Importance of Play

 

'You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.' (Plato)

This quote proves how much is learnt through play and how important it is as this is when children learn best. Children learn most during the first few years of their lives. By giving them the freedom to play and to experience the environment this is where their knowledge can build.

'Play is what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests in their own way for their own reasons.'(Getting serious about play-DCMS, 2004) Children play to develop their own skills, to develop their own imagination and to increase their own vocabulary. By doing all of this the child is becoming more independent and without them knowing are being prepared for the future. Jerome Bruner says that play is a way of doing something for example, during play a child may fill containers with water because they want to not because they have been told to. Children use their imagination during play and this gives them a chance to be creative as they often pretend that an object is something else or an inanimate object is alive. Children often base their play on real life situations, for example, playing house. By playing these kinds of games a child is understanding the world around them and what goes on within it.

Miller, L et al (2005), described to us four different types of play and the skills developed:

       Physical- fun, free and flowing and usually involves equipment e.g climbing frame, ball.

                                                        Skills-fine and gross motor skills and motor control.

          Constructive- exploratory play with different materials.

                                                        Skills-problem solving and spatial awareness.

              Symbolic-this is when objects are used to represent people or things.

                                                        Skills-language skills and ability to manipulate materials.

                  Small World- using figures to build an imaginary world.

                                                        Skills-communication and knowledge of roles.

 

These are just several of the many skills children learn during play. If you sat a child in a classroom and told them that today they were going to learn about a specific skill they would not be interested but through the use of play they are experiencing these skills for themselves and improving their own skills without them knowing.

I personally feel that play is very important as children can have hands on experience and also if a child is shy in the classroom it gives them a chance to 'pretend' to be somebody else and gain confidence during play and they may also communicate with other children during this time. From my own personal experience I have witnessed this. A young boy has sat quietly in a classroom and not engaged himself much with what is going on but when he is out in the playground he is fully engaged with the other pupils and doesn't stop smiling.

I feel that play not only helps a child improve skills but helps them make friends and enjoy learning!

 



References:

 

Great Britain. (2004). Getting serious about play: a review of children's play. London, Dept. for Culture Media & Sport.

Miller, L., Cable, C., & Devereux, J. (2005). Developing early years practice. London, David Fulton.

 Smidt, S. (2011). Playing to learn the role of play in the early years. London, Routledge.

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