PLAY AT EARLY

CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENT
Why do you think play might be important to
child’s development?

Playingis basically their job.

Because it enhances their creativity and
imagination as well as their physical,
emotional, cognitive and social skills.
Why does it matter?

The first years of life shape a child’s

future into adulthood. This is when the
most significant brain development
happens, particularly in the first two
years of life.
Why does it matter?

“ Under-Stimulation” - Lack of play and

communication, can have long term
negative consequences on a child’s
learning and physical and mental health
Benefits of Play
Education: helps children learn
and build skills that lay the
foundation for learning to
read, write and do math
Benefits of Play

Social skills: provides

opportunities to socialize with
peers of the same age, and to
learn to understand others to
communicate and to negotiate
Benefits of Play

Cognition: encourages children

to learn, imagine, categorize
and problem solve
Benefits of Play
Therapeutic benefits: gives the
children the opportunity to
express troubling aspects of their
daily life, including stresses,
trauma, family conflicts and
other dilemmas.
6 Types of Play

1. UNOCCUPIED- most basic type of

play in which children just look
around think and imagine. They are
not involve or engage in any active
play.
6 Types of Play

2. ONLOOKER- toddlers just simply

observe the play of other children and
then maybe they are close enough
6 Types of Play

3. SOLITARY- the child is playing

alone, not much interest on what
others doing and usually totally
immerse in what they are playing.
6 Types of Play

4. PARALLEL- children play a

similar toy next to each other
but not with each other. They
are typically playing parallel to
or beside each other
6 Types of Play

5. ASSOCIATIVE- children are playing to

each other, they share toy and interact
in each other, they play is organized
towards a common goal. Children are
more involve in similar activities but
not identical.
6 Types of Play

6. COOPERATIVE-children begins to
unite for the common goal and use
teamwork. The child is part of a group
that has a specific purpose in mind like
playing soccer. Leaders and followers
begin to immerge.
 6 C’s that children will need to
develop while playing
COLLABORATION- ability to work with others towards a shared goal
COMMUNICATION- can be either verbal or non-verbal
CONTENT- through free play, children demonstrate what they know and
what they are thinking about
CREATIVE INNOVATION- is what allows content and critical thinking to
come together to produce something new or different
CRITICAL THINKING-is the ability to analyze and sift through information
in order to make sense of it and apply it in the context of the
environment
CONFIDENCE- without this the ability to take risks and try new things is
comprised
What is guided play?
 Iswhen parents, caregivers and/or educators get
involved in their child’s play to teach them new
skills in an indirect and implicit way
 Guidedplay is extremely important for children
between the ages of 0-3.
 Childrenlearn so much during these critical years
and parents are their child’s best teachers
Play-based learning
 Developmentally appropriate practices like play-
based learning are valuable for strengthening
many areas of development and learning.
 Play-based learning can help support young
children’s learning of social-emotional skills,
general cognitive development, and self-
regulation abilities.
 Italso helps to clarify the relationship between
play and academic learning.
Outdoor Play is Essential to whole Child
Development

 Good play environment have magical qualities

that transcend the here and now, the humdrum
and the typical
* exploration of nature
* develop muscle strength and coordination
* gain self-confidence
Outdoor Play is Essential to whole Child
Development
FRIEDRICH FROEBEL- who recognized the uniqueness of
childhood, created materials for playful learning and
coined the term kindergarten-emphasized the role of
garden and the importance of nature in development.
He believed that human and nature are connected at a
spiritual level, and so outdoor games were important part
of his concept of kindergarten
 “ We don’t stop
playing because we
grow old; we grow
old because we stop
playing.”

-George Bernard Shaw