Play is Essential Work for Your Child (Video)

I thought some of you might enjoy this short video on the importance of play.

Activities for Toddlers

Here’s what we did today.
We built towers with square blocks. They were taller than most of the toddlers, but the best part was knocking them over. In one case, one boy ran the bike right through it.
We chased, kicked, threw and bounced balls. The best part was seeing how far they go across the room. One girl asked to play pass with her friend, but unfortunately she wasn’t interested. Maybe next time. Some of the boys carried them around keeping them from everyone else. Eventually, when they found something else to do, other kids got to play with them.
We bounced on and built towers with large squishy blocks. The toddlers had the most fun bouncing on them. It got a little chaotic when everyone wanted a turn at once. A couple of them started working together to bounce by holding on to each other’s hands instead of mine.

I blew bubbles while the toddlers chased after them. One boy kept asking for a bigger and bigger one. I did the best I could with making them bigger, but there’s only so much you can do with a small wand and a different amount of liquid each time. They thought of a new game when they started stomping around and saying, “pop, pop!”

All the toddlers rode bikes at least once. The toddlers love the three bikes and everyone wants a turn at once. I had to distract them several times by building towers, throwing balls, etc. It usually worked, but some were insistent on having the bikes now. One girl sat with me until she could calm down and eventually she got her turn.

They finger-painted while I watched. It was more about the process because there were few colors and the toddlers didn’t stay at the table long. There were some lines and blobs and when some were done, they folded and crumpled their papers. We unfolded them and set them in the hall to dry. We ended up with eight paintings that looked pretty much the same, but that’s okay. It’s for the experience.

We played outside in the rain. I didn’t enjoy this because it was a little cold and wet, but they loved it. They played in puddles, rode bikes on the path, played in the sand box and simply ran around the playground. They didn’t mind the rain at all and needed the fresh air.

We looked at books. Several of us sat together and just looked at the pictures. Some of the books had special features like textures and a bell, but the children were most interested in the ones with simple words and pictures. Many of the books had pictures of different people and animals. They especially liked the book with pictures of babies. It had baby rabbits, human babies etc. One of the babies even looked like one of the toddlers.

When nap was over, we started the routine all over again. The only things that were left out were playing in the rain and finger-painting. We also used the tunnel. It worked well at first when one person went in at a time, but then got crazy when three kids were inside the tunnel at once. It was too crowded and the one in the middle wanted to get out. We had to put it away after a while, but it's a good activity for learning to take turns. My day ended quietly with all the kids leaving before five.

Let Them Play

One day a week, there’s a bus that comes to our center and it has mats, rings, ladders and other things for kids to climb on. We divide the kids into three groups so that the bus won’t be so crowded. Lately, my job has been that I take the middle group which is mostly three-year-olds. I’m supposed to take them to the classroom for snack and choice time while the third group is on the bus. Usually, they eat snack, I’ll read them a book or two and then they get a shorter choice time. Today, while they were eating snack, I asked what they’d like to do during play time. The kids were all boys so of course they wanted to play with the leggos and trains. Instead of reading a book or doing something “educational,” I decided to let them play!

At first while they were busy with leggos, I started cleaning up the room and checking in with them every couple of minutes. I heard about space ships, telephones, bridges, towers, trains etc. What they could build was endless. After about ten minutes, I went over and sat with them. One boy told me that he was building packages so that he could deliver them. I asked what was in the packages and he told me it was candy. Another boy told me how he was making a bridge. I asked about his bridge and where it could take you if you walked across it. He told me that you have to walk underneath it and that it would take you to the woods. Another boy told me about his space rocket and that it was really big and loud when it crashed and broke apart on the floor. He decided to rebuild it as something else.

A couple of the boys built phones. One boy told the other to call his grandfather and he did. Then he told me that his grandfather hung up on him. I asked why and he said that maybe his grandfather’s phone was dead or that his own phone was dead. I asked if he was going to charge it and he got some more leggos and plugged his phone into the charger and started to call his grandfather again. Then another boy picked up his phone and called his grandfather too, but a similar situation happened with the phone getting disconnected.
We could’ve done work sheets or coloring pages, but then the boys wouldn’t have expanded their ability to build things and take them apart. They wouldn’t have been able to use their imagination and creativity to make up stories about calling their grandfathers or delivering packages of candy. It’s not only dramatic play, but it develops language skills and is a precursor to literacy. They wouldn’t have practiced sharing or conflict resolution when one boy would take a leggo or toy car from another and they had to work it out. They wouldn’t have practiced how to collaborate. I asked for some extra round pieces of leggos so I could finish making my donut and the boys happily found what I needed and wanted to help me build. Finally, there was clean up! They wouldn’t have had the opportunity for some extra team work when we all had to rush to put all the leggos back into the bucket. They would’ve missed out on a lot if I hadn’t decided to let them play!

Bring Play Back to the Classroom

In one of my classes in 2008, we read an article about play and how it has changed over the past 20 years. I’ll include a link to the article at the end of the entry. Basically, the article discussed how many kids don’t get that involved in imaginative play anymore. Older children play like toddlers. They do the same repetitive actions like stacking blocks or in dramatic play; they stick with the familiar themes of family or school without expanding to any other roles even within those themes. One reason is that children play together less. They have less time with friends since people are living further apart or don’t have the time to visit. They play alone more with videogames or other toys that aren’t interactive. The toys are becoming more and more realistic. The foods that are found in kitchen areas of preschools and at children’s homes are extremely realistic. I’ve seen pizzas that have all the toppings, the plate to go with it and the slices came apart like an actual pizza. I’ve seen realistic looking tacos, cheese burgers and even donuts. The toy selection is amazing, but it doesn’t leave anything to the imagination. If there’s a food out there, a plastic replica can be found. The foods are only one example. These toys have their place when teaching children who do not yet have that imagination. It’s a good starting point to show them the realistic foods and then gradually introduce other multi use objects to their play. In the article, they suggest cardboard boxes for a baby’s crib, a sink or a computer.

It’s sad that there is a lack of play because today’s children are missing out on so much fun. There’s less spending time outside digging in the dirt or looking in the woods. Children don’t play with friends outside playing games or riding bikes. This has obvious consequences like weight gain from the lack of physical activity, but it has consequences that are less visible like lacking social skills. The less time spent with other children, the less practice these children have. Of course, the lack of social skills and imagination is the same for indoor play. I remember having fun making my own props when I was little. Even though I had a doll house with semi-realistic looking people and furniture, I chose to use a cardboard box, pieces of sponge and other materials around the house to make my own little doll house. My mother didn’t understand why I wanted to make my own, but I thought the whole process of creating my own doll house scene was really cool! I liked it better than the store-bought one. I used blankets as tents, built castles or beds for my dolls with blocks etc. I was always creating something. When I’ve asked other people about this, they say similar things about the play in their childhood.

Now that we know that children’s lack of play has a negative effect on them, we should do what we can to change it. However, there has been a push to bring academics into early childhood programs. Parents and some teachers want children doing worksheets as young as possible because they think it’ll make them smarter. The problem is that many children aren’t ready. If children are pushed to learn things that are too difficult for them, their performance in school will suffer. They will become frustrated because they can’t do an activity and they may feel like their stupid or a failure if it keeps happening which could make some children give up on school altogether. Some kids just say they understand some things to get by, but they really don’t. This is why play is so important. The concepts that children learn during play support academic learning. During play, children learn to problem solve which they need for later learning. For example, a kid could be building with blocks and it starts to fall over, they need to figure out how to keep it standing. Another example is if two children want to be the mom in a game of house, they have to find a solution together. This also improves social skills as children learn how to take turns and play cooperatively.

Children can use play to develop beginning reading skills. They may practice writing pretend shopping lists, making tickets or play money. Even if the writing isn’t clear, it may resemble letters and it’s a way for children to practice using a pencil. Books are also a good way to expand play. They can take things they see in books and add them to their play themes. Many children I’ve worked with pretend reading to dolls or stuffed animals which of course expands on literacy skills. Every time a child looks at a book, they are getting used to the way people read even if they can’t read the words. They are noticing the pictures, how the words go from left to right and how the pages go from top to bottom. These are all things that children need to understand before they will be able to read.

Math skills can also be learned through play. Measuring cups and water in a sensory table can be a tool for learning about volume or quantity of water. They are learning that even if you pour water from one cup to another, you’ll still have the same amount. Water play can also be used to learn about science concepts. A simple activity that most kids love is taking different objects and seeing if they float or sink. Using sand is another great way for kids to learn skills in many areas. They can learn about measurement, tracks and prints, texture and fine motor skills by shoveling sand into a bucket. These fine motor skills are the same skills used when writing with a pencil or turning the pages of a book.

There are many advantages and skills that are learned through play including skills from all academic areas. In order for children to do well in school, they need more play in the earliest part of their education. Past generations were able to play a lot more and did just as well or probably better in school. Kids were allowed to be kids and by kindergarten and first grade, children were prepared to learn. Not through doing worksheets or looking at flash cards, but through play. If something wasn’t broken, why try to fix it?


Click here to read the article, Chopsticks and Counting Chips!

Play 2 Grow; The Introduction

This is my first post on the new blog, Play 2 Grow. It took me a while to come up with a name that would not only be catchy, but would describe some of my philosophy of early childhood education. I started out with Learn Through Play, but that was taken. Then I tried Play 2 Learn which was a great suggestion! Unfortunately, that was taken as well. Finally, I chose Play 2 Grow which is similar to Play 2 Learn, but you learn as you grow so it fits!

I believe that hands on learning is the best way for children to learn anything. How will they understand a concept if they don’t experience it? How will they learn to count if they don’t have the opportunity to count using physical objects to correspond to the numbers? How will they learn about science concepts such as weather or how plants grow without experiencing it first hand? Children learn about their world by testing things in their environment. Even very young babies learn that they can make things happen in their own world and that they can affect people around them. How is this learning done? It’s done through play and interaction between children and their parents, caregivers and other people they come into contact with.

Play is a huge part of a young child’s education which is why it’s apart of the title of my blog. In a lot of early childhood settings, the amount of play is decreasing and it is being replaced with academic activities that young children simply aren’t ready for. I will discuss that further in later posts, but it’s important to be a voice for these children to keep plenty of play in the classrooms where it happens already and bring play back to the classrooms where it has disappeared. Play is how children begin to learn academic skills such as math and science concepts along with reading and using everyday language. They learn social skills by interacting with one another in dramatic play or by learning to take turns and share toys. They use play to discover and share feelings and emotions that they don’t yet understand. They use play to get exercise by running, dancing, catching a ball, jumping, climbing, riding bikes etc. They use play to expand their imaginations by dressing up and taking on roles of family members or people in the community. Arts and crafts can even be considered play which children enjoy while being creative.

We all need our basic needs met, exercise, social skills, academic skills, imagination, creativity and a sense of belonging to grow physically and emotionally. These things are especially important for children. Play is the building block of any early childhood education and the main theme for my blog. I will include my thoughts on topics relating to early childhood education, activities that have worked well or not and I’m open to suggestions. I’m hoping my blog will be either helpful, interesting, or maybe it’ll just make you think.