Early
childhood is an important time in a child’s development. This development can
be impacted by the activities that the child engages in. One of the most
impactful activities a child can engage in is play. According to Santrock “play makes important contributions to
young children’s cognitive and socioemotional development” (2016, p. 183). Due
to the fact that play is important to development it is imperative that
parents, guardians, and educators be aware of how play can impact a child’s
development and how they can help the child learn through play.
Play is a major way in which
children learn to pretend and develop creativity. Today the need for
pretend play has lessened with the presence of extremely realistic toys
becoming available on the market for parents, caregivers, and educational institutions
to purchase. Children no longer need to pretend that an object is something
else because realistic toys are available. For example children of the past
would pretend that something like a flat rock was a fried egg or that a paper
role was a carton of milk when playing house or acting like a chef. However now
there are toys that look like realistic food products for children to play
with. With the presence of such toys children do not need to learn to pretend
that something is something else. Due to this fact they do not develop the
creativity needed to imagine such things. Parents, caregivers, and teachers can
help their children learn how to pretend by using props instead of realistic
toys and having these props be multifunctional in play (Bodrova, 2008). A paper
towel role can be a carton of milk, but it can also be a rolling pin, a
binocular, or a pirate’s sword. Having the child imagine that something is
something different from its physical appearance makes them exercise their
minds and challenges their thinking. The
exploration of alternate symbolic representations during shared pretense may
push the child to try new things, thus encouraging cognitive flexibility and
the development of creativity” (Coplan, & Arbeau, 2009, p151). The
development of creativity and the ability to imagine in tern affects the usage
of a child’s oral language. According to Bodrova (2008) play increases the use
of oral language in four and five year old children. These children need oral
language in order to assign new meaning to toys, props and their own actions. Parents,
caregivers, and teachers can help a child develop their language skills by
engaging in pretend play that has set roles for objects and rules to play by. “Language
and communicative skills may be aided during the discussions, negotiations, and
conflicts surrounding the establishment of “roles and rules” during shared
pretense, in which children practice words and phrases” (Coplan & Arbeau, 2009,
p152).
Play
is not only helpful in developing creativity, language, and communication
skills. Play can also be a great way to develop literary skills in young
children. According to Sonnenschein, Baker, Serpell,
and Schmidt (2000), it has been found that young children’s literacy knowledge
increased after spending time in three different literacy enriched play centers
in their preschool (p.107). This finding
shows how play can positively affect a child’s literary knowledge. Using
literacy in play helps children realize its importance in their lives without
suppressing their energy and creativity in a strict classroom setting. “Play
provides unique opportunities for young children to understand the authentic
purpose of reading and writing and to practice reading and writing skills in a
meaningful context” (Bodrova, 2008). Incorporating
literacy materials into a child’s play can help the child academically.
According to Bergen (2002), in a longitudinal study it was found that “children
who had high levels of play with literary materials in preschool were likely to
be spontaneous readers of place signs and have greater pretend verbalizations
in a “town-building” activity at age 5”. When literacy materials have been
embedded into play in schools it was found that kindergartners ability to read
print in their environment was increased (Bergen ,
2002).
Using play to
teach children about literacy can help the child develop a positive outlook on
literacy in general that can carry on into their futures. “Play, with its rich
opportunities for social interaction and its intrinsic rewards, is an
especially potent context for fostering the positive dispositions towards
literacy that are crucial to the appropriation of this important cultural
practice” (Sonnenschein et al., 2000, p.107). The use
of play to teach literacy is not only important in a school setting it is
important at home too. The child’s parent/s or caregiver/s have a major role on
how their child will view literacy in their futures. “Children benefit when
their parents have the belief that reading is enjoyable and communicate by
their actions their own enjoyment to their children” (Sonnenschein
et al., 2000, p.121). It is important for parent/s or caregiver/s to show their
children that literacy is enjoyable and can be fun. They can do this through
incorporating literacy into play with their children or engaging in reading
times that are interactive and fun for the child.
When a child plays pretend or make-believe games
with the peers or care givers they often engage in role-play and pretend to be
someone other than themselves. Role-play requires children to act out
others thoughts and actions, and to portray emotions appropriate to varied situation
(Bergen , 2002).
In order to do this children need to think through what emotions certain
situations would elicit and act in accordance with these emotions. The roles
and rules of make-believe games help children to develop the ability of
self-regulation of their emotions. According to Bodrova (2008) “Development of
self-regulation
in play becomes possible because of the inherent relationship that exists
between roles children play and rules they need to follow when playing these
roles”. More information on the effects of play on self
regulation and emotional development will be available on another post on
social and emotional development.
References
Bodrova,
E. (2008) Make‐believe Play Versus Academic
Skills: a Vygotskian Approach to Today’s Dilemma of Early Childhood Education. European Early Childhood Education Research
Journal, 16(3), p 357-369. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13502930802291777
Coplan,
R. J., & Arbeau, K. A. (2009). Peer Interactions and Play in Early
Childhood. In K. H. Rubin, W. M. Bukowski & B. Laursen (Eds.), Handbook of Peer Interactions,
Relationships, and Groups. (143-154). New York : The Guilford
Santrock, J.W. (2016). Essentials of Lifespan Development (4th ed.). New York
Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., Serpell, R., &
Schmidt, D. (2000). Reading
is a Source of Entertainment: The Importance of The Home Perspective for
Children’s Literacy Development. In K. A. Roskos & J. F. Christie (Eds.), Play and Literacy in Early Childhood:
Research From Multiple Perspectives. (p. 107-124). Mhwah ,
New Jersey : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. Retrieved
from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan_Sonnenschein/publication/266675509_Reading_is_a_source_of_entertainment_The_importance_of_the_home_perspective_for_literacy/links/5437160b0cf2bf1f1f2d462e.pdf
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