Play. Whether it is in the home, at school, with friends or family, play is woven into a child’s everyday life.
Often, play is thought of as a vacation from learning. On the contrary, it is an integral part of the early learning process. Children use play, especially in the early years of life, to understand their world and how it works.
Play in early childhood education develops many skills including vocabulary, literacy, problem-solving, socialization, and fine motor and gross motor skills.
Countless studies have found that children who play and interact with others from a young age are able to problem solve more effectively than those that do not.
Puzzles and simple games often allow for this problem solving to occur. “Does this piece fit?” “Where does it go?”
A treasure hunt with a teacher or parent can allow for problem-solving as well. As children listen to clues, they figure out where to go to look for the next clue and, eventually, the treasure. When children have a caring adult (parent or early childhood educator) to encourage their exploration and curiosity, they are building self-confidence that will help them throughout their lives.
There is great worth in all types of play. Think about a simple water-and-sand table. When children play at these tables, they are looking at the effects of gravity, measuring, sorting, sharing and conflict resolution. Not only that, they are inadvertently learning about buoyancy. They are examining and recording the experiments they perform in their minds for later use.
When imagination is at use in play, children are expanding their creativity. Even play as simple as throwing the ball with others, playing house and pretending, hide and seek, or duck, duck, goose, creates the opportunity for learning.
Play is also an important part of a child’s social and emotional development. By socializing your children in an early education environment, you are setting them up for success in their elementary school days.
Socialization allows them to learn how to express and cope with feelings, to be patient with others and their feelings and allows them to experience other points of view by working through disagreements.
It is important that parents and early educators alike make play a priority. Through play, children learn about the world around them as they create, explore and imagine.
Not only will they benefit socially, they also will increase vocabulary, expand creativity and it will allow them to be productive members of society.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Play — the key to early learning