Play has been found to be extremely important in the social,
emotional, physical and cognitive development of children (Bruce, 1996). Play is difficult to define but Macintyre (2001) outlines certain
characteristics which make an activity play; it gives pleasure and is
enjoyable, it does not have a prescribed goal or outcome and so can be
abandoned freely and the child has chosen to participate or initiate the play.
The idea of play being incorporated into young children’s
education and its importance for their development began in Germany with
Friedreich Froebel. He created the first Kindergarten in 1840 after observing
German peasant children playing naturally (Saracho & Spodeck, 1998).
Froebel was the pioneer for play in early education and psychologists such as
Piaget and Vygotsky have since emphasised its importance in their theories of
children’s cognitive development (Faulkner, 1998). Mildred Parton observed
children’s play in much more detail in 1932 from a more social perspective. She
was able to see several different stages of play taking place. According to
Parton solitary independent play often seen in children aged nought to two
years old is when a child is playing alone and separately from others, parallel
activity is when a child is playing beside others using the same or similar
toys but not participating with others and can usually be seen in children aged
two to three years old, associative play occurs at around three to four years
and is when a child is participating in group play where there is no attempt
for any member to direct other children, and co-operative play is when a child
is participating in group play which has a set goal or end product to be
achieved and where one or two members will direct or control the play and/or determine
who is and is not included, this type of play will usually take place at around
age four and above (Faulkner, 1998).
Play can be categorised into several different types. Active
play is physical and includes things like jumping and kicking, constructive
play is the child putting mental blue prints into physical form using things
such as building blocks, make believe play involves imitation and using people
or things as representations of other things and games with rules involve
co-operative play and an understanding of the need to take your turn, obey the
rules and record scores (Sheridan, 2011).
Froebel believed that ‘Play is the highest level of child
development’ (Lilly 1967, p.83). Play is now
recognised as an essential element of children's education. Play forms the
basis for the UK’s foundation phase/stage, America’s Kindergarten, the
Montessori approach and many other early years practices across the world. For
most children playing comes completely naturally and does not need to be taught
and this is where its benefits lie. Playing is the expression of a child’s
natural curiosity to explore and make sense of their world and educational
practices that exploit play to its full potential can only prove beneficial to
children.
The video demonstrates children taking part in what Parton
describes as co-operative play. It’s clear that the boy with black curly hair
has taken on the role of leader and is attempting to direct the play and the
other children.
References List
Bruce, T., 1996. Helping Young Children to Play.
London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Faulkner,
D., 1998. Play, Self and the Social World. In P. Barnes, ed. Personal,
Social and Emotional Development of Children. Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers Ltd. pp.232-85.
Lilly, I.M.,
1967. Friedrich Froebel: A Selection from his Writings. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Macintyre,
C., 2001. Enhancing Learning Through Play. London: David Fulton
Publishers.
Saracho,
O.N. & Spodeck, B., 1998. Multiple Perspectives on Play in Early
Childhood. New York: State University New York Press.
Sheridan,
M.D., 2011. Play in Early Childhood: From Birth to Six Years. 3rd ed.
Abingdon: Routledge.
