Play

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.