Compilation for Teacher Jaimmy

8/3/2019 Compilation for Teacher Jaimmy

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UNIT 1: PLAY-

ITS NATUREAND

SIGNIFICANCE

DEFINITIONS OF PLAY


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PLAYis the work of children. It consists of children performed for self-amusement. It is child-directed and the rewards come from within theindividual child.According to the theorists, researchers and educators across differentdisciplines and perspectives have documented that:

Play is the optimal vehicle for learning and development in the earlychildhood years.

They also suggest that the absence of play is often an obstacle to thedevelopment 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 cognitivethinking, 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 isself-satisfying because it does not respond to external demands orexpectations.

Play is symbolic, meaningful and transformational.

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

Play is active.

- Children explore experiment, investigate and inquire with people, objectsor 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 itbrings- not for an extrinsic reward.Game


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When play is only for self-amusement, a game is structured playing whichhas goals, rules, challenge and interaction. Games involve mental or physicalstimulation. Games help develop practical skills serve as a form of exercise.Total Development

Susan Isaacs is another historical figure who believed that play contributesto all aspects of childrens growth and development.Cognitive DevelopmentIt is how children make sense of their world. They do this by building uponwhat they already know to interpret new experiences.Language DevelopmentChildren use role appropriate statements, language used to maintain theplay episode, plan a storyline and assign roles. It also helps them generatemultiple ways of expressing their thinking.

Literacy DevelopmentChildrens first attempts at reading and writing often occur during dramaticplay.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 worldSocial and Emotional Development

School success largely depends on childrens ability to interact positively withtheir peers and adults.Physical DevelopmentPlay contributes to childrens fine and gross motor development and bodyawareness as they actively use their bodies.Creative DevelopmentPlay and creativity are related because they both rely upon childrens abilityto use symbols.

The ability to engage in make believe is described as essential to childrensdevelopment for internal imagery, stimulating curiosity and experimentingwith alternative responses to different situations.SocializationPractice both verbal and non verbal communication skills by negotiatingroles, trying to gain access to ongoing play or appreciating the feelings ofothers.


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Respond to their peers feelings while waiting their turn and sharingmaterials and experiences.Experiment with the roles of the people in their home, school and communityby 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 APPROACHESThroughout the world children play, and this activity is such an importantpart of their lives that one is inclined to see it as the raison detre ofchildhood. 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 playis a sick child. A child w h o is prevented from playing will fall ill, physicallyand mentally. W a r and poverty, which compel an individual toconcentrate solely o n survival and consequently m a k e it difficult or evenimpossible for him to indulge in play, ultimately have a crippling effect o nthe h u m a n personality. Although the development of the child andchildrens games and the overall need for play can be seen as a universalfact, play activities are none the less profoundly rooted in each individualpeople, whose cultural identity can be discerned through the games andtoys it has invented. There is an infinite variety of play activities andPlaythings, all bearing the stamp of their specific ethnic and social origin.Conditioned b y dwelling or subsistence patterns, curtailed or fostered byfamily, political and religious institutions, functioning as a veritable institution

in their o w n

right, childrens games and their history provide insights notonly into societies as they are today, but into the past history of peoples aswell. Each ethnic groupscultural capital is m a d e u p largely of its playheritage, which is enhanced by the contributions of successive generationsbut is also sometimes in danger of being distorted or even of dying out. Playisfurthermore one of the most important of all educational activities anddeserves acknowledgement of its rightful place in formal schooling, beyondthe nursery school to which it is too often confined. For play provides theteacher 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 playinto the classroom raises a great m a n y problems, particularly in view ofthe fact that there have so far been relatively few studies o n play, andthose in existence have not c o m e u p with any general theory offering aresponse to the various questions involved.

PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES


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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 assigningit a primary role in the development of the ego; and on the other, to childpsychologists w h o , since Piagets genetic psychology. have used play asa gauge of the maturation process and mental and affective development.These two theories are based on the postulate of the universal nature ofmankind which would explain that the stages of development always followone another in the same order; this concept of order is important, because itis universally applicable, whereas the ages at which the stages occur areunimportant, since they m a y vary not only from one culture to mother butalso 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 aconsiderable influence o n the relative importance of these different stages.Early childhoodFor a newborn baby and until the age of 3 months, play is confined torocking or swaying movements reproducing the sensations experienced inthe mothers w o m b . In societies in which infants are carried aroundvirtually all the time, rocking movements are not really a game, for theycorrespond to the normal and permanent state of the child. At this stage, thechild sees himself as an in dissociable whole and has not yet learnt to m a ke the distinction between his own body and the outside world. T h e Africanchild, for example, w h o is carried around by his motherand fed o n demandis not systematically given a d u m m y , as is typical of the fust few monthsin the life of a European Figure 5: D u m m i e s exist in the Ivov Coast butare not very widely used, for babies child. Sucking gives the child his firstinkling 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 facta pre-play object (initially through oral investigation only). Again it is inindustrial societies, where babies are separated from their mothers at a veryearly age, that the mother will present her childwith a toy that represents and replaces her and can be manipulated by thebaby. This is the role of the rattle, which makes its appearance in the livesof children in industrial societies m u c h earlier than elsewhere.Primary school yearsWhile this accession to self-identity which passea through the discovery oEothers does not efface the sensorimotor games of early childhoold, itbecomes the predominant feature 3n what authors term variously M t ative,

fictional or make-believe games. These games become all-important afterthe age of t w o or three. Childrens play can be seen as a dialectical balancebetween successive stages in identity-building and, at each stage,challenges to that identity, whence its fundamental role in the developmentof the ego, At this age the child constantly plays at make-believe; minute heis an animal, the shopkeeper or the doctor, the next he is himself but in amake-believe situation, like the little girl who said she played at $king asleepor crying.


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Pre-adolescenceDuring the following period, symbolic games, or at least those involvingidentification with an actual family model (mother or father) or a socialmodel (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 andIndians, spacemen, film stars for girls, etc.

SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHESSocieties and their gamesIn retracing the basic stages in the psychological development of the child asmanifested through his games, one is aware time and again of closedependence on the environment; whichever way one looks at it, the childsplay is directly linked to the social context.The mothers presence or premature absence, the family structure, the livingand housing conditions, the environment and means of subsistence all have

a direct bearing on play activities, which cannot develop w h e n children livein conditions too unfavorable. Play is a luxury, an implies leisure. The hungrydo not play, writes Roger Caillois in the preface of Les jauc et les hommes3.For play cannot occur just anywhere, anytime, or anyhow. Itcomes about,writes Y.S. Toureh, in an environment which, without being altogethercommitted, is prepared to provide a dynamic setting that we maycall a playcontext. Such a context is m a d eup of the following components:a. the actual space, qualified by its. Dimensions andI. b. the individual withhis experiences, resources andc. pressure from outside; andd. adaptability to change .ETHNOLOGICAL APPROACHESFor the ethnologist, play behaviour is as valid a subject for investigation andtheorization as family relationships or table manners, and it is surprising thatit has not been studied in greater depth.T h e reason m a y be that games are seen either as religious practices, tobe studied as such, or as purely infantile, as yet non-formal and in a sensepre-cultural occupations. But in fact they form a substantial part of theactivities of a section of the community and should on n o account beregarded as a random assortment of anecdotal elements. On the contrary,play is a complex structure, a coherent whole which must be studied in thesame w a y as mythologies, and in which any artificially induced changesaffect 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 nearlyevery society known to us, is far from being a meaningless pastime, orinvariably 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 aspecifically childlike occupation, fulfilling the same psychological functions asin the rest of the world; and yet in the eyes of the adult her g a m e is not


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sheer recreation, but is recognized as having a meaning and an effectivepurpose of which the child is unaware to begin with but will discover little bylittle, sometimes in the course of a proper initiation. O n emight say that inthese traditional societies there is no such thing as childishtrivialities- 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 agame a game and in the other, the g a m e is watch, interpret, andspeculated upon.

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHESOn the one hand, play activities and materials are the best w a y for a childto express himself and the best testimony by which the adult can attempt tounderstand him; and on the other, they can serve as a basis for the teachingmethods and techniques which the adult wishes to devise for the child withwhose education he has been entrusted.2 For it would seem only naturalthat play should have its place in the classroom. Nearly two thousand yearsago, the R o m a n rhetorician Quintilian expressed the wish that learning bea game for the child. A n d yet despite the innovative theories advanced byClaparkde and subsequently by Decroly and Freinet, the role of play is farfrom being recognized by education authorities everywhere. For someadults are averse to childrens play and will even try to repress it, as thoughit were a waste of time and energy w h e n there are more urgent andserious things to do. This is the attitude of certain teachers, w h o are in ahurry for the child to reach the age of reason as quickly as possible, andsome parents w h o regard their child as an investment that must bring inreturns 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 doneaway with altogether, SO as to turn the child into a miniature adult, expectedto engage in subsistence activities before he has even really learnt to play.History of PlayPlay is present even in the times of the Ancient Greeks. There was anaccount in the History that Heraclitus said that the act of play was morevirtuous than the act of governing. Plato and Aristotle contradicted thisstatement by saying that play and seriousness should be distinguished andthat among the two, seriousness is more important. Also, Aristotle viewedplay as mimesis or imitation. He also believes that childrens play and dramawere very similar.During the Early Christian Church (347-407), St. Chrysostom stated that it isnot God who gives us the right to play but the devil.At the time of The Enlightenment, John Locke (1632- 1704) believes that achilds mind is a tabula rasa or a blank slate and childrens play with toys


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contributes to the learning. Another philosopher during this time emerged.He is Immanuel Kant (1724- 1804), who believes that adult play orimagination is what drives individuals to pursue knowledge.In the Romantic Period, the ideas of Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805), JohanPestalozzi (1746-1827) and Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) about play have

emerged. Schiller stated that seriousness and play can be reconciled (whichis against Plato and Aristotles belief) and that play is the surplus energy thatindividuals use to explore creativity. Schiller was also the first to link playwith 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 Schillerssurplus energy theory. G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924) developed therecapitulation theory which stated the purpose of play is to help individualsto overcome their uncivilized biological roots.Karl Groos (1861-1946) stated that the purpose of play is to prepare orpractice the children for their adult lives. John Dewey (1859-1952) believes

that play allows children to explore society and nature.Anthropological Aspects of PlayModern anthropologists now view play as universal and strikinglyconspicuous human behavior that must be studied to reach the goal ofunderstanding man and his culture. Physical anthropologists have concernedthemselves with the play of nonhuman primates, giving attention to itsbearing upon human behavior and the question of the evolutionarysignificance of play behavior. Cultural and social anthropologists look at playas culturally molded behavior and examine similarities and differences in its

forms throughout the world. Although much variation exists in specific formsof play, all human societies are seen to be fundamentally alike in their playbehavior. Greatest attention is now being given to the functional anddysfunctional significance of play in human life and the relationship of play toother elements of culture. Major subjects of current study are play and socialcontrol, play and social-psychological problems, play and communication-cognition, and play as related to a variety of other subjects including religion,law, economics, motivation toward achievement, politics, aggression, role-learning, and creativity.Pedagogical Aspects of PlayEducation is what the child does in order to discover........it is notabout pouring information into an empty vessel."David Attenborough, Enough Rope, ABC TVJune 16th, 2008Learning through play


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"Children develop their self-concept through demonstratingcompetence. In their play they enjoy imagining, creating,constructing, and building and make believe. ""Children demonstrate a range of cognitive competencies and are constantlytrying 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 ofthe 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 andabilities."

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

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PLAY

Psychology of play


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Through play the child develops abstract meaning separate from the objects inthe world, which is a critical feature in the development of higher mentalfunctions. This is the Vygotsky s research on play as a psychologicalphenomenon and its role in the child's development.Vygotsky saw play as a moment where social rules were put into practice. Forexample, 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'srelationship with the world changes. As what Vygotsky said, "Henceforth play issuch that the explanation for it must always be that it is the imaginary, illusoryrealization of unrealizable desires. Imagination is a new formation that is notpresent in the consciousness of the very raw young child, is totally absent inanimals, and represents a specifically human form of conscious activity. Like allfunctions of consciousness, it originally arises from action."The child wishes to ride a horse but cannot, so he picks up a stick and standsastride of it, thus pretending he is riding a horse. A horse would behave as horseeven though it was a stick. The stick is apivot. According to Vygotsky, "Actionaccording 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 realhorse, one of the basic psychological structures determining the childsrelationship to reality is radically altered".As children get older, their reliance on pivots such as sticks, dolls and other toysdiminishes. They have internalizedthese pivots as imagination and abstractconcepts through which they can understand the world. He said "The old adagethat 'childrens play is imagination in action' can be reversed: we can say thatimagination 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 ofdifferent family members. Vygotsky cites an example of two sisters playing atbeing sisters. Vygotsky believed that play contained all developmental levels ina condensed form. The rules of behavior between them that go unnoticed indaily life are consciously acquired through play. As well as social rules, the childacquires what we now refer to as self-regulation. For example, when a childstands at the starting line of a running race, she may well desire to runimmediately so as to reach the finish line first, but her knowledge of the socialrules surrounding the game and her desire to enjoy the game enable her toregulate 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 nextlevel of his or her normal behavior, thereby creating a zone of proximal

development. In essence, Vygotsky believed "play is the source ofdevelopment."


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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 ofplay as an emotional release for children as they grew. Erikson(1963) believedthat play helped children develop self-esteem and gain mastery of theirthoughts, bodies, objects, and social behavior. According to this perspective,children use play as a way to react totheir world and to learn to deal with the difficult situations they encounter asthey mature. Through play, children gain power over the situations that frighten,confuse, or upset them. For example, while playing, a child might take the roleof his teacher, parent, or social worker and act out, through play, perceptions ofthe adult's power. Over time, children begin to act out their fantasies aboutsignificant adults in their lives. Sometimes, in play, terrible things happen to theadults portrayed in their play. At other times, the portrayed adults begin toexhibit the behaviors things happen to the adults portrayed in their play. Atother times, the portrayed adults begin to exhibit the behaviors children wishfor. Therefore, through play, children are able to take charge of the events thatfrighten them behaviors children wish for. Therefore, through play, children areable to take charge of the events that frighten them and are able to reducefeelings of anxiety and helplessness (Levy, 1978).COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

Jean Piaget- he proposes that children individually create their own knowledge about theworld through their interactions.

- they practice using known information while consolidating new informationand skills; test new ideas against their experiences; and construct knowledgeabout 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 orthrowing its head back, for the sheer enjoyment of doing it

Symbolic Play

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


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

Games of Construction

- Involve accidental learning emerging from symbolic play- Initially imbued with play symbolism but tend later to constitutegenuine adaptations or solutions to problems and intelligent creationsPiaget, 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 influencingcognitive development.- Vygotsky observes In a play, a child behaves beyond his average, above hisdaily 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 lifeproblems.

MORAL DEVELOPMENT THEORYLawrence Kohlberg- he expanded on Piagets studies of moral development by making moraldilemmas that could be appropriate for older children. Thus in 1963, hedeveloped 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 asociety.STAGE 1: PUNISHMENT-OBEDIENCE ORIENTATION(toddler to 7)STAGE 2: INSTRUMENTAL RELATITIVIST ORIENTATION (preschool to school age)

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL MORALITY(9-20 years)


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

LEVEL 3: POSTCONVENTIONAL MORALITY(after age 20)

- the moral principles that underlie the conventions of a society areunderstand.STAGE 5: SOCIAL CONTRACT ORIENTATIONSTAGE 6: UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPE ORIENTATION

ECOLOGICAL TheoryLets define first the term ecological/Ecology. Ecology is the study of theinterrelationships between humans and their environment. The Perspective ofthis theoretical framework is that context or environment surrounding individual

interactions and experiences determines the degree to which individuals candevelop their abilities and realize their potential, cultural ecological frameworksof behavior and development stress the importance of 3 interacting layers ofenvironmental influence on play; (1) physical and social aspects of childrensimmediate setting; (2) historical influences that affect the way adults (andchildren) conceptualize play for subgroups of children. Therefore, the potentialof play to support the learning and development of any child determined by thecontext in which that child plays.Contexts for play as well as for any other interactions are extremely complexand are influenced by many variables. Ecological researchers focus onunderstanding 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 differentsystems that influence play (e.g., culture of the family, philosophy of the schoolor center, culture of the community and political climate.) The ecological theorydefines four types of systems which contain roles, norms and rules that shapedevelopment. The systems include a microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem,and macrosystem. The microsystem is the family, classroom, or systems in theimmediate environment in which a person is operating. The mesosystem is twoMicrosystems interacting, such as the connection between a childs home andschool. The exosystem is an environment in which an individual is indirectlyinvolved and is external to his experience, yet it affects him anyway i.e. a childsparents workplace. The macrosystem is the larger cultural context. By creating

these systems, Bronfenbrenner was the leader in introducing researchers intoexamining the family, economy, and political structures as influencing thedevelopment of a child into adulthood and determine how the interactionsbetween contexts and systems affect the growth and development of children.


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UNIT 11:

DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE OFPLAY ACTIVITIES

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


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suggests ways in which educators and other adults can support children'splay.

Sensorimotor Play

In what Piaget (1962) aptly described as sensorimotor practice play, infantsand toddlers experiment with bodily sensation and motor movements, andwith objects and people. By 6 months of age, infants have developed simplebut consistent action schemes through trial and error and much practice.Infants use action schemes, such as pushing and grasping, to makeinteresting things happen. An infant will push a ball and make it roll in orderto experience the sensation and pleasure of movement.As children master new motor abilities, simple schemes are coordinated tocreate more complex play sequences. Older infants will push a ball, crawlafter it, and retrieve it. When infants of 9 months are given an array ofobjects, 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, abile spins, and a rattle makes noise. At about 12 months, objects bring forthmore specific and differentiated actions. At this age, children will throw orkick a ball, but will shake rattles.In a toddler's second year, there is growing awareness of the functions ofobjects in the social world. The toddler puts a cup on a saucer and a spoon inher mouth. During the last half of this year, toddlers begin to represent theirworld symbolically as they transform and invent objects and roles. They maystir an imaginary drink and offer it to someone (Bergen, 1988). Adults initiateand support such play. They may push a baby on a swing or cheer its firstawkward 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 gentlerapproach. In interactions with adults such as peekaboo, children learn to taketurns, act with others, and engage others in play.

Pretend Play

As children develop the ability to represent experience symbolically, pretendplay becomes a prominent activity. In this complex type of play, childrencarry out action plans, take on roles, and transform objects as they expresstheir 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 popularwith young children, as are action plans for treating and healing and foraverting threats.Roles are identities children assume in play. Some roles are functional:necessary for a certain theme. For example, taking a trip requirespassengers and a driver. Family roles such as mother, father and baby arepopular, and are integrated into elaborate play with themes related tofamiliar home activities. Children also assume stereotyped character roles


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drawn from the larger culture, such as nurse, and fictional character rolesdrawn from books and television, such as He-Man. Play related to these rolestends to be more predictable and restricted than play related to directexperiences 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 andaction plans, but capes stimulate superhero play. Perceptually boundyounger children may be aided by the provision of realistic objects (Fein,1981). Even three-year-olds can invent and transform objects to conform toplans.By the age of four or five, children's ideas about the social world initiate mostpretend play. While some pretend play is solitary or shared with adults,preschoolers' pretend or sociodramatic play is often shared with peers in theschool or neighborhood. To implement and maintain pretend play episodes, agreat deal of shared meaning must be negotiated among children. Playprocedures may be talked about explicitly, or signaled subtly in role-

appropriate action or dialogue. Players often make rule-like statements toguide behavior ("You have to finish your dinner, baby"). Potential conflictsare negotiated. Though meanings in play often reflect real world behavior,they also incorporate children's interpretations and wishes. The child in a rolewho orders a steak and piece of candy from a pretend menu is not directlycopying 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 situationsrelated to their experience. A kind of play with motion, rough and tumbleplay, 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 theyshould probably monitor it. Children who participate in this play becomeskilled 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 oryounger. Older children's more logical and socialized ways of thinking makeit possible for them to play games together. Games with rules are the mostprominent form of play during middle childhood (Piaget, 1962).

The main organizing element in game play consists of explicit rules whichguide children's group behavior. Game play is very organized in comparisonto sociodramatic play. Games usually involve two or more sides, competition,and agreed-upon criteria for determining a winner. Children use gamesflexibly to meet social and intellectual needs. For example, choosing sidesmay affirm friendship and a pecking order. Games provide children withshared activities and goals. Children often negotiate rules in order to createthe game they wish to play (King, 1986). They can learn reasoning strategies


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and skills from strategy games like checkers. In these games, children mustconsider at the same time both offensive alternatives and the need fordefense. Many card games encourage awareness of mathematics and of thepsychology of opponents. Such games can be intellectually motivating partsof 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 motorand practice skills. Good examples are dumping, filling, stacking, water play,and outdoors play. Functional play characterizes infants and toddlers and atage 3 constitutes 50% of a child's play. Although functional play decreases asa child grows older, it remains important. Functional play can be eithersolitary or parallel (another child is involved in a similar activity at the sametime.) Children experience enjoyment, develop motor skills, and achievemastery through functional play.Constructive Play: The child creates or makes something and solves

problems. Examples are building with blocks, playing with arts, crafts andpuppets and doingpuzzles. Approximately 50% of all activity for 4, 5 and 6year olds is constructive play, and this type of play continues to be importantthrough the primary grades. Children can play constructively alone as well aswith others. This type of play develops thinking and reasoning skills, problemsolving, and creativity.Pretend Play: Through pretend play, children transform themselves, others,and objects from real into make-believe. Pretend play can be both a solitaryand a group activity. It reaches its highest level at pre-school andkindergarten age and becomes less important as a child grows older. Pretendplay 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 becomesdominant as children reach school age. Through this type of play childrenlearn and practice cooperation, mutual understanding, and logical thinking.Partens modelStages of play is a theory and classification of children's participation in playdeveloped by Mildred Parten in 1932.[1] Parten observed American preschoolage (ages 2 to 5) children at free play (defined as anything unrelated tosurvival, production or profit).

Parten recognized six different types of play:

Unoccupied (play) when the child is not playing, just observing. A child maybe standing in one spot or performing random movements

Solitary (independent) play when the child is alone and maintains thisstatus by being focused on its activity. Such a child is uninterested in or is


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unaware of what others are doing. More common in younger children (age 23) as opposed to older ones.Onlooker play (behavior) when the child watches others at play but doesnot 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 typeof activity is also more common in younger children.Parallel play (adjacent play, social coaction) when the child plays separatelyfrom others but close to them and mimicking their actions.[2][3] This type ofplay is seen as a transitory stage from a socially immature solitary andonlooker type of play, to a more socially mature associative and cooperativetype of play.

Associative play when the child is interested in the people playing but notin 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 andin the activity they are doing. In cooperative play, the activity is organized,and participants have assigned roles. There is also increased self-identification with a group, and a group identity may emerge. Relativelyuncommon in the preschool years because it requires the most socialmaturity and more advanced organization skills. An example would be agame of freeze tag.According to Parten, as children became older, improving theircommunication skills, and as opportunities for peer interaction become more

common, the nonsocial (solitary and parallel) types of play become lesscommon, and the social (associative and cooperative) types of play becomemore common.

Parten's Play Stages

Working in the 1930s, researcher Mildred Parten grouped play into sixcategories and determined that childrens play styles mirror their socialdevelopment. These stages are identified as:

1. Unoccupied -- Not engaged in play.

2. Solitary (Independent) -- Playing separately from others, with no referenceto what others are doing3. Onlooker -- Watching others play. May engage in conversation but notengaged in doing. True focus on the children at play.4. Parallel -- Playing with similar objects, clearly beside others but not withthem. (Near but not with others.5. Associative Play -- Playing with others without organization of play activity.Initiating or responding to interaction with peers.


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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:CHILDRENSAFFAIR-PLAY


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Values of Play

Physical Play

Children develop in a holistic manner. Physical development should be seenas being important inyoung childrens development as intellectual development. Research hasshown that physical activityin young children can enhance concentration,motivation, learning and well-being.Generally, our lives have become more inactive and our children have lessopportunity for physicalactivity 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 fi neand gross motor skillsand hand / eye coordination. Children enjoy physicalplay, indoors and outdoors. They revel in freedom of movement and inplaythat is inventive, adventurous and stimulating. Children also learn socialskills as they cooperate withone another and show consideration for oneanother.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 co-ordination, strength, agility andconfidence.

Mental Play


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-Children gain knowledge through their play. They exercise their abilities tothink, remember, and solve problems. They develop cognitively as they havea 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 oflearning. Language is strengthened as the children model others andorganize their thoughts to communicate. Children playing house createelaborate narratives concerning their roles and the nature of daily living.

-Children also increase their understanding of size, shape, and texturethrough play. They begin to understand relationships as they try to put asquare object in a round opening or a large object in a small space. Books,videos, and educational toys that show pictures and matching words alsoincrease a child's vocabulary while increasing the child's concept of theworld.

distinguishes between reality and fantasy encourages creative thought and curiosity

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

Social Play

Starting elementary school is a big step for children: now they are in "bigkids' school." And while the majority has little trouble adjusting, kindergartencan be disorienting at first. Even children who have been in day care orpreschool, or who have older siblings at the school, may feel a bitapprehensive. It's a new building, a new teacher, and a new set ofclassmates, after all, so it does take time for kids to get comfortable in theunfamiliar 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 parentsat drop off time isn't usually an issue. (Children with a history of transitionproblems can b an exception, however.) Generally, it's the parents who havetrouble at the door! Educators and others advise mom and dad not to linger.


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New friendships develop slowly. Even though kindergarteners love toplay, they take their time letting new kids in. Kindergarten teacherslook for opportunities for students to get to know each other better.Seating at tables is by design, as it forces children to interact andshare 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, forexample, the decision-making is easy one child pretends to be themommy and the other is the baby.

Social skills are tested. Whether your child is a social butterfly or morereserved, bear in mind that kindergarteners are rookies at navigatingthe social terrain. Remember too that boys and girls don't developsocially in the same way or at the same speed. Girls mature faster andrespond 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 forkindergarteners to manage, and teachers spend a lot of time goingover appropriate behavior.Maturity wins out. The second half of kindergarten is vastly differentfrom the first. By January, students have learned what is expected andare comfortable with the routine. Academically, they start putting ittogether too. Many teachers say that when children come back afterDecember break, it's like having a whole new class.

Emotional

Children who are anxious may be helped by role playing. Role playingis a way of coping with emotional conflict. Children may escapethrough play into a fantasy world in order to make sense out of the realone. Also, a child's self-awareness deepens as he explores an eventthrough role-playing or symbolic play. When a parent or sibling plays aboard game with a child, shares a bike ride, plays baseball, or reads astory, the child learns self-importance. The child's self-esteem gets aboost. Parents send positive messages to their child when theycommunicate pleasure in providing him or her with daily care. Fromthese early interactions, children develop a vision of the world and gaina sense of their place in it.

Moral Play


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

Types of Play

Expository

All under threes enjoy exploratory play. They base their decisions onwhether 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, howthey 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 andtoddlers 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 playmaterials and the opportunity to explore in the child's preferred way. Shecalled this kind of play 'heuristic', from the Greek word eurisko, meaning'serves to discover' or 'gain an understanding of'. In order to encourageadults to let young children play in this way, she then developed two kinds ofresource:

The treasure basket for babies and young toddlers. The special heuristic play session for older toddlers and young children inday 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 hestarts to wave his arms and legs, hes also learning to make things happene.g. how to jiggle his mobile. Rattles and squeaky toys will stimulate yourbabys senses. Gradually, hell learn to reach for them. Babies practice

grasping objects by putting their hands together and their fingers in theirmouths. Look out for these signs - and dont be alarmed if everything goes inbabys mouth. Its normal! Just make sure its clean and not small enough tobe 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


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may reach for toys, pick up small objects by raking them with his fingersand pass objects from hand to hand. He may put small toys in a box and takethem out again, and delight in dropping and finding objects. By handingitems back and letting him repeat the action, youll help him start tounderstand 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 andhow theyre put together. He is likely to be drawn to constructive forms ofplay 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 wordsto tell you what he is doing. It will also become clear whether hes happy toplay with toys alone or wants you to join in. Either way, enjoy watching andgetting involved.

Group Play

-A small informal nursery group meeting for half- day sessions.- An organized group providing children care and socialization for childrenunder 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 andwhere groups of people can meet.

Group Play can be held in:

community

neighborhood centers

preschools

kindergartens

church halls

someone's house


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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 fromdeveloping 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 ofthe 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'ssuccess in school.

Also, dramatic play show that it enables children to be more flexibleinto new situations

Mother Games

Are games commonly played by children, usually using native materials orinstruments. In the Philippines, due to limited resources of toys of Filipinochildren, they usually come up on inventing games without the need of

anything but the players themselves. With the flexibility of a real human tothink and act makes the game more interesting and challenging.A few decades ago, kids used to gather in the streets or in theirneighborhood playground to play their favorite Larong Pinoy games like piko,patintero, taguan, tumbang preso, siato, luksong tinik, etc. These has beentheir regular and popular pastimes, as well as the favorite games of theirparents and grandparents until new and modern forms of entertainment hastaken over the interests of young kids.


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Major studies of games pointed out those traditional games are sharedcommunally within Philippine context. The same situation exists inneighboring countries, specially Indonesia.It is also commonly known that games play an important part in the learningprocess 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 arestill being practiced and observed by the general public.In this connection, the family plays a very important role in the transmissionof traditional games on to their children. The family, specifically the parents,reinforce the child's learning process. Psychologically, it helps the child inbuilding up himself to use all possibilities that will make him grow normal.Lopez also observed that the normal child's natural interests lead him todifferent types of games at different periods of his development.The family is a social agent that builds the development of each member ofthe household. As traditionally practiced in the Philippines and theneighboring countries, children learn from their parents. It is the obligation of

the parents to help their children learn social customs, standards and valuesof 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 thelearning process of any child. Also, with this frame of attitude, preservationof tradition is enhanced, and the children benefit from it. It is in this processthat whatever they learned is right away integrated into their consciousness.

Pikois the Philippine variation of the game. The players stand behind the edge ofa 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 orchest). Whoever succeeds in throwing the cue ball nearest to the place thatthey 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 othersattempt to cross over it. The goal is to cross without having tripped on thegarter. With each round, the garter's height is made higher than the previousround (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, sotheir 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


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players ball out of the playing area. Holen is called marble here in USA. It isplayed a more precise way by tucking the marble with your 3rd finger, thethumb under the marble, the fourth finger used as to stable the marble. Youaim at grouped marbles inside a circle and flick the marble from your fingersand 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 youropponent by aiming and hitting his marble. You have to be sharp shooter tobe a winner.

Jack 'n' Poy

This is the local version of Rock-paper-scissors. Though the spelling seemsAmerican in influence, the game is really Japanese in origin (janken) with thelyrics in the Japanese version sounding very similar to the "gibberish" sung inthe Philippines.

Pitik-BulagThis game involves 2 players. One covers his eyes with a hand while theother flicks a finger (pitik) over the hand covering the eyes. The person withthe covered eyes gives a number with his hand the same time the otherdoes. 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 wouldgather for a rousing game of kickball or hide and seek? When the dog days ofsummer get boring, get outside and get everyone in the neighborhoodinvolved with one of these favorite childhood games.

Neighborhood Games are games which you play with your neighbors in thestreets. 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. Theword "Amuse" is so named from the opposite of "Muse" -to learn or to think.

Playground is the natural arena of optimal physical development and theideal environment to promote physical fitness. On the play ground all motorskills are called into play.playgrounds and amusement parks are the best example


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Child Directed Play (CDP)

is one-to-one play interaction between a parent and (one) child in which thechild is helped to direct and lead the play in any way the child wishes, unlessthere is harmful or destructive activity.

Recommended Age of Child: Primarily for children ages 2-5, althoughvariations of the procedures described below can be used with children fromages 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 parentalattention 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.

ProceduresDos:1. Follow the child: Locate your self physically close to child and, within reason, move wherethe child moves.Watch the childs play activity closely.

2. Describe play actions: Provide verbal descriptions of some of the childs specific play activitieswith toy materials (e.g. There goes the car over the bridge, You put theblue block on top!). You dont have to describe everything;occasionaldescriptions 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 withblocks). 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 thelong, yellow bus up the hill. This is a good way to increase a young childsvocabulary without directly teaching).

4. Praise appropriate behavior occasionally: Praise behavior specifically (Youre really being careful with those blocksrather than just saying Good job). You can praise what your child does (Youre a good tower builder) andhow they do it (Youre stacking those blocks so carefully and quietly).


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Dont praise too much, just occasionally. Excessive parental praising duringCDP 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 directionof 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 wantto 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 explainwhy, 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 threeminutes doesnt work, then stop CDP as in step 1.

Implementing Childs Game at HomeTime:1. Ten-15 minutes. You may want to set a definite ending time that the childis 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 eachday (if possible).

3. Establish a time that doesnt compete with childs favorite activity, playingwith 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 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


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coloring activities all tend to work well.3. No competitive games (can get into winning and losing, follow rules, powerstruggles).4. No books if the child is not yet able to read (parental reading doesnt letchild 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 onlywithyou.).2. Children should be told of the time limit, if there is one (Well play untilthe timer goes off.).3. Child is given the choice of toys or what to play (You can pick any ofthese toys.).

4. If child says no to your suggestion of CDP, dont argue or push. Offeragain the next day. Do not agree to do it only when your child demands thatyou 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 significallystrengthen children's skills for succeeding in school. Kids naturally like toplay make-believe.Studies have now shown how imaginative playing may be used to prepare

kids for school.


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UNIT IV:

EFFECTS OFENVIRONMENTIN THE

FACILITATION OFPLAY


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The characteristicsof 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, orparents).

Play requires active involvement.

Play in Childs Educational Pycho-Theraphy

The most natural way of engaging in a meaningful way with children is throughplay. 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. PlayTherapy is a specific counseling approach in which games, toys and mediumssuch as clay, drawings and paint are used to help a child or adolescent toexpress their emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs. It helps them to understand

muddled feelings and upsetting events that they have not had the chance or theskills 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 ownlevel and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened.

Play Therapy is a form of counseling or psychotherapy that uses play tocommunicate with and help people, especially children, to prevent or resolvepsychosocial challenges. This is thought to help them towards better socialintegration, growth and development.Play Therapy can also be used as a tool of diagnosis. A play therapist observes aclient playing with toys (play-houses, pets, dolls, etc.) to determine the cause ofthe disturbed behavior. The objects and patterns of play, as well as the

willingness to interact with the therapist, can be used to understand theunderlying rationale for behavior both inside and outside the session..According to the psychodynamic view, people (especially children) will engage inplay 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 aschildren are allowed time for "free play" or "unstructured play." Normal play isan essential component of healthy child development.One approach to treatment is for play therapists use a type of desensitization or


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relearning therapy to change disturbing behavior, either systematically or in lessformal social settings. These processes are normally used with children, but arealso 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 anddiscovering leads to learning. They argued that children needed adults help tomake sense of their discoveries and to make links and connections between newdiscoveries 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 uncertaintyis linked with a particular view of the child as a learner, and also of the role ofadults in children's play. The belief that children cannot fail during play was alsochallenged by Bennett et al.'s study, as instances were observed of children

being unable to pursue their goals during play because they lacked specific skillsor knowledge.Those participating in the study re-evaluated the adult's role during play. Asregards 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 thechildren. Most teachers intervened in other sorts of play, particularly to supportchildren's language or skills development.It was also evident in the Bennett et al. study that, on occasions, the teacher'sintentions for the play activity were not well-matched or appropriate for thechildren. This could be either because the children had already achieved thelearning 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'sintentions during a play activity were sometimes at odds with those of theteacher, and this was problematic for the teachers. In one instance, childrenplayed dogs and babies, despite the fact that the teacher had set up theimaginative role-play area to encourage and facilitate play around the theme ofbirthday parties. In another setting, children played burglars and guard dogs inthe class shop (Bennett et al., 1997:73).Bennett et al.'s research does not suggest that play is not valuable, nor thatearly years settings should introduce formal teaching. It does, however,encourage practitioners to look more closely at the actual play experiences ofchildren, and acts as a catalyst for developing our thinking about how we shouldbe 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 developingcreative play.
http://www.speech-therapy-information-and-resources.com/what-is-play.htmlhttp://www.speech-therapy-information-and-resources.com/index.php?option=com_content&cid%5B%5D=247&lang=en&sectionid=5&task=edithttp://www.speech-therapy-information-and-resources.com/what-is-play.html


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4. Equipment plays an important role in facilitating play. The teacher shouldprovide equipment.

5. Play area should be attractive.

Special activities to encourage creativity

Childhood is a time to be cherished. Through play and creativeactivities, as future educators of preschoolers we need to allow eachchild to discover and explore the exciting world.

*Creative play is very important for toddlers development. Encourage yourtoddler by allowing plenty of time for free-flowing creative activities. Its alsogood to give positive attention and praise your toddlers creativity.*

Learning Through Play

Much of children's learning is accomplished whilst they are engaged in activeplay. Kids experiment with spatial issues, logic, creativity, languagedevelopment, and social interaction when they play, and each encounter adds totheir knowledge. Parents can help by providing ample time for free play, withsome time set aside for more structured activities. Playgroups and classes canhelp kids to develop physically, cognitively, and socially, making them valuablechildhood experiences. Kids learn a lot from one another, from discovering newways to play with toys, new games, and even how to work out disagreementswhen they arise (and they will!).

Imaginative play

Play that is imaginative and creative will help the toddler to use their mind tofind solutions to problems. One of the most important parts of imaginative playis for the child to pretend to be someone else or in different situations. This typeof play helps promote a toddler's learning through using role play to developtheir imagination. Children this age beginning to pretend in their play forexample at age 2 or 3 or 4 a broom may become a horse, or a block maybecome a train. Imaginative play, through building towers out of bocks, talkingto and feeding their dolls, making tea with the tea set and dressing in grown-upclothes is important and should never be classed as trivial. Neither should softtoys or dolls be rejected as inappropriate for any age of either sex.

Example: making binoculars using cardboard, cartons or other recycledmaterials..

How to encourage your toddlers creative play

Its important for toddlers to feel they can do their own thing when it comes tocreative play. With creative play, theres no right and wrong in creating,


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building, singing, acting and so on. For toddlers, the process of creating isthe most important thing.

You dont always need to give your child brand new play materials. Usingeveryday objects, and making it up as you go along, is a great way to encouragecreative development. Your child might need some help with cutting, pastingand gluing. Being creative can be a great way to help your child learn theseskills.

Use empty toilet rolls or small plastic juice bottles to make a family. Drawon faces, stick on paper clothes, and use cotton wool for hair. Whenyouve finished making the family, your child could use these new toys tomake up stories.

In autumn, collect fallen leaves for your child to draw, paste onto paper, ordip into paint.

Use small plastic lids, patty pan cases and other threadables with yourchild to make jewellery.

Home-made dolls house

Get a very large cardboard box about the size that a new TV orcomputer 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 thingsthey 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 creativeand artistic activities at this age, the process is what counts. Its also importantto keep things simple.

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


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Try to match your childs pitch when singing songs. Your child probablywont sing in tune or time with you, but thats OK. Music and melodyskills 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 OldMan.

A simple, repeated, rhythmical action such as clapping, patting, pointingor swinging encourages and supports singing. Or you can try songs thatinvolve clapping, such as Pat-a-cake and If Youre happy and You KnowIt.

Sing songs about animals, events, stories or people to your child forexample, Five Little Ducks, Michael Finnegan, Train is a-Coming.

Name the instruments youre using and talk about the differences insound 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 itsmusic or pictures, you can encourage them to talk about what they likeand which is their favourite part.

Playgrounds for childrenAplaygroundorplay areais a place with a specific design forchildrenbe able

toplaythere. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors.

Modern playgrounds often have recreational equipment such as

theseesaw,merry-go-round,swingset,slide, jungle gym,chin-up

bars,sandbox,spring rider,monkey bars,overhead ladder,trapezerings,

playhouses, andmazes, many of which help children develop physical

coordination, strength, and flexibility, as well as

providingrecreationandenjoyment. Common in modern playgrounds areplay

structuresthat link many different pieces of equipment.

Playgrounds often also have facilities for playing informal games of adult sports,

such as abaseball diamond, askatingarena, abasketball court, or atether ball.

Public playground equipment refers to equipment intended for use in the play

areas ofparks,schools, child care facilities, institutions, multiple family


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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 theGermanisationof some aspects of childhood development.

Recognizing the need for playgrounds, formerPresidentTheodore

Rooseveltstated in 1907 thatsince 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 ruralelementary schools A business with an entrance fee

Connected to a business, for customers only, e.g., atMcDonald'sandIKEA.

Elaborate indoor mazes, like those at the (now defunct)Discovery Zone,

Zoom Zoom's Indoor Playground in Ancaster, Ontario, Jungle Jam Indoor

Playground andChuck 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.


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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

theautism 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.


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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 LiteracyBooks

Writing materials (notepads, individual chalkboard, pens, pencils, oldtypewriters, sand trays, etc.)

Thematic props (teddy bears for Goldilocks, puppets, etc.)

Cognitive PlayMaterials for water play (buckets, squirt guns, sieves, etc.)


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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 PlayDolls and stuffed animals

Props for dramatic play (hats, neckties, child stethoscope, eyeglasses withlenses, etc.)

Miniature life figures

Housekeeping equipment and props (child-size broom, dishware, table andchairs, etc.)

The Benefits of Out Door play

The benefits of outdoor play are physical and mental. Physically we know thebenefits: strength, endurance, and coordination. Physical activity: mats, balls,riding toys, etc. Playing outside is a valuable activity for babies, toddlers, andpreschoolers because of the many ways it promotes their development. Babies,

toddlers and preschoolers are sensory-motor learners. Besides all the healthbenefits, playing outside stretches children's thinking and knowledge. Childrenneed coordination; they need a chance to practice their basic physical skills.Outdoor play time also allows children to move freely and make noise - forms ofself-expression that are often restricted indoors.

Too often these days we are afraid to allow our children to play outside. Thereare so many dangers waiting around every corner, but I say to you: makegroups, get a bunch of kids together and make games with them, or for them, orjust be close by to make sure no injuries occur. I know as a working parent, it isvery 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 yourneighborhood to play together. Each parent taking turns on the different days ofthe week. Before long you will have very busy kids, not to mention free time forthe separate parents, whose turn it is not.

Having kids go out and pick different leaves up to put in wax paper is a greatway to get them outside and walking around. The children adore little artprojects such as this. There are many benefits to outdoor play. It also gives ourchildren a sense of adventure if they live near woods, always making sure they


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never enter extremely wooded areas alone.

Children learn from motion. As adults, we know that we learn through doing; it isthe same for children. Developing perceptual abilities might suffer when somany 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 throughthe larger world. They should gain the ability to navigate their immediatesurroundings safety, thus laying the foundation for the competence toeventually lead their own lives.

The world we live in today is increasingly complex, and a little scary, but the factremains, our children need, as much as we did, the freedom to feel the wind ontheir cheek, the kiss of the sun, and engage in self-paced play. Ignoring thedevelopmental functions of unstructured outdoor play denies children theopportunity to expand their imaginations beyond the constraints of the

classroom.

COMPILATION OF

TOPICS IN ECED 4


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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. Theylearn 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 alsoready to take on greater responsibilities, both in terms of working independentlyand demonstrating positive social skills. Fives and sixes can appreciate thebenefits of working together, moving away from being I FOCUSED to enjoyingcooperative efforts. Responsibility is the natural offspring of competence.Often you just have to expect them to be responsible, and they will be. Yourexpectations, both verbal and non-verbal, send a strong message to childrenabout their capabilities. If you think they can be responsible, they will think sotoo. Getting over the first step of believing they can do it makes every how toyou teach that much easier. Feeling competent and capable instills in thechildren a sense of their own maturity as they are allowed to take on more


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responsibility and independence.Toddlers or kindergartners are developing competencies into many domains thatthey 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 thewide-apart leg-waddle of the earliest attempts, may not be as adventurous inword learning. Instead they are focused on working hard in this new motor skill.Some toddlers may not be ready for learning toileting competencies while theyare working hard at developing other skills.

Documents

Compilation for Teacher Jaimmy