Mr. Fred Rogers once said, “Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” Play is a vital aspect of early childhood education and determines how a child builds responsive relationships and core life skills which are necessary for problem solving.
Without enough free play, a child may grow up depressed, isolated, with lack of resilience and less self-control. As teens and young adults, these children struggle to form deeper interpersonal relationships, adapting to change, and have a higher tendency of becoming addicts.
However, with enough unsupervised play, children prepare their brains for emotional and social learning which helps them to succeed in social settings like schools and daily life experiences. Join us to discuss how school readiness, playful learning, holistic development and many more can be achieved through play.
Children often learn languages, social norms, and responsibilities, through playful experiences. This shows that children are naturally more receptive to learning new ideas through friendly experiences and interactions. Playful learning is a technique that embodies this approach to learning by encouraging children to be active, experimental, creative and explorative.
Playful learning allows children to develop problem solving skills, creativity, communication skills, and decision making skills. These skills assist children in developing a strong self esteem and overcoming challenges as they grow.
Educators, caregivers, and parents can create a playful environment full of explorative aspects to encourage playful learning.
As children play, they develop creative ideas and draw conclusions based on those ideas. Play creates an environment that is suitable for developing a sense of awareness, critical thinking and communication skills.
Activities and games such as card games, gardening, toys, treasure hunts, and board games, promote cognitive development.
To live up to their potential, children need to learn effective problem solving skills. Allowing them to play their favorite games allows them to explore their creativity and which improves their cognitive skills.
Some of these games include dress-up, board games, blocks, and puzzles, among others. When playing these games children think critically and revise their decisions periodically.
Yes, preparing your toddler for school through play is possible. You would have to incorporate a lot of activities into your child’s play routine to help prepare him/her for school. Some of the activities you could include in your child’s routine include:
Singing and reading: This will enhance your child’s language and communication skills which are necessary for succeeding in school.
Art Projects: Drawing various items and coloring enhances creativity and helps children familiarize with artworks drawn on school walls.
Counting: Counting various items like tins, tables, chairs, and windows familiarizes your child with math concepts.
Going out for Walks: This allows your child to have a clear geographical landscape of his environment and become familiar with geographical terms like hills, rivers, and valleys.
Confidence is essential to ensuring your child grows with a high sense of self. Children basically emulate their guardians and it’s up to them to shape them. Confidence is developed by overcoming tough situations consistently. This can be achieved through play. Preparing a game in which children experience the right amount of challenge is key to improving their confidence.
You can also ignite your child’s independence by engaging in playful activities that promote physical health, cognitive improvement, language & communication skills, and creativity. Some of the games that promote confidence and ignite independence include soccer, running, bouncing castle games, and swimming.
Some games such as scrabble and charade are perfect for language and communication development for kids, and can establish a strong foundation for literary abilities that can enable them to write articles and offer tutoring services on various platforms like the homework market.
For children to understand each other and develop an understanding during play, they have to communicate and understand each other’s emotions. They learn to listen, communicate their thoughts, explore their feelings, and work out their emotions.
Play encourages children to actively participate in communication to achieve a goal. Once the goal is achieved they can associate that experience with joy and other positive emotions. This cycle continues and as time passes they become better at communicating, listening, and expressing their emotions,
Group games encourage cooperation among kids to come up with a solution. Games such as mirror mirror, keep it up, ball bounce, and dragon tail, among others are not only fun for kids but also help them learn how to work together.
Children can learn empathy by sharing their toys with other kids and playing together without fights breaking up. When they share their toys continuously they learn that the world doesn’t revolve around them.
Physically engaging games such as hula hoop, dancing, soccer, running, digging treasure, and riding a kite improve the physical ability of kids and increase hand and body coordination. These games also keep kids fit.
Games that involve sharing such as soccer, four in arrow, and hide and seek, allow children to develop exceptional emotional skills within a short period. These games allow kids to understand themselves better.
Most games that involve more than one person improve the social skills of kids. All of the games mentioned above teach kids about turn-taking and require kids to develop communication and language skills, to effectively participate.
Play allows young children to develop quality cognitive, emotional, social, and communication skills that are necessary for them to overcome various challenges that they will face in life. Playful learning creates a conducive environment that is familiar to kids and encourages learning.
What are some of the games that improve emotional awareness? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
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