Froebel for example, argues that children need guidance, support and interaction from the teacher or adult, with discussions in the form of ‘Circle Time’ at least once per day. This allows children to talk with their teachers and peers about what it is they are going to do that day, or discuss what they have been doing. Froebel preached ‘Let us live with our children, play with them, direct them in to this manifold life of the universe’ (Montessori and Froebel: A Comparison, 1912 p. 256). This method of teaching and play is still completely relevant and widely used today. White (1989, cited in Lown, 2002) says that circle time is a tool for improving self-esteem and learning, as they are able to express emotional, spiritual, cognitive and moral concerns during this special allocated time. Another Characteristic of Froebelian learning is the use of ‘gifts’ and ‘occupations’. These were materials that teachers would use with children to help them discover concepts such as colours, or shapes, or sewing. (Fraser and Gestwicki, 2002) This form of play is adult-led but is fun for the child, and allows them to develop cognitively. It is through Adult directed play that a child can be shown what to do in order for them to imitate and perhaps learn something new. Then through free play they can further explore that learning. It is understood through current practice and through looking at the Development Matters document (Early Education, 2012) that some of both free play and adult-led play is needed to ensure a well-rounded learning experience.
In the below table, we can see how an adult’s role can be key for facilitating learning. Although the child is in control and directs his/her own playing experience, the adult is there to enhance the child’s understanding of the activity. This can be particularly helpful for the child if the activity is complex:
(Sayeed & Guerin, 2000, p81)
This table outlines what is known as MLE (Mediated Learning Experience), where the adult is present during child’s play as a mediator and only intervenes to help the child with development areas such as confidence, competence, controlling of behaviour and sharing interactions with others. (Sayeed & Guerin, 2000) So although the adult is actively involved in the activity or game, they are not intervening, they are only providing assistance and guidance.
Not only is it the people who direct the play that can influence the outcome, it is the type of play and the materials used which stimulate further dynamics and advantages that free-flow play on its own might not provide. For example, playing a game with rules; this is not open ended, and not controlled by children all of the time. There is a fixed idea of how the game should go and the players need to adhere to these rules in order for them to play it successfully. Due to the way in which a child must understand the concept of this type of play (like taking turns, fair play etc.), games with rules do not usually occur until a child is about 4 years old. The positive thing about this nature of playing is that children will learn how to respect others and take turns, they develop a competiveness which may later benefit them in their older years and also prepares them for the next stage of their childhood which is school, where they are expected to adhere to instructions and rules. (Sheridan, Harding and Smith, 2002)
Outdoor play is very potent in early childhood settings, in the Development Matters guidance material, it would fall under ‘enabling environment’ (Early Education, 2012), as the outside world has endless possibilities in terms of space and materials, a child may run around and develop their gross motor skills or they may craft using natural materials ‘Arrange flexible indoor and outdoor space and resources where children can explore, build, move and role play.’ (Early Education, 2012 p. 6) A child could even lay back and listen to sounds, or observe their surroundings, having fun but also learning about their world . It was Rousseau (cited in Wellhousen, 2002) who first suggested that children would learn better from a natural environment rather than a classroom, although it was Pestalozzi and Froebel who were the leading pioneers in implementing the outdoor aspect of play. Pestalozzi advocated children taking walks through nature so that they can observe and understand their natural settings, which would allow them to learn more about plants and animals etc. (Wellhousen, 2002)
Imaginitive play or role playing is one other way a child can have fun and learn. In this, a child may become someone else, or imagine something whilst playing that is not real. This is a child’s fantasy world, somewhere he/she can make sense of their thoughts and perceptions of the world around them. For example when he/she dresses up as a doctor, they are able to become this role and understand more about them. Maybe a child might face their fears during imaginative play, they might pretend something is happening that they would usually be afraid of, but because it is pretend they don’t have to worry about it coming true. (Gordon, ND). Role playing can be initiated by the adult also, for instance in a puppet show where to adult is telling a story and the child might perhaps create the characters and get involved in the show. This develops creativity in a child. These types of play mentioned are amongst many others, which are imperative to developing the child emotionally, cognitively and socially, as well as building on phsysical strength. Most of these types of play may be adult initiated or supervised by an adult, but are then directed onwards by the child and would be fun regardless of having an end product or goal.
Although play is fun for the young person, it is also suggested that we can tell a lot about a child’s emotional wellbeing by observing the subject whilst they are fully engaged in play – this is called play therapy. Virginia Axline (1969, cited in Maynard and Thomas, 2009) used selected toys and involved various play tools such as puppetry, role playing, drama, story telling and art to emphasise the value of theraputic relationship and the play process. She also used experiences such as multi-sensory and symbolism to support the child in acting out their role. The child will lead the session and the therapist will see this as an ‘information gathering opportunity’ (Maynard and Thomas, 2009, p108). It is from this information gathering that the therapist may be able to make a clinical diagnosis about children’s theraputic needs. (Maynard and Thomas, 2009) So play is not only a pleasureable experience for the young person, and not only does it help them acquire skills and advance, participating in play can allow us to see into a child’s world and discover feelings or issues that the child may not know how to express themselves through conversation.
There are a number of different factors that may inhibit a child’s right to play, or limit it, for example cultural background, or economic abilities. Even the national curriculum does not fully allow for play based educational experiences. (Maynard and Thomas, 2009) Some adults basically take away the child’s right through neglect or lack of understanding about the importance of it. There may be other reasons holding parents back from allowing their children to access the space for playing, such as the panic that they may face the same fate of other parents featured on news headlines reporting abducted children (Play Wales, 2003) media can higly influence the feelings and decisions that parents make for their children in order to protect them from danger. Cultural differences, such as the separation of labour and leisure may supress young people from fully exploring play to its full potential. (Rogers, 2008) All these factors can be responsible for allowing play deprivation to occur. During the first 7 years of life, a child will undergo significant neurological growth, and should play deprivation take place; a child may become developmentally lacking, aggressive, mentally unstable and neurologically dysfunctional. It is found that ‘regular access to quality play experience eradicates the effects of play deprivation’ (Play Wales, 2003, p4) Exposing a child to different activities of play and sensory experiences every day will result in the young person developing their own confidence and interests so they can control their own learning/play experience. Allowing normal brain growth and stimulation.
I have three different perspectives on this subject. Not only have I been a child myself who has experienced play, its never ending capacities, and learning whithout actually realising it; I am also a mother of a 2 year old boy, plus I have worked in a nursery setting. I have seen first-hand how children learn, progress and improve skills through playing. My son, for the first year of his life did not go to nursery and so he and I would play at home. I assumed it would be beneficial to talk as though he knew what I meant, and not over-simplify my whole vocabulary for him. Whenever he would look at an object or grab something, I would explain what it was or maybe what colour it was, so that from an early age he would start to understand the world around him. If he were to show signs of moving on to the next developmental stage, i.e. crawling, I would encourage this by leaving toys on the other side of the room, or laying him on his front while I would wave a toy in front of him. This playfulness was fun for him, but also valuable, as it was playing a part in moving him on to the next step of his life - making him more mobile. He did not realise this as he was laughing and having fun, but my role as an adult allowed him to accelerate to his next milestone. When I worked in a nursery recently, I was informed that it was a child-led nursery, which I was excited to observe. The children were freely able to play with whatever they wanted and whenever they wanted, the practitioner simply joined in with the activity or made suggestions as to what to play next. If any child did not want to participate, they were not obligated to. There was still a focus on learning; red, blue and green were their focus colours for that month. If a child were to be engaged in an activity, the practitioner might ask them “What colour is that?” or “Can you pass me the blue one?” The child is totally unaware that they are being quizzed or being taught, they are purely taking part because it is fun. If the adult were to get too involved or interfere too much, the child would get bored and start to rebel wanting to play something else, so it was important to get the right balance. I remember myself when I was younger, having roller skates for the first time. I fell over many times to start with, but in time my brother, sister and I would be having so much fun chasing each other round, that the falls and trips happened less; we were learning about our centre of gravity, our balance. We were also learning about risk taking and becoming more brave and confident. At the time was not educated in what free play was – or that play could be imperative to our development. We were merely having fun, the last thing on our minds was that we were maturing and progressing.
At first, Susan Isaacs’ idea that play should be ‘open ended, unpredictable…. controlled by the players… children’ (Giadiello, 2013) seemed almost constricting, and blind to the significance of various other ways of playing. However, after exploring the depths of play including research, reports, history, and philosophies I realise that they all denote the same, if not a similar message. That children should direct and lead the way during play; that the adult is merely a tool for allowing further progression, this could be through supervising for safety reasons, playing a role in their drama, building blocks with them or encouraging some learning during the process. It seems to be agreed that if you do not categorise play into sections, you can see a bigger picture. Some categories will merge and aid each other, role play can happen outdoors, games with rules can involve some imagination should the children wish to invent a game. There is flexibility in how the child wishes to use them. It is said to be imperative that the relationship of adult to child remains as observer – player so that we can notice what the child is particularly interested in, what they might need to develop on, what they are good at. Although the reasons a child may not get the opportunity to play have been acknowledged, it is said that no child should have their right to play taken away from them. This is where as a parent, teach, practitioner or relative, the adult plays instrumental role, providing the right environment and materials for young people to play. In conclusion, directed activities are too much like work, children do not want to work, it is in their nature to play, ‘The imperative to play appears to be a universal characteristic of early childhood within different countries and societies'. Furthermore, children should be prioritised during playful activities, allowing them to direct the scenario; it may also be creative and unpredictable, it may or may not have an end goal but it will definitely be fun and worthwhile.
References
Lown, Jackie. (2002) Circle Time: the perceptions of teachers and pupils. Educational Psychology in Practice, Vol. 18 (2), pp.93-157.
Early Education. (2012) Development Matters. Foundation Years. [Online] Available from: <http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2012/03/Development-Matters-FINAL-PRINT-AMENDED.pdf. [accessed 10 January 2013.]
Forbes, Ruth. (2004) Beginning to play: Young Children From Birth to Three. Berkshire : Open University Press.
Giadiello, Patricia. (2013) Pioneers in Early Childhood Education. London : Routledge, 2013.
Gordon, Diane. (ND) Imaginative Play in Early Childhood: An Overview. Children, Nature and you. [Online]. Available from:
<http://www.childrennatureandyou.org/Imaginative%20Play%20in%20Early%20Childhood.pdf.>
[accessed: 12 January 2014].
Mary D Sheridan, Jackie Harding, Liz Meldon-Smith. 2002. Play in Early Childhood : From Birth to Six Years. London : Routledge, 2002.
Montessori and Froebel: A Comparison. Stevens, Ellen Yale. 1912. 6, s.l. : The University of Chicago Press, February 1912, The Elementary School Teacher, Vol. 12, pp. 253-258.
Play Wales. 2003. Play Deprivation. Play Wales. [Online] 2003. [Cited: January 22, 2014.] http://www.playwales.org.uk/login/uploaded/documents/INFORMATION%20SHEETS/play%20deprivation.pdf.
Press, Oxford University. 2014. Play. Oxford Dictionaries. [Online] 2014. [Cited: January 19, 2014.] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/play.
Rights, United Nations of Human. 1989. Convention on the Rights of the Child. [Online] 1989. [Cited: January 7, 2014.] http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx.
Sue Rogers, Julie Evans. 2008. Inside Role-Play in Early Childhood Education: Researching young children's perspectives. Oxon : Routledge, 2008.
Susan Fraser, Carol Gestwicki. 2002. Authentic Childhood: Exploring Reggio Emilia in the Classroom. Canada : Delmar: Thomson Learning, 2002.
The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Ginsburg, Kenneth R. 2007. 1, January 2007, American Academy of Pediatrics, Vol. 119, pp. 182-191.
Trisha Maynard, Nigel Thomas. 2009. An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies. 2. London : Sage Publications Ltd, 2009.
Wellhousen, Karyn. 2002. Outdoor play, every day: Innovative play concepts for Early Childhood. Canada : Delmar, 2002.
Zahirun Sayeed, Ellen Guerin. 2000. Early Years Play. London : David Fulton, 2000.