Unit 3.1: Understand the value of play in early years
Play comes in different forms and dimensions, so it's not easy to define, however, universally, play can be described as engaging in behaviour that brings enjoyment, fun and amusement to children.
Play can be spontaneous, and limitless without rules or interventions from adults; it can involve the use of toys, games and imagination that promote learning and development naturally.
By the same token, children evolve by engaging with activities and interacting with other children and adults. Play nurtures children's intellectual, physical and emotional development as well as language and social skills."
There are many different types of play, some are structured and others are free-play. Within this play, some are adult-led, whilst others are child-initiated. In early years settings or primary schools, a combination of both structured and unstructured play is employed to facilitate learning and development. . Whatever play children are engaged in, it's important to be mindful to keep children motivated. Attention should be directed on the process of play and not just the end product (focus on the means rather than the end); it is about enjoyment and fulfillment that motivates them, for example, the joy of building a sandcastle. To keep children interested and motivated, give them the freedom to do what they want; parents and practitioners should respect and value children's needs and their likes and dislikes.
If play is free from rules and stress, then children are likely to be stimulated, inspired and maintain enthusiasm. Children are born with a natural drive to play. Play is necessary and fundamental for their overall physical growth, physical health, mental health and emotional well-being as wells as social and language development.
Imagine the world without play for children:
- If they didn't run or catch a ball or kick a ball, they wouldn't develop healthy bones and strong muscles.
- If a baby didn't have a rattle to play with, his/her finger muscles would be weak and have difficulty in grasping objects.
- if children didn't play board games, they wouldn't learn to follow rules or develop social skills e.g. taking turns.
Can you think of anymore?
Find out what the benefits of play are?
What children learn through play opportunities:
With legos and wooden blocks or real objects:- learn about shapes and sizes
- measurement and weights
- develop problem solving skills
From repeatedly singing nursery rhymes:
- understand numbers and learn how to count in order
- learn about colours, animals and objects
- learn a nursery rhyme
Activities such as planting a seed:
- make sense of the world
Can you think of anymore?
Understanding children's right to play:
- Need time and space- Freedom to play
- Support from trained or skilled practitioners
- Additional support for children to enjoy play
United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
in relations to play
- Every child has a right to opportunities to learn and develop through play.
- Every child has a right to have access to world of art and culture to enrich their lives.
- Every child child has a right to exposure to toys, objects and equipment to encourage learning and development.
- Every child has a right to engage in recreation activities that allows them to flourish and fulfill their lives.
- Every child has a right to a balanced life of play, leisure and relaxation.
| Article | Relate to EYFS | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Articl 3.1 Children have a right to play, rest and leisure Children have a right to engage in cultural, art and recreation life. Articl 3.2 Respect and promote rights of children to engage in cultural life and arts. Provide equal opportunities to cultural, artistic and recreational activities |
Promote learning and development through play and exploration: Set up activities to promote: physical, personal, social, emotional, language communication. Promote literacy, numeracy, understanding of the world and express culture and arts. Provide rich resources: variety of toys and equipment to promote holistic areas of learning and development. Design activities that challenge children's thinking and stimulate new ideas as well as problem solving activities. Enabling environment: Create a happy environment which support children's emotional well-being by encouraging children to choose own play and supporting them too. Can you add anymore? Refer to the EYFS programme in your early years setting. |
Dancing to music, acting and singing along to nursery rhymes. Outdoor: playing hop-scotch, skipping, ball catching. Group games: Simon Says: Jump like kangoroo, roar like a lion, make funny faces etc. Painting activity, planting seeds (gardening). Blow bubbles - chase and pop. Play hide and seek with objects and toys. Egg and spoon race, balloon catching, flying kites and making airplanes with paper. Listening to music, sitting outdoor and watching clouds pass. Nap time, sitting in quite corner. Visiting art galleries and interactive museums. Tour around the park, collecting leaves.
Can you think of anymore? From each of the above activities and play, identify the areas of learning and development. |
| Article | Relate to EYFS | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Article 23 Rights of disabled children: Physically disabled children and the mentally impaired including children with learning disabilities have the right to enjoy a fulfilling life that makes them independent, dignified and be actively engaged in the community. Without being charged, they have a right to special care and support to meet their needs. Equal opportunities must be provided for disabled children to participate in world of culture, art and recreation. |
Equal opportunities and diversity: Treating people fairly and giving them equal chances to engage in activities and play. Activities and play should be planned to include all children to engage. Ensuring support is given to people with special needs - providing SENCO worker. Positive relationship: Children will gain independence, feel secure and become strong if cared by practitioners who show respect and value children and understand their needs. Show respect by listening to the children, being friendly and being supportive. Accommodate their needs. Provide support to help them play and enjoy. Assign a key worker to a child. Access to interventions to support children with special needs: Physiologist, SENCO worker, or a Linguist for children struggling to speak or communicate. Enabling Environment: Provide rich resources including toys and equipment to promote learning and development. Create an emotional environment that is spacious and light and friendly which makes children feel happy, secure and safe. Practise inclusivity: Practitioners and early years setting must practise inclusivity by ensuring all children regardless of their disability are given chances to engage in activities to promote learning and development. Can you think of anymore? |
Sports: Table tennis for child on wheel chair. Basket ball on wheel chair. Table top activity: Sand and tray activity Painting and drawing. Offer sensory play suitable for all children: Fill a basket with variety of materials, scrunched paper, colourful ribbons, wooden blocks, shakers, etc. (ensure large objects are used for babies engaging in sensory play) Go on a smell tour: walking by restaurants, fish and chips, bakeries, soap and perfume stores etc. Design tailored activites towards children with special needs so that all children can enjoy. Sing nursery rhymes with repetitive words e.g. Row, row, row your boat...., Wheels on the buses go round and round...., Zoom, zoom, zoom... Make music by using instruments like drums, maracab, or shakers Gardening activity - encouraging child to look after plant - good for emotional development. Use puppets to encourage child to speak or communicate. Visits to art galleries and interactive museums. Visits to adventure lands designed for children with disabilities. Can you think of anymore? From each of the above activities and play, identify the areas of learning and development. |
| Article | Relate to EYFS | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Article 30 Children of minorities or indigenous people Children from minority community including those from different cultural or religious background have the right to enjoy their own culture, speak their own language and practise their own religious beliefs. |
Every child is unique:
Consider their interest and preferences so allow children to choose their own toys, games and activities. Children learn at different pace so give them time and space. Children may need additional support for learning and development. Enabling environment: Embrace and value different cultures. Present a welcoming environment; surroundings should reflect the different cultures. Have objects, toys & equipment that are familiar to children with different backgrounds. Provide equipment and set up games to build confidence and independence. Show respect and meet the individual needs. Positive relationship: Assign a key worker to the child. Embrace and value different cultures. Show respect and provide support to meet the needs of the child. Can you think of anymore? |
Promote development of large and fine muscles:
Dancing, skipping, sports, painting, drawing. Play dough, threading beads, cutting and pasting. Design activities that challenge thinking. Design activities that stimulate thoughts and ideas. Language & communication skills: Use puppets to encourage speech. Encourage vocabulary by singing nursery rhymes with repetitive words e.g. Row, row, row your boat...., Wheels on the buses go round and round, ....Zoom, zoom, zoom... Culture and art: visiting museums and theatres. Listening to music. Make music by using instruments like drums, maracab, or shakers. Resources: Provide rich resources that encourage sensory learning. Playing with objects that are tactile, visually pleasing and produce sounds which evokes feeling of pleasure and enjoyment. Relaxing / resting: Listening to music, sitting in quiet corner. Break times and nap times. |
| stages of play | Age | Behaviour | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solitary play Playing alone |
0 - 2 years | Solitary play is the first stage of play which begins at age 6 months.
At this stage babies and toddlers play alone, enjoy the personal space and need the time to think.
They play alone with the assurance of an adult near by. Older children also engage playing alone as it enables them to concentrate and practise their skills. |
Exploring treasure basket with an adult close by. Doll's house, wendy house, legos. Play dough, colouring with crayons. |
| Parallel play Social play | 2 - 3 years + | In parallel play, children play alongside each other without interacting or communicating with each other.
They want their own space to play and want the same toys as their peers, but not willing to share. They are aware of each others presence and play alongside, but not together. In the home corner, children will play alongside each other. |
Play with sand and water outdoor area, but they don't pay attention to each other. Play in home corner. |
| Associative play Interact play |
3 - 4 years | .In this stage, children interact and share toys. They will communicate with each other, but not cooperate with each other. They begin to have friendship preferences, but will play with either gender. | Pretend play: one is a doctor, the other nurse - they will pretend play even though they have no patients. | Cooperative play Play together |
4 Years + | Children play together and are more sociable and create their own rules. It continues through middle childhood and evolves into more complex play. They also talk as they play | Acting like mum and dad, or baby and parent. Going shopping or play shopkeeper and customer. |
Adult-led and child-initiated play
Child-initiated play
Some children like to take control of their play, here they make their own decisions on what toys to play and how to play. But ultimately the adult has a role in the sense that they guide the child into the way toys and equipments can be used so that the child gets the optimal benefits.The adult supplies the play resources and may offer guidance, but it is the child that makes the decisions on what pieces to play with and use their imagination. For example, sand pit and bucket is provided, but child will use it to plant seeds instead.
Adult-led play
Adult-led play is more sophisticated as the activities are designed by the adults who also has control over the play. For example, adult may want child to learn about things that float in water or sink in water, so they will set up the activities and include resources such as paper, feather, wooden block etc.For babies, adult may provide a sensory play such as messy play or provide a treasure basket with variety of materials of diverse textures and colours. The infant can choose what to play and give them a choice, but it is ultimately set up to promote a particular area of development.
Structured play
Activities are designed with aim of promoting or concentrating in developing a particular skill. The resources are carefully chosen so that the child can meet the learning outcome. The adult is in control; the adult leads, supervises and monitors children's responses.| Types of play | Description of play | Benefits of play |
|---|---|---|
| Physical play |
Physical play involves children using their large muscles and exercise their whole body. They learn to balance and control large and small muscles and develop hand and eye co-ordination as well as leg and foot coordination. Example: Kicking a ball, dancing, hopping, running, riding a bike, climbing a frame, throwing and catching a ball. | .
Continue to develop fine and gross motor skills. Express their moods and feelings through body movement. Keep healthy and strong. Learn social skills e.g. taking turns in games such as hopscotch or board game. Play co-operatively as a team in football or on a see-saw. Can you think of any more? |
| Manipulative play | Using hand to develop and strengthen the muscles in the hands and fingers. Examples: painting, drawing, threading a bead and using scissors to cut paper. Small world play such as farm world. |
Build confidence, become independent such as doing the shoe lace or buttoning coat or
hold a spoon to feed themselves. Develop hand and eye co-ordination. |
| Imaginative play (fantasy, pretend, socio-dramatic play, symbolic play) | Drama play or pretend play: children use their imagination to create play in home corner. Scenarios: acting to be someone or something e.g. talking flower, flying car, gigantic monster etc. Examples: Pretend box is a car, a book is a tray or a straw is a pen. Scenarios: playing mum and dad to the dolls. Playing policeman or king or queen in a castle. |
During play, children develop vocabulary, make friends, learn to cooperate and share resources with other children. Can you think of any more? |
| Creative play | Children experiment with materials and music. Examples: Dancing drawing, painting, small world scenarios. |
Express feelings about people, objects and events. Develop ideas. Develop relationship with people. Builds confidence and self-esteem. |
| Sensory play | Children learn through their senses: touching, seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting. Examples: messy play using corn flour and water, or yogurt and jelly. Sand and water, feathers, fruits, bright coloured materials e.g. nylon . wooden object , shiny foil, glitter shakers. |
Stimulating the senses help to develop language where children learn vocabulary e.g. description of the material they are interacting
with. Exploring the objects help to develop their cognition: shapes, sizes, counting, colours sequencing, sorting and constructing. During play, children develop social skills and build relationships. Can you think of any more? |
| Heuristic play | Heuristic play refers to children using all their senses to explore and play using natural materials. Through discovery, children learn about the objects and how they can manipulate it. Children are curious and like to handle things, pick up, gather, stack, shake, knock down etc. Children enjoy playing with kitchen utensils, carrying pots, trying to put a lid on them. The treasure basket play is also ideal for children to explore and learn. |
- Therapeutic - Supports cognitive development - Provides opportunities to solve problems and experiment - Supports inclusion |
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