regulation. For example, when a child stands at the starting line of a running race, she may well desire to run immediately so as to reach the finish line first, but her knowledge of the social rules surrounding the game and her desire to enjoy the game enable her to regulate her initial impulse and wait for the start signal. Therefore, to Vygotsky, play was akin to imagination where a child extends him or herself to the next level of his or her normal behavior, thereby creating a zone of proximal development. In essence, Vygotsky believed "play is the source of development."

THEORIES OF PLAY
* PSYCHOANALYTICAL The psychoanalytical theory of play is based on the work of Freud and has been revised and extended over the years by others. Freud(1958) viewed the role of play as an emotional release for children as they grew. Erikson(1963) believed that play helped children develop self-esteem and gain mastery of their thoughts, bodies, objects, and social behavior. According to this perspective, children use play as a way to react to their world and to learn to deal with the difficult situations they encounter as they mature. Through play, children gain power over the situations that frighten, confuse, or upset them. For example, while playing, a child might take the role of his teacher, parent, or social worker and act out, through play, perceptions of the adult's power. Over time, children begin to act out their fantasies about significant adults in their lives. Sometimes, in play, terrible things happen to the adults portrayed in their play. At other times, the portrayed adults begin to exhibit the behaviors things happen to the adults portrayed in their play. At other times, the portrayed adults begin to exhibit the behaviors children wish for. Therefore, through play, children are able to take charge of the events that frighten them behaviors children wish for. Therefore, through play, children are able to take charge of the events that frighten them and are able to reduce feelings of anxiety and helplessness (Levy, 1978). COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY Jean Piaget he proposes that children individually create their own knowledge about the world through their interactions. they practice using known information while consolidating new information and skills; test new ideas against their experiences; and construct knowledge about people, objects, and situations. Piagets Four Types of Play

Sensory-motor, or physical play or Functional play

Child repeats a physical activity, such as swinging its feet or throwing its head back, for the sheer enjoyment of doing it

Symbolic Play

Child mentally represents realities that are not present Piaget on Symbolic Play It is primarily affective conflicts that appear in symbolic play. If there is a scene at lunch, for example, one can be sure that an hour or two afterward it will be recreated with dolls and will be brought to a happier solution. If the child has been frightened by a dog, in a

symbolic game things will be arranged so that dogs will no longer be mean or children will become brave.

Games of Construction

Involve accidental learning emerging from symbolic play Initially imbued with play symbolism but tend later to constitute genuine adaptations or solutions to problems and intelligent creations Piaget, 1962

Games with Rules

Involve two or more players Rules may be completely arbitrary Board Games Card Games Sports

Lev Vygotsky He emphasizes the centrality of the social context as primarily influencing cognitive development. Vygotsky observes In a play, a child behaves beyond his average, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself (Vygostky, 1978) Bruner and Sutton-Smith Interpret play as flexible thinking and creative problem solving in action. Because children focus on the process of play, they engage in multiple combinations of ideas and solutions that they use to solve relevant life problems. MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY Lawrence Kohlberg he expanded on Piagets studies of moral development by making moral dilemmas that could be appropriate for older children. Thus in 1963, he developed the description of the three levels and six stages of moral reasoning:

LEVEL I- PRECONVENTIONAL MORALITY(0-9 years)

young children do not really understand the conventions or rules of a society. STAGE 1: PUNISHMENT-OBEDIENCE ORIENTATION(toddler to 7) STAGE 2: INSTRUMENTAL RELATITIVIST ORIENTATION (preschool to school age)

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL MORALITY(9-20 years)

Conform to the convention of society because they are rules of a society. STAGE 3: GOOD BOY-NICE GIRL ORIENTATION STAGE 4: LAW AND ORDER ORIENTATION

LEVEL 3: POSTCONVENTIONAL MORALITY(after age 20)

the moral principles that underlie the conventions of a society are understand. STAGE 5: SOCIAL CONTRACT ORIENTATION STAGE 6: UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPE ORIENTATION ECOLOGICAL Theory Lets define first the term ecological/Ecology. Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between humans and their environment. The Perspective of this theoretical framework is that context or environment surrounding individual interactions and experiences determines the degree to which individuals can develop their abilities and realize their potential, cultural ecological frameworks of behavior and development stress the importance of 3 interacting layers of environmental influence on play; (1) physical and social aspects of childrens immediate setting; (2) historical influences that affect the way adults (and children) conceptualize play for subgroups of children. Therefore, the potential of play to support the learning and development of any child determined by the context in which that child plays. Contexts for play as well as for any other interactions are extremely complex and are influenced by many variables. Ecological researchers focus on understanding what influences the way children play and how play influences the way children learn. They study different contexts in which children play (e.g., at home, in schools, in centers, and on public playgrounds) and the different systems that influence play (e.g., culture of the family, philosophy of the school or center, culture of the community and political climate.) The ecological theory defines four types of systems which contain roles, norms and rules that shape development. The systems include a microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. The microsystem is the family, classroom, or systems in the immediate environment in which a person is operating. The mesosystem is two Microsystems interacting, such as the connection between a childs home and school. The exosystem is an environment in which an individual is indirectly involved and is external to his experience, yet it affects him anyway i.e. a childs parents workplace. The macrosystem is the larger cultural context. By creating these systems, Bronfenbrenner was the leader in introducing researchers into examining the family, economy, and political structures as influencing the development of a child into adulthood and determine how the interactions between contexts and systems affect the growth and development of children.

UNIT 11: DEVELOPMENTA L SEQUENCE OF PLAY ACTIVITIES

In play, children expand their understanding of themselves and others, their knowledge of the physical world, and their ability to communicate with peers and adults. This digest discusses children's play and its relationship to developmental growth from infancy to middle childhood. The digest also

suggests ways in which educators and other adults can support children's play. Sensorimotor Play In what Piaget (1962) aptly described as sensorimotor practice play, infants and toddlers experiment with bodily sensation and motor movements, and with objects and people. By 6 months of age, infants have developed simple but consistent action schemes through trial and error and much practice. Infants use action schemes, such as pushing and grasping, to make interesting things happen. An infant will push a ball and make it roll in order to experience the sensation and pleasure of movement. As children master new motor abilities, simple schemes are coordinated to create more complex play sequences. Older infants will push a ball, crawl after it, and retrieve it. When infants of 9 months are given an array of objects, they apply the same limited actions to all objects and see how they react. By pushing various objects, an infant learns that a ball rolls away, a bile spins, and a rattle makes noise. At about 12 months, objects bring forth more specific and differentiated actions. At this age, children will throw or kick a ball, but will shake rattles. In a toddler's second year, there is growing awareness of the functions of objects in the social world. The toddler puts a cup on a saucer and a spoon in her mouth. During the last half of this year, toddlers begin to represent their world symbolically as they transform and invent objects and roles. They may stir an imaginary drink and offer it to someone (Bergen, 1988). Adults initiate and support such play. They may push a baby on a swing or cheer its first awkward steps. Children's responses regulate the adult's actions. If the swing is pushed too high, a child's cries will guide the adult toward a gentler approach. In interactions with adults such as peekaboo, children learn to take turns, act with others, and engage others in play. Pretend Play As children develop the ability to represent experience symbolically, pretend play becomes a prominent activity. In this complex type of play, children carry out action plans, take on roles, and transform objects as they express their ideas and feelings about the social world (Garvey, 1984). Action plans are blueprints for the ways in which actions and events are related and sequenced. Family-related themes in action plans are popular with young children, as are action plans for treating and healing and for averting threats. Roles are identities children assume in play. Some roles are functional: necessary for a certain theme. For example, taking a trip requires passengers and a driver. Family roles such as mother, father and baby are popular, and are integrated into elaborate play with themes related to familiar home activities. Children also assume stereotyped character roles

drawn from the larger culture, such as nurse, and fictional character roles drawn from books and television, such as He-Man. Play related to these roles tends to be more predictable and restricted than play related to direct experiences such as family life (Garvey, 1984). As sociodramatic play emerges, objects begin to influence the roles children assume. For example, household implements trigger family-related roles and action plans, but capes stimulate superhero play. Perceptually bound younger children may be aided by the provision of realistic objects (Fein, 1981). Even three-year-olds can invent and transform objects to conform to plans. By the age of four or five, children's ideas about the social world initiate most pretend play. While some pretend play is solitary or shared with adults, preschoolers' pretend or sociodramatic play is often shared with peers in the school or neighborhood. To implement and maintain pretend play episodes, a great deal of shared meaning must be negotiated among children. Play procedures may be talked about explicitly, or signaled subtly in roleappropriate action or dialogue. Players often make rule-like statements to guide behavior ("You have to finish your dinner, baby"). Potential conflicts are negotiated. Though meanings in play often reflect real world behavior, they also incorporate children's interpretations and wishes. The child in a role who orders a steak and piece of candy from a pretend menu is not directly copying anything he has seen before. Construction play with symbolic themes is also popular with preschoolers, who use blocks and miniature cars and people to create model situations related to their experience. A kind of play with motion, rough and tumble play, is popular in preschool years. In this play, groups of children run, jump, and wrestle. Action patterns call for these behaviors to be performed at a high pitch. Adults may worry that such play will become aggressive, and they should probably monitor it. Children who participate in this play become skilled in their movements, distinguish between real and feigned aggression, and learn to regulate each other's activity (Garvey, 1984). Games With Rules Children become interested in formal games with peers by age five or younger. Older children's more logical and socialized ways of thinking make it possible for them to play games together. Games with rules are the most prominent form of play during middle childhood (Piaget, 1962). The main organizing element in game play consists of explicit rules which guide children's group behavior. Game play is very organized in comparison to sociodramatic play. Games usually involve two or more sides, competition, and agreed-upon criteria for determining a winner. Children use games flexibly to meet social and intellectual needs. For example, choosing sides may affirm friendship and a pecking order. Games provide children with shared activities and goals. Children often negotiate rules in order to create the game they wish to play (King, 1986). They can learn reasoning strategies

and skills from strategy games like checkers. In these games, children must consider at the same time both offensive alternatives and the need for defense. Many card games encourage awareness of mathematics and of the psychology of opponents. Such games can be intellectually motivating parts of pre- and primary school curriculum (Kamii & DeVries, 1980, Kamii, 1985). Smilanskys Stage of Play Functional Play: The child enjoys repetitive play with objects and gains motor and practice skills. Good examples are dumping, filling, stacking, water play, and outdoors play. Functional play characterizes infants and toddlers and at age 3 constitutes 50% of a child's play. Although functional play decreases as a child grows older, it remains important. Functional play can be either solitary or parallel (another child is involved in a similar activity at the same time.) Children experience enjoyment, develop motor skills, and achieve mastery through functional play. Constructive Play: The child creates or makes something and solves problems. Examples are building with blocks, playing with arts, crafts and puppets and doingpuzzles. Approximately 50% of all activity for 4, 5 and 6 year olds is constructive play, and this type of play continues to be important through the primary grades. Children can play constructively alone as well as with others. This type of play develops thinking and reasoning skills, problem solving, and creativity. Pretend Play: Through pretend play, children transform themselves, others, and objects from real into make-believe. Pretend play can be both a solitary and a group activity. It reaches its highest level at pre-school and kindergarten age and becomes less important as a child grows older. Pretend play helps children process emotions and events in their lives, practice social skills, learn values, develop language skills, and create a rich imagination. Games with Rules Play: This play involves pre-set rules such as board games, ball games, chanting, and skipping games. This type of play becomes dominant as children reach school age. Through this type of play children learn and practice cooperation, mutual understanding, and logical thinking. Partens model Stages of play is a theory and classification of children's participation in play developed by Mildred Parten in 1932.[1] Parten observed American preschool age (ages 2 to 5) children at free play (defined as anything unrelated to survival, production or profit). Parten recognized six different types of play: Unoccupied (play) when the child is not playing, just observing. A child may be standing in one spot or performing random movements Solitary (independent) play when the child is alone and maintains this status by being focused on its activity. Such a child is uninterested in or is

unaware of what others are doing. More common in younger children (age 2 3) as opposed to older ones. Onlooker play (behavior) when the child watches others at play but does not engage in it. The child may engage in forms of social interaction, such as conversation about the play, without actually joining in the activity. This type of activity is also more common in younger children. Parallel play (adjacent play, social coaction) when the child plays separately from others but close to them and mimicking their actions.[2][3] This type of play is seen as a transitory stage from a socially immature solitary and onlooker type of play, to a more socially mature associative and cooperative type of play. Associative play when the child is interested in the people playing but not in the activity they are doing, or when there is no organized activity at all. There is a substantial amount of interaction involved, but the activities are not coordinated. Cooperative play when a child is interested both in the people playing and in the activity they are doing. In cooperative play, the activity is organized, and participants have assigned roles. There is also increased selfidentification with a group, and a group identity may emerge. Relatively uncommon in the preschool years because it requires the most social maturity and more advanced organization skills. An example would be a game of freeze tag. According to Parten, as children became older, improving their communication skills, and as opportunities for peer interaction become more common, the nonsocial (solitary and parallel) types of play become less common, and the social (associative and cooperative) types of play become more common. Parten's Play Stages Working in the 1930s, researcher Mildred Parten grouped play into six categories and determined that childrens play styles mirror their social development. These stages are identified as: 1. Unoccupied -- Not engaged in play. 2. Solitary (Independent) -- Playing separately from others, with no reference to what others are doing 3. Onlooker -- Watching others play. May engage in conversation but not engaged in doing. True focus on the children at play. 4. Parallel -- Playing with similar objects, clearly beside others but not with them. (Near but not with others. 5. Associative Play -- Playing with others without organization of play activity. Initiating or responding to interaction with peers.

6. Cooperative Play -- Coordinating ones behavior with that of a peer. Everyone has a role, with the emergence of a sense of belonging to a group. Beginning of "team work

UNIT III: CHILDRENS AFFAIR-PLAY

Values of Play
Physical Play Children develop in a holistic manner. Physical development should be seen as being important in young childrens development as intellectual development. Research has shown that physical activity in young children can enhance concentration, motivation, learning and well-being. Generally, our lives have become more inactive and our children have less opportunity for physical activity each day. The reasons for our increased inactivity include: Excessive television viewing fewer family members to play with fewer safe

outside

play

areas

Preschools can provide many opportunities for physical play to promote ne and gross motor skills and hand / eye coordination. Children enjoy physical play, indoors and outdoors. They revel in freedom of movement and in play that is inventive, adventurous and stimulating. Children also learn social skills as they cooperate with one another and show consideration for one another. Large Muscle Development gross motor and locomotor skills Walk forwards, backwards and sideways Walk on tip-toes (balance) Running, stopping and starting Climb up steps or a ladder with one foot leading Pivot around and around on feet Jump up and down on the spot on both feet Jump a distance Balance along a plank 18cms from the ground Balance on one leg for 4 seconds Crawl through a barrel or tunnel

These basic activities develop body management, balance, bodily coordination, strength, agility and condence.

Mental Play

-Children gain knowledge through their play. They exercise their abilities to think, remember, and solve problems. They develop cognitively as they have a chance to test their beliefs about the world. -Children increase their problem-solving abilities through games and puzzles. Children involved in make-believe play can stimulate several types of learning. Language is strengthened as the children model others and organize their thoughts to communicate. Children playing house create elaborate narratives concerning their roles and the nature of daily living. -Children also increase their understanding of size, shape, and texture through play. They begin to understand relationships as they try to put a square object in a round opening or a large object in a small space. Books, videos, and educational toys that show pictures and matching words also increase a child's vocabulary while increasing the child's concept of the world.

distinguishes between reality and fantasy encourages creative thought and allows problem solving encourages thinking and planning develop memory, perceptual skills and concept formation learns to try on other roles acquires knowledge and integrates learning learns communication skills develops listening and oral language skills

curiosity

Social Play Starting elementary school is a big step for children: now they are in "big kids' school." And while the majority has little trouble adjusting, kindergarten can be disorienting at first. Even children who have been in day care or preschool, or who have older siblings at the school, may feel a bit apprehensive. It's a new building, a new teacher, and a new set of classmates, after all, so it does take time for kids to get comfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings. Here is what you can expect in terms of your child's social development: She feels more secure. Separation anxiety crying and clinging to parents at drop off time isn't usually an issue. (Children with a history of transition problems can b an exception, however.) Generally, it's the parents who have trouble at the door! Educators and others advise mom and dad not to linger.

New friendships develop slowly. Even though kindergarteners love to play, they take their time letting new kids in. Kindergarten teachers look for opportunities for students to get to know each other better. Seating at tables is by design, as it forces children to interact and share more. Teachers periodically change the seating arrangement too. Playing with more than one child at a time is still tricky at this age. Playing in pairs tends to be less complicated: when two play house, for example, the decision-making is easy one child pretends to be the mommy and the other is the baby. Social skills are tested. Whether your child is a social butterfly or more reserved, bear in mind that kindergarteners are rookies at navigating the social terrain. Remember too that boys and girls don't develop socially in the same way or at the same speed. Girls mature faster and respond better to reason than 5-year-old boys do. In addition, boys learn in a more physical way. Self-control is a challenge. There are lots of new rules and routines for kindergarteners to manage, and teachers spend a lot of time going over appropriate behavior. Maturity wins out. The second half of kindergarten is vastly different from the first. By January, students have learned what is expected and are comfortable with the routine. Academically, they start putting it together too. Many teachers say that when children come back after December break, it's like having a whole new class.

Emotional Children who are anxious may be helped by role playing. Role playing is a way of coping with emotional conflict. Children may escape through play into a fantasy world in order to make sense out of the real one. Also, a child's self-awareness deepens as he explores an event through role-playing or symbolic play. When a parent or sibling plays a board game with a child, shares a bike ride, plays baseball, or reads a story, the child learns self-importance. The child's self-esteem gets a boost. Parents send positive messages to their child when they communicate pleasure in providing him or her with daily care. From these early interactions, children develop a vision of the world and gain a sense of their place in it. Moral Play

Moral values play dominant role in molding the attitude and approaches of children into their life. Therefore, implanting values in the minds of the children is vital and it is easily possible if told through stories interestingly and attractively.

Types of Play
Expository All under threes enjoy exploratory play. They base their decisions on whether something looks interesting and has potential for exploration. In exploratory play, children are finding out about objects, their properties, what happens when you do things to them, what they can represent, how they can be used creatively and how they work. Nurturing your babys curiosity and love of learning. There are no rules, just guidelines for encouraging your babys curiosity and love of learning. Elinor Goldschmied observed the exploratory play of some babies and toddlers in their own homes and others in English and Italian day nurseries. She noticed how children's learning was supported by a wide range of play materials and the opportunity to explore in the child's preferred way. She called this kind of play 'heuristic', from the Greek word eurisko, meaning 'serves to discover' or 'gain an understanding of'. In order to encourage adults to let young children play in this way, she then developed two kinds of resource: The treasure basket for babies and young toddlers. The special heuristic play session for older toddlers and young children in day nurseries and children's centres. What stage is your baby at? Watching you, reaching out and exploring the world around him? Your baby is at stage 1: At first, your baby will use his eyes and mouth to explore the world. As he starts to wave his arms and legs, hes also learning to make things happen e.g. how to jiggle his mobile. Rattles and squeaky toys will stimulate your babys senses. Gradually, hell learn to reach for them. Babies practice grasping objects by putting their hands together and their fingers in their mouths. Look out for these signs - and dont be alarmed if everything goes in babys mouth. Its normal! Just make sure its clean and not small enough to be swallowed. Discovering, dropping objects and delighting in you picking them up? Your baby is at stage 2: At stage 2, your baby will be able to grasp, chew, squeeze and hit objects. He

may reach for toys, pick up small objects by raking them with his fingers and pass objects from hand to hand. He may put small toys in a box and take them out again, and delight in dropping and finding objects. By handing items back and letting him repeat the action, youll help him start to understand ideas such as gravity and consequences. You can also introduce concepts such as teddy is soft and ball is gone Building, sorting and completing simple puzzles? Your baby is at stage 3: At this stage, your baby will be more curious about the way things work and how theyre put together. He is likely to be drawn to constructive forms of play e.g. building with blocks, completing puzzles, and to moving toys (e.g. wheeled toys) or those that make musical sounds. He may start using words to tell you what he is doing. It will also become clear whether hes happy to play with toys alone or wants you to join in. Either way, enjoy watching and getting involved. Group Play -A small informal nursery group meeting for half- day sessions. - An organized group providing children care and socialization for children under five. Activities at play group play are either free or low cost, and may include: Music and Singing Imaginative play Outdoor and free play Art and craft activities Outings, Group play can be held anywhere that is safe for children and where groups of people can meet. Group Play can be held in: community neighborhood centers preschools kindergartens church halls someone's house

Children like group play because they can: Participate in new experiences Develop and increase their social skills Learn sharing, cooperation and simple routines Enjoy learning more about their world

All children from 0-5 including babies, love new experiences and benefit from developing sensory on skills through activities at group play. Dramatic When children pretend to be something or someone else and make-up situations and actions that go along with the role they choose. When Children engage in dramatic play they deepen their understanding of the world and develop their skills that will serve them throughout their life. Benefits of Dramatic Play
Provides opportunities to combine spoken language with imagination,

to imitate and to pretend to be someone or something else.

It stimulates all areas of child's growth and can in turn affect the child's

success in school.
Also, dramatic play show that it enables children to be more flexible

into new situations

Mother Games

Are games commonly played by children, usually using native materials or instruments. In the Philippines, due to limited resources of toys of Filipino children, they usually come up on inventing games without the need of anything but the players themselves. With the flexibility of a real human to think and act makes the game more interesting and challenging. A few decades ago, kids used to gather in the streets or in their neighborhood playground to play their favorite Larong Pinoy games like piko, patintero, taguan, tumbang preso, siato, luksong tinik, etc. These has been their regular and popular pastimes, as well as the favorite games of their parents and grandparents until new and modern forms of entertainment has taken over the interests of young kids.

Major studies of games pointed out those traditional games are shared communally within Philippine context. The same situation exists in neighboring countries, specially Indonesia. It is also commonly known that games play an important part in the learning process of the child. This educational influence of games on the physical, mental, and moral vitality of a child is a factor why games in the country are still being practiced and observed by the general public. In this connection, the family plays a very important role in the transmission of traditional games on to their children. The family, specifically the parents, reinforce the child's learning process. Psychologically, it helps the child in building up himself to use all possibilities that will make him grow normal. Lopez also observed that the normal child's natural interests lead him to different types of games at different periods of his development. The family is a social agent that builds the development of each member of the household. As traditionally practiced in the Philippines and the neighboring countries, children learn from their parents. It is the obligation of the parents to help their children learn social customs, standards and values of his culture. This system is also shared by other members of the family, relatives, and, by and large, the members of the community, speeding up the learning process of any child. Also, with this frame of attitude, preservation of tradition is enhanced, and the children benefit from it. It is in this process that whatever they learned is right away integrated into their consciousness. Piko is the Philippine variation of the game. The players stand behind the edge of a box, and each should throw their cue ball. The first to play is determined depending on the players' agreement (e.g. nearest to the moon, wings or chest). Whoever succeeds in throwing the cue ball nearest to the place that they have agreed upon will play first. The next nearest is second, and so on. Chinese Garter Two people hold both ends of a stretched garter horizontally while the others attempt to cross over it. The goal is to cross without having tripped on the garter. With each round, the garter's height is made higher than the previous round (the game starts with the garter at ankle-level, followed by knee-level, until the garter is positioned above the head). The higher rounds demand dexterity, and the players generally leap with their feet first in the air, so their feet cross over the garter, and they end up landing on the other side. Also, with the higher levels, doing cartwheels to "cross" the garter is allowed. Holen You should hold the ball called holen in your hand then throw it to hit the

players ball out of the playing area. Holen is called marble here in USA. It is played a more precise way by tucking the marble with your 3rd finger, the thumb under the marble, the fourth finger used as to stable the marble. You aim at grouped marbles inside a circle and flick the marble from your fingers and anything you hit out of the circle is yours. Who ever got the most marbles win the game. You can also win the game by eliminating your opponent by aiming and hitting his marble. You have to be sharp shooter to be a winner. Jack 'n' Poy This is the local version of Rock-paper-scissors. Though the spelling seems American in influence, the game is really Japanese in origin (janken) with the lyrics in the Japanese version sounding very similar to the "gibberish" sung in the Philippines. Pitik-Bulag This game involves 2 players. One covers his eyes with a hand while the other flicks a finger (pitik) over the hand covering the eyes. The person with the covered eyes gives a number with his hand the same time the other does. If their numbers are the same, then they exchange roles in the game Neighborhood Games Remember when you were a child, and everyone in your neighborhood would gather for a rousing game of kickball or hide and seek? When the dog days of summer get boring, get outside and get everyone in the neighborhood involved with one of these favorite childhood games. Neighborhood Games are games which you play with your neighbors in the streets. It is also called as Group Game

Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. The word "Amuse" is so named from the opposite of "Muse" -to learn or to think. Playground is the natural arena of optimal physical development and the ideal environment to promote physical fitness. On the play ground all motor skills are called into play. playgrounds and amusement parks are the best example

Child Directed Play (CDP) is one-to-one play interaction between a parent and (one) child in which the child is helped to direct and lead the play in any way the child wishes, unless there is harmful or destructive activity. Recommended Age of Child: Primarily for children ages 2-5, although variations of the procedures described below can be used with children from ages 6-10. Objectives of CDP (in order of importance) To enhance childs sense of self-direction and self-confidence. To increase opportunities for the childs access to focused parental attention without having to rely on negative or provocative behavior to do so. To strengthen and enhance the parent-child relationship. To help the parent practice specific child rearing skills such as imitation, praising, giving and withholding attention for selected child behaviors. Procedures Dos: 1. Follow the child: Locate your self physically close to child and, within reason, move where the child moves. Watch the childs play activity closely. 2. Describe play actions: Provide verbal descriptions of some of the childs specific play activities with toy materials (e.g. There goes the car over the bridge, You put the blue block on top!). You dont have to describe everything;occasional descriptions are best! 3. Imitate (or copy) some of the things that your child does: With toy materials (e.g. repeating something your child has done with blocks). Verbally repeating, with some elaboration, what your child has just said (e.g. if your child says, Theres the bus, you could say, Yes, there goes the long, yellow bus up the hill. This is a good way to increase a young childs vocabulary without directly teaching). 4. Praise appropriate behavior occasionally: Praise behavior specifically (Youre really being careful with those blocks rather than just saying Good job). You can praise what your child does (Youre a good tower builder) and how they do it (Youre stacking those blocks so carefully and quietly).

 Dont praise too much, just occasionally. Excessive parental praising during CDP can take away from the childs direction of the activity. DONTS: 1. No commands regarding behavior or toys (e.g. Lets play with the house, Dont get out the blocks yet). 2. Do not change direction of the play. Your child should decide the direction of the play. Refrain from giving the child your play ideas. 3. No teaching: CDP should not be a time to quiz your child about her/his knowledge. Allow your child to play with toys in any manner that is not harmful. Remember, there is no one right way to play with a toy. 4. No or few questions Questions are a subtle way of taking control or teaching (Dont you want to build a tower? Is that a tower? What color is that block?). Asking a lot of questions can set up a power struggle (e.g. your child may deliberately not answer). Handling Misbehavior During CDP: 1. In the event of destructive, physically aggressive, harmful behavior (hitting, running away, breaking valuable items), stop CDP, briefly explain why, and walk away or handle as you normally would. 2. In the event of annoying behavior (arguing, whining, complaining, bossiness, rudeness, crying, wound-up behavior): Stop interacting with child; turn away if behavior continues. Begin interacting only when behavior stops. Praise the opposite of the annoying behavior when it eventually occurs (e.g. if child was playing roughly, praise careful play when it is observed). If waiting out or ignoring the childs annoying behavior for two or three minutes doesnt work, then stop CDP as in step 1. Implementing Childs Game at Home Time: 1. Ten-15 minutes. You may want to set a definite ending time that the child is told about. Give child a warning when only a minute or two of CDP is left (We can play for two more minutes, and then I have to stop.). 2. Do CDP about three to seven times per week, about the same time each day (if possible). 3. Establish a time that doesnt compete with childs favorite activity, playing with friends or favorite television show. 4. Set up a time which can be undisturbed (when other children are asleep, other parent can prevent interruptions). Types of Toys: 1. Toys that the child already knows how to use (does not need to be taught). 2. Blocks, cars and trucks, dolls, Fisher-Price toys, kitchen toys, puzzles, and

coloring activities all tend to work well. 3. No competitive games (can get into winning and losing, follow rules, power struggles). 4. No books if the child is not yet able to read (parental reading doesnt let child take the lead). Setting: 1. Pick an undisturbed quiet area (no television, other children, people, pets). How to present CDP to your child: 1. Explain that it is your childs special time (e.g. I will play only withyou.). 2. Children should be told of the time limit, if there is one (Well play until the timer goes off.). 3. Child is given the choice of toys or what to play (You can pick any of these toys.). 4. If child says no to your suggestion of CDP, dont argue or push. Offer again the next day. Do not agree to do it only when your child demands that you do it. Make-Believe Play In make-believe play, children learn to cope with their feelings. It also enhances school-readiness skills in children. It can significally strengthen children's skills for succeeding in school. Kids naturally like to play make-believe. Studies have now shown how imaginative playing may be used to prepare kids for school.

UNIT IV: EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT IN THE FACILITATION OF PLAY

The characteristics of play

Play is child-chosen. Play is child-invented. Play is pretend but done as if the activity were real. Play focuses on the doing (process, not product). Play is done by the players (children), not the adults (caregivers, teachers, or parents). Play requires active involvement.

Play in Childs Educational Pycho-Theraphy

The most natural way of engaging in a meaningful way with children is through play. This is why psychotherapy with children can only be achieved through play. It is used to assist the child in coping with emotional stress or trauma. Play Therapy is a specific counseling approach in which games, toys and mediums such as clay, drawings and paint are used to help a child or adolescent to express their emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs. It helps them to understand muddled feelings and upsetting events that they have not had the chance or the skills to sort out properly. Rather than having to explain what is troubling them, as adult therapy usually expects, children use play to communicate at their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened. Play Therapy is a form of counseling or psychotherapy that uses play to communicate with and help people, especially children, to prevent or resolve psychosocial challenges. This is thought to help them towards better social integration, growth and development. Play Therapy can also be used as a tool of diagnosis. A play therapist observes a client playing with toys (play-houses, pets, dolls, etc.) to determine the cause of the disturbed behavior. The objects and patterns of play, as well as the willingness to interact with the therapist, can be used to understand the underlying rationale for behavior both inside and outside the session.. According to the psychodynamic view, people (especially children) will engage in play behavior in order to work through their interior obfuscations and anxieties. In this way, play therapy can be used as a self-help mechanism, as long as children are allowed time for "free play" or "unstructured play." Normal play is an essential component of healthy child development. One approach to treatment is for play therapists use a type of desensitization or

relearning therapy to change disturbing behavior, either systematically or in less formal social settings. These processes are normally used with children, but are also applied with other pre-verbal, non-verbal, or verbally-impaired persons, such as slow-learners, or brain-injured or drug-affected persons.

The Role of Adults in Children's Play

Bennett, Wood and Rogers (1997) questioned the view that exploring and discovering leads to learning. They argued that children needed adults help to make sense of their discoveries and to make links and connections between new discoveries and their existing knowledge. Repetitive play can also be a dilemma, in that adults are uncertain about when, or indeed whether, they should intervene to move the child on. This uncertainty is linked with a particular view of the child as a learner, and also of the role of adults in children's play. The belief that children cannot fail during play was also challenged by Bennett et al.'s study, as instances were observed of children being unable to pursue their goals during play because they lacked specific skills or knowledge. Those participating in the study re-evaluated the adult's role during play. As regards role-play, the teachers held the view that this is the child's world and, therefore, felt uncomfortable about intervening unless invited to do so by the children. Most teachers intervened in other sorts of play, particularly to support children's language or skills development. It was also evident in the Bennett et al. study that, on occasions, the teacher's intentions for the play activity were not well-matched or appropriate for the children. This could be either because the children had already achieved the learning intention, or because, while the play activity elicited a set of behaviors from the children, it did not seem to extend or develop their learning. Children's intentions during a play activity were sometimes at odds with those of the teacher, and this was problematic for the teachers. In one instance, children played dogs and babies, despite the fact that the teacher had set up the imaginative role-play area to encourage and facilitate play around the theme of birthday parties. In another setting, children played burglars and guard dogs in the class shop (Bennett et al., 1997:73). Bennett et al.'s research does not suggest that play is not valuable, nor that early years settings should introduce formal teaching. It does, however, encourage practitioners to look more closely at the actual play experiences of children, and acts as a catalyst for developing our thinking about how we should be planning for play, and about the role of adults in children's play.

Factors likely facilitate play

1. The teacher should avoid dominating the play. 2. The teacher should encourages divergence of idea. 3. A rich background of actual life experience is fundamental to developing creative play.

4. Equipment plays an important role in facilitating play. The teacher should provide equipment. 5. Play area should be attractive.

Special activities to encourage creativity

Childhood is a time to be cherished. Through play and creative activities, as future educators of preschoolers we need to allow each child to discover and explore the exciting world. *Creative play is very important for toddlers development. Encourage your toddler by allowing plenty of time for free-flowing creative activities. Its also good to give positive attention and praise your toddlers creativity.* Learning Through Play Much of children's learning is accomplished whilst they are engaged in active play. Kids experiment with spatial issues, logic, creativity, language development, and social interaction when they play, and each encounter adds to their knowledge. Parents can help by providing ample time for free play, with some time set aside for more structured activities. Playgroups and classes can help kids to develop physically, cognitively, and socially, making them valuable childhood experiences. Kids learn a lot from one another, from discovering new ways to play with toys, new games, and even how to work out disagreements when they arise (and they will!). Imaginative play Play that is imaginative and creative will help the toddler to use their mind to find solutions to problems. One of the most important parts of imaginative play is for the child to pretend to be someone else or in different situations. This type of play helps promote a toddler's learning through using role play to develop their imagination. Children this age beginning to pretend in their play for example at age 2 or 3 or 4 a broom may become a horse, or a block may become a train. Imaginative play, through building towers out of bocks, talking to and feeding their dolls, making tea with the tea set and dressing in grown-up clothes is important and should never be classed as trivial. Neither should soft toys or dolls be rejected as inappropriate for any age of either sex. Example: making binoculars using cardboard, cartons or other recycled materials.. How to encourage your toddlers creative play Its important for toddlers to feel they can do their own thing when it comes to creative play. With creative play, theres no right and wrong in creating,

building, singing, acting and so on. For toddlers, the process of creating is the most important thing. You dont always need to give your child brand new play materials. Using everyday objects, and making it up as you go along, is a great way to encourage creative development. Your child might need some help with cutting, pasting and gluing. Being creative can be a great way to help your child learn these skills.

Use empty toilet rolls or small plastic juice bottles to make a family. Draw on faces, stick on paper clothes, and use cotton wool for hair. When youve finished making the family, your child could use these new toys to make up stories. In autumn, collect fallen leaves for your child to draw, paste onto paper, or dip into paint. Use small plastic lids, patty pan cases and other threadables with your child to make jewellery.

Home-made dolls house

Get a very large cardboard box about the size that a new TV or computer comes in. Cut out some windows and doors. Let your toddler draw on bricks, window frames and doors. Your child could also stick on other decorations (you might need to help).

Home-made binoculars

Glue or tape two toilet rolls together. Use a hole punch to attach a strap. Head out to the park or back yard and look for birds!

Dramatic play Toddlers love dramatic play. They often enjoy games about very familiar things they see as part of everyday life. You could try patting the baby off to sleep, playing dress-ups, and getting your handbags ready to go shopping. Music play Music, drama and dance can all be combined in music play. As with all creative and artistic activities at this age, the process is what counts. Its also important to keep things simple.

Let your child play, make noise and create music with home-made and bought instruments. Choose rattles and bells that are safe and comfortable for your child to play. Too many sounds can be confusing.

Try to match your childs pitch when singing songs. Your child probably wont sing in tune or time with you, but thats OK. Music and melody skills develop slowly. Provide your child with simple props such as scarves, hankies, hats, puppets and instruments to use in musical activities. Introduce humorous, active songs for your child to enjoy for example, Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Dr Knickerbocker and This Old Man. A simple, repeated, rhythmical action such as clapping, patting, pointing or swinging encourages and supports singing. Or you can try songs that involve clapping, such as Pat-a-cake and If Youre happy and You Know It. Sing songs about animals, events, stories or people to your child for example, Five Little Ducks, Michael Finnegan, Train is a-Coming. Name the instruments youre using and talk about the differences in sound and how they are played. Encourage your child to listen to your singing or whats going on the music. This helps develop skills in imitating voices and sounds (animals, birds, machines and so on). Toddlers are not too young to try some art appreciation. Whether its music or pictures, you can encourage them to talk about what they like and which is their favourite part.

Playgrounds for children

A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors. Modern playgrounds often have recreational bars, overhead which help flexibility, equipment such as

the seesaw, merry-go-round, swingset, slide, jungle bars, sandbox, spring playhouses, coordination, rider, monkey many of and and mazes, children as

gym, chin-up ladder, trapeze rings, develop well physical as

strength,

providingrecreation and enjoyment. Common in modern playgrounds are play structures that link many different pieces of equipment. Playgrounds often also have facilities for playing informal games of adult sports, such as a baseball diamond, a skating arena, a basketball court, or a tether ball. Public playground equipment refers to equipment intended for use in the play areas of parks, schools, child care facilities, institutions, multiple family

dwellings, restaurants, resorts, and recreational developments, and other areas of public use. History Playgrounds originated in Germany. They were created as organized and instructional play areas for the use of teaching children the proper ways to play. Over time, organized playing areas have been adopted by other countries of the world and have become commonplace. The widespread adoption of playgrounds led to the Germanisation of some aspects of childhood development. Recognizing the need for playgrounds, former President Theodore

Roosevelt stated in 1907 that since play is a fundamental need, playgrounds should be provided for every child as much as schools. This means that they must be distributed over the cities in such a way as to be within walking distance of every boy and girl, as most children can not afford to pay carfare. Types Playgrounds can be:

Built by collaborative support of corporate and community resources to achieve an immediate and visible "win" for their neighborhood. Public, free of charge, like at most rural elementary schools A business with an entrance fee Connected to a business, for customers only, e.g., at McDonald's and IKEA. Elaborate indoor mazes, like those at the (now defunct) Discovery Zone, Zoom Zoom's Indoor Playground in Ancaster, Ontario, Jungle Jam Indoor Playground and Chuck E. Cheese's

Inclusive playgrounds Universally designed playgrounds are created to be accessible to all children. There are three primary components to a higher level of inclusive play:

physical accessibility; age and developmental appropriateness; and sensory-stimulating activity.

Some children with disabilities or developmental differences do not interact with playgrounds in the same way as typical children.Most efforts at inclusive playgrounds have been aimed at accommodating wheelchair users. For example, rubber paths and ramps replace sand pits and steps, and some features are placed at ground level. Efforts to accommodate children on the autism spectrum, who may find playgrounds overstimulating or who may have difficulty interacting with other children, have been less common. Natural playgrounds "Natural playgrounds" are play environments that blend natural materials, features, and indigenous vegetation with creative landforms to create purposely complex interplays of natural, environmental objects in ways that challenge and fascinate children and teach them about the wonders and intricacies of the natural world while they play within it. Play components may include earth shapes (sculptures), environmental art, indigenous vegetation (trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, lichens, mosses), boulders or other rock structures, dirt and sand, natural fences (stone, willow, wooden), textured pathways, and natural water features.

Play Materials for Children

Young children are strongly influenced by toys that are marketed on television. Many of these toys are related to cartoon shows, current childrens movies, or childrens television programs that feature violence and action figures. Unfortunately, these toys have little play value and can be related to aggressive play (Frost, 1992). They do not stimulate the imagination, dramatic play, or creativity. Over the past 50 years, the transformation of toys has included more technology and they are mass produced with unlimited variety. These toys contribute to a decline in the imaginative activities of young children (Elkind, 2005). More appropriate choices are toys that are unstructured, diverse in playability, and simple in design. Frost (1992) provides points for toy selection that would meet these criteria for appropriate toys.

Parents, teachers, and caregivers can also consider play in developmental domains in their choices of toys and materials for preschool children. They will want to include a balance of toys for different types of play, as suggested in the following list: Gross-Motor Play Large blocks Transportation toys Climbing equipment Tricycles, wagons, Big Wheels, and so forth Woodworking equipment and materials (child-size hammers, workbench, vise, screwdrivers, scrap lumber, etc.) Fine-Motor Play Clay Puzzles Art supplies (finger and water paints, brushes, markers, crayons, scissors, etc.) Beads for stringing Construction materials (small blocks, Legos, Lincoln Logs, etc.) Language and Literacy Books Writing materials (notepads, typewriters, sand trays, etc.) individual chalkboard, pens, pencils, old

Thematic props (teddy bears for Goldilocks, puppets, etc.) Cognitive Play Materials for water play (buckets, squirt guns, sieves, etc.)

Simple board games Simple card games Materials for science experiments (balance scales, eye droppers, animal cages, aquariums, terrariums, etc.) Objects from nature (leaves, birds nest, feathers, etc.) Sociodramatic Play Dolls and stuffed animals Props for dramatic play (hats, neckties, child stethoscope, eyeglasses with lenses, etc.) Miniature life figures Housekeeping equipment and props (child-size broom, dishware, table and chairs, etc.)

The Benefits of Out Door play

The benefits of outdoor play are physical and mental. Physically we know the benefits: strength, endurance, and coordination. Physical activity: mats, balls, riding toys, etc. Playing outside is a valuable activity for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers because of the many ways it promotes their development. Babies, toddlers and preschoolers are sensory-motor learners. Besides all the health benefits, playing outside stretches children's thinking and knowledge. Children need coordination; they need a chance to practice their basic physical skills. Outdoor play time also allows children to move freely and make noise - forms of self-expression that are often restricted indoors. Too often these days we are afraid to allow our children to play outside. There are so many dangers waiting around every corner, but I say to you: make groups, get a bunch of kids together and make games with them, or for them, or just be close by to make sure no injuries occur. I know as a working parent, it is very hard to make sure your kids get outside daily. If neighbors could come together and each take one day a week to encourage the children in your neighborhood to play together. Each parent taking turns on the different days of the week. Before long you will have very busy kids, not to mention free time for the separate parents, whose turn it is not. Having kids go out and pick different leaves up to put in wax paper is a great way to get them outside and walking around. The children adore little art projects such as this. There are many benefits to outdoor play. It also gives our children a sense of adventure if they live near woods, always making sure they

never

enter

extremely

wooded

areas

alone.

Children learn from motion. As adults, we know that we learn through doing; it is the same for children. Developing perceptual abilities might suffer when so many of their experiences are through media, computers, books and homework; the sense of smell, touch, and taste are wonderful ways to learn. Children, who are free to spend time out doors, gain courage in moving through the larger world. They should gain the ability to navigate their immediate surroundings safety, thus laying the foundation for the competence to eventually lead their own lives. The world we live in today is increasingly complex, and a little scary, but the fact remains, our children need, as much as we did, the freedom to feel the wind on their cheek, the kiss of the sun, and engage in self-paced play. Ignoring the developmental functions of unstructured outdoor play denies children the opportunity to expand their imaginations beyond the constraints of the classroom.

COMPILATION OF TOPICS IN ECED 4

Play and Social Living

Jennica Mae C. Alberto II-4 Beced

Teacher Jaimmy Griffin

Competencies of 5 and 6 years old in play

The main effect of competition or competencies with children is LEARNING. They learn different ideas, skills and they also learn how to become more responsible. Five and six are eager to share their competencies with others. They are also ready to take on greater responsibilities, both in terms of working independently and demonstrating positive social skills. Fives and sixes can appreciate the benefits of working together, moving away from being I FOCUSED to enjoying cooperative efforts. Responsibility is the natural offspring of competence. Often you just have to expect them to be responsible, and they will be. Your expectations, both verbal and non-verbal, send a strong message to children about their capabilities. If you think they can be responsible, they will think so too. Getting over the first step of believing they can do it makes every how to you teach that much easier. Feeling competent and capable instills in the children a sense of their own maturity as they are allowed to take on more

responsibility and independence. Toddlers or kindergartners are developing competencies into many domains that they may actually work on new skills and let another skill go for a while. Sometimes they are learning to balance their bodies and walk well, without the wide-apart leg-waddle of the earliest attempts, may not be as adventurous in word learning. Instead they are focused on working hard in this new motor skill. Some toddlers may not be ready for learning toileting competencies while they are working hard at developing other skills.