Ready, Set, Play!

Believe it or not, children learn through play. Children must explore, experiment, and make discoveries for themselves through playful interactions with the environment, peers, and adults in order to make sense of their world. The main goal of a developmentally appropriate early childhood classroom is to expose children to magnificent things to explore and discover through self-directed play. While it may be an accomplishment for preschoolers to recite the alphabet or count to a high number, it is much more important to support their curiosity and desire to explore by providing them with meaningful learning opportunities that are relevant to them- their families, their lives, their cultures, their languages, and their needs.

 Why is play the main event in early childhood settings? Children communicate with language, gestures, writing, and drawing through play and social interactions. Engaging in play also helps children with their social emotional development. They learn about their emotions during play by discovering what they feel, like, and dislike. They learn empathy and self-regulation. They work with others during play.  Play encourages cognitive development because children think during play. They create mental pictures in their minds, use one object to represent another, and use language and gestures to imitate things they have observed. They expand concepts based on their experiences, like caring for babies, cooking, and shopping. Children move while playing, which stimulates physical development. They run, twist, hop, jump, and skip. They develop fine-motor skills by drawing, writing, cutting, and doing centers that encourage the use of fine motor skills. Children develop self-regulation while organizing themselves during play. They organize their behavior to go along with the group. They learn to modify their emotional reactions and regulate themselves.

(Sisters coloring bunnies. Big sister on the right is in Preschool 4. The friends in our class can't sit down for that long to get that much color on their picture!)

 All the domains are developed through play: language, social emotional, physical, and cognitive. Play introduces children to the skills that will form a foundation for learning and social interaction in the future. They learn how to regulate their bodies and feelings. Children learn all of these things through observation and modeling. They do not learn these things alone. They learn within the context of relationships. Model how everyday tasks are completed. Tell them each of the ingredients you are putting into the recipe. Write and illustrate a book together. Go on an outdoor adventure. Paint, glue, draw, and cut to make a masterpiece. Listen. Talk. Explain. Support their natural curiosity and let them explore and you’ll be surprised at what they will discover.