The Importance of PlayCh. 24

Play & Development Physical

Helps children strengthen muscles, develop large motor skills, burn energy, improve coordination

Intellectual Teaches about environment, words, letters, ideas Storytelling, pretend play and drawing encourage creativity

Emotional Helps a child learn to give and receive love, reach out to

others, and develop self-esteem Social

Learn how to make and maintain relationships and solve conflicts

Moral Helps children learn how their actions will affect people

Active & Quiet Play Active Play

Activities that are primarily physical and employ large-motor skills

All children need active play Helps develop large muscles & allows

them to release energy Ex: running, riding a bike, jumping on the

bed

Active & Quiet Play Quiet Play

Activities that engage the mind and small-motor skills and do not call for much movement

Helps children develop their small muscles and think in different ways

Ex: reading a book, doing a puzzle

Active & Quiet Play Good health depends on both types of

play The child will be better able to adapt to

situations

Not ever child requires the same amount Age personality

Promoting Children’s Play Should be tailored to the developmental

stage of the particular child

Should fit the child’s skill and interest level Most fun Most stimulating

Infants and Play Explore through their senses

Sensory toys: objects that stimulate the senses with different textures, shapes, sounds, and colors

Helps the infant feel loved

Enjoy seeing faces, hearing voices, and feeling the caring touch of people around them

Adapt to infants moods and schedules

Toddlers and Play Active! Enjoying running, jumping, etc. Promotes a toddler’s intellectual

development Enjoy playing with water, sand,

modeling clay, dough, finger paints Spurs creativity and helps toddlers

develop small motor skills Enjoy imitating adults

Preschoolers and Play Increase the variety of play Better small-motor skills Self-esteem increases Creativity is expressed strongly through

pretending Pretend play mates

Practice expressing feelings and behaviors

Making the Most of Play

Children who spend time with interested, creative caregivers are likely to

develop at a faster rate and refine their skills more than

children who do not.

Useful TechniquesChildren who are busy with safe,

interesting play are far less likely to become restless, get into trouble, or

test caregivers.

Distract: lead children away from something they shouldn’t do

Facilitate: help bring about play without controlling what the child does

Handling Competition Useful because it motivates children to

try their hardest Help children learn to handle competitive

play by emphasizing the pleasure of play

Reading Books Enhances verbal communication

Talking, listening, and vocabulary building Enhances children’s imaginations and

learning abilities Fulfills emotional and social needs Allow children to read to you!

Tips for Reading to Young Children Choose stories appropriate for the child’s age.

Be prepared for a child’s request to hear the same story/book over and over.

Take time to let the child look at the pictures.

Talk about the story, act it out, or refer to it later.

http://www.easternct.edu/cece/e-clips_play.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIayLh2P5C0