Half of all children have been stopped from climbing trees. 21% have been banned from running on the playground.

And 17% have been told they cannot take part in games of tag or chase.

Notice the red line on this tree….

Children are allowed to climb trees at this

preschool, but they cannot climb past the

red line. The teachers at this site told me

that this safety rule basically works too!

 Supervised? OR Unsupervised?  Clean? OR Messy?  High Tech? OR Low Tech?  Alone? OR Social?  Indoors? OR Outdoors?  Sedentary? OR Active?  Safe? OR Risky?  Adult Driven? OR Child Driven?

When I ask college students about their

most favorite childhood memories, a large

percentage of them raise their hands for

most everything stated in the right column

(unsupervised, messy, low tech, outdoors,

risky, etc. type of play)

Yet adults today often encourage children

to stay on the right column (supervised,

clean, high tech, indoors, safe, etc.)

This concerns me….

Unsupervised

Messy

Low Tech

Social

Outdoors

Active

Risky

Child Driven

 Play is universal and the most productive and enjoyable activity that children undertake.

 Form of play changes with age and culture.  Increasingly complex social play is due to

brain maturation coupled with many hours of social play.

• Are people of about the same age and social status

• Provide practice in emotional regulation, empathy, and social understanding

• Are preferred play partners over parents

 There are three different types of physical play that children engage in during their preschool years:

 1. Sensorimotor

 2. Mastery and

 3. Rough and Tumble.

Let’s look at the different types of PLAY that children participate in.

Play dough

Birdseed

Shaving Cream

Mud

Food?

Sand

Goop Water

Flubber

Fingerpaint

Cocoa Mulch

Bubble Wrap

Birdseed

Cornmeal

Styrofoam

Bubble wrap and

tempra paint!

spaghetti

sand

Shaving cream balls

Styrofoam “peanuts”

rice

flour

water

Sensorimotor play

focuses on the

enjoyment of the sense

and motor skills.

Activities like fingerprinting

and digging in a sandbox

are examples of

sensorimotor play

because while they are

enjoyable activities for

children, they are also

stimulating the sense of

touch by allowing the

children to feel the sand

and the paint in the

fingers.

Cutting with scissors

Using Buttons & Zippers

Playing with Balls

Tying Shoes

Getting dressed

Making snacks

Cooking

Going for walks

Riding Bikes

*

Swinging

Balancing

Taping

Mastery play

is a type of

play that

helps children

learn new

skills.

• Involves physical contact • Looks aggressive • NO intention to harm • Contains expressions and gestures signifying

that the child is “just pretending” • Usually children have a “Play face” (everyone is

smiling/laughing as opposed to angry faces) • Is particularly common among young males • Advances children’s social understanding but

increases likelihood of injury. • “Teachers tend to discourage this type of

aggressive play but it is actually a socially interactive form of activity that usually involves children who know each other well and feel comfortable expressing this aggression towards each other. Therefore, it doesn't need to be discouraged, simply monitored.”

Wrestling

Playing tag

Super Heros & Power Rangers (mimics aggression)

 Why do children engage in superhero play? What is the attraction of it?

 Why are teachers challenged by it?  Is banning Super Hero play the answer?  What are the benefits of Super Hero play?  What should the teachers/director role be?

What else can you do about it?  Are there both boy and girl models?

Sociodramatic play relates to

symbolic representation.

Children make up stories and

objects in their play.

They are able to use symbolic

representation to imagine

objects, such as a block as a

cup, while engaging in play.

Symbolic representation is the knowledge that one thing can

represent another thing.

For example, a picture of a ball represents a real ball.

As children better understand symbolic representation, they play

becomes more advanced because socio-dramatic play involves

imagination.

As they have a better understanding of this type of play, they

are not limited by their resources. For instance, if a plastic apple

is not available (to be a “real” apple), a child might use a

small ball to serve as the apple. They aren’t dependent upon

their resources. They can use their imagination and have

unlimited resources!

When a child represents objects without tangible objects, their

play is limitless!

 Sociodramatic play enables children to: ◦ Explore and

rehearse social roles ◦ Explain ideas and

persuade playmates ◦ Practice emotional

regulation ◦ Develop self-

concept in nonthreatening context

 Builds on pretending, which emerges in toddlerhood

 Is characterized by increasing own gender preferences as children age from 2 to 6 years ◦ Boys: danger; violence

over evil ◦ Girls: domestic scenes

as adults

 Advances theory of mind as children combine imagination with peers

 Varies by culture and cultural norms

 Is influenced by screen time

 AAP guidelines ◦ Maximum of hour daily adult-supervised

screen time for preschoolers

◦ Screen time reduces conversation, imagination, and outdoor play

What do you see as benefits or disadvantages of having traditional gender roles?

What are some expectations society may have

for men and women?

◦Parents ◦Teachers ◦Peers ◦Media

From the Least Social to Most Social

Parten(1932)

Stages

of Play

Unoccupied Behavior/Play

Onlooker Play

Solitary Play

Parallel Play

Associative Play

Cooperative Play

Organized Play

 Solitary play: A child plays alone, unaware of any other children playing nearby.

 Onlooker play: A child watches other children play.

 Parallel play: Children play with similar toys in similar ways, but not together.

 Associative play: Children interact, observing each other and sharing material, but their play is not yet mutual and reciprocal.

 Cooperative play: Children play together, creating and elaborating a joint activity or taking turns.

 Uninvolved in play

 May stand with the teacher

 May wander

 May watch children without verbally or physically interacting

 Important stage for future play exploration and development.

Children simply watch

others play, but do not

engage in the activity or

participate themselves.

 Watches others play and talks to them regarding play

 Gives input, but doesn’t join in

 “Supervisor”

The child may talk to

the children who are

playing but does not

become actively

involved.

 Plays independently and makes no effort to join others.

 The child plays alone, unaware of or ignoring other children playing nearby.

 May refuse others who want to join their play.

 Content to be alone.  Most commonly seen in

young toddlers.  Teaches children how to

entertain themselves.

 Side-by-side playing  Plays with same or

similar toys or materials in similar ways, but not together

 Does not share or cooperate with peers

 No actual interaction  Little or no conversation  Does not try to influence

or join others  Play beside, not with

others

 Play at the same thing, but do not interact with one another.

 Each child does what he/she wishes but is a part of a large group.

 Children interact, observing each other, sharing materials, but play is not yet mutual and reciprocal.

 Play is still independent; play is not coordinated with others play.

 Conversation concerns the activity. Ex: “You build here.”

 Plays with others  Children genuinely play

together, creating and elaborating a joint activity or taking turns.

 Children discuss plans and assign roles (dramatic play)

 There are usually leaders (who direct the activity) and followers

 A goal or storyline is established

• Elaborate games with rules are played

• Children enter

the world of organized sports

Organized Play

• Electronic devices are luring children

• Creativity is not encouraged • The amount of outdoor time is

declining rapidly • Safety issues and concerns • Over-emphasis on academics • Play spaces are decreasing

Ask any child what they did at school or with their friends. You will almost always get the same answer: “I played.”

If you visit a school, you might reach the same conclusion: “They’re just playing.”

Don’t be misled by that word: “Play.”

The children aren’t “just playing….”

(Why play is so very important)

Play helps a child develop:

 cognitively

 emotionally

 socially

 and physically.

How can and does play help children’s

development progress in

each of the domains?

 Play is the primary vehicle for concept development and problem solving.

 It stretches attention span

 It builds vocabulary

 Play provides opportunities for contact with multiple stimuli. It contributes to a large range of specific cognitive processes/skills.

 It helps organize ideas and thoughts (In play a child always feels “I have an idea.”)

 Language, Literacy and Communication ◦ Play has been found to accelerate communication

◦ Play fosters the three basic functions of language: communication, expression, and reasoning

◦ Symbolic play is related to understanding written language

 Play is the young child’s emotional equalizer. Young children need something to help them with the realities of life and “play” does that job.

 Play is a comforter. It helps them become stronger, more resilient.

 Play helps turn young children into social beings.

 They learn how to not be so bossy, selfish, or grabby…or too weak, mild, or shy.

 Dramatic play helps them develop cooperative relationships and gain mutual understanding and trust.

 Pretend play helps children form their personalities and develop social skills.

 Outdoor play improves fitness

 Play equipment can promote gross-motor skills  Steps, balance beams, jump ropes, bean bag toss, hollow

blocks, strollers for dramatic play

 Fine motor skills (finger dexterity) is enhanced by activities such as drawing, painting, working with playdough, building with Legos, etc.

 Sensorimotor skills are also enhanced through play.

 Coordinated movement such as kicking a ball

Leading scholars in early childhood education have all recognized that play is the basis of good early childhood practice.

Play is THE fundamental cornerstone for children’s development!

 Space (that play needs at home and at school)

 Materials (that let play flow easily, such as blocks, sand, clay,

paints, dolls, dress up clothes, balls, etc.)

 Peers (agemates that make play richer)

 and time to play!

So, we see that PLAY does enhance children’s development in all domains…BUT, the big question is

How do we support children’s play?

 Press for standards and accountability is changing education and placing more demands on student accomplishment

 Emphasis is being placed on the more easily measured domains of language and cognition, at the expense of the other three domains

 Focus is on getting kids academically ready for the more rigorous curriculum in K-3

 Current push toward early mastery of academic skills

 “Swift and pervasive rise of electronic media”

 Adults who lean &

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