Along with a need for safe and supervised care, many parents enroll their child in a daycare or preschool program with the expectation that they will be learning academic skills that will prepare them for future school success. Because many of the parent's early school or care experiences were rigid school environments comprised of worksheets and teacher-directed activities, they are often dismayed to find their children playing for most of the day.
After all, isn't play just an idle waste of time? Surprisingly, child psychologists and educational specialists will answer this with a resounding "No". Many early childhood teachers and daycare providers are now recognizing what they have found in numerous research studies: Play is the most effective and powerful way for young children to learn. Often it is said that play is the work of childhood, the primary method for them to learn about themselves, others and their world.
Some scientists have found evidence that play can sculpt the brain and build denser webs of neural connections. When we play we literally exercise our brain cells. The nerve cells in the brain actually thicken and grow as we learn.
"Imagination is more important than
knowledge.
Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world."
-- Albert Einstein
What Is Play?
child-directed and chosen
process-oriented
non-goal-oriented
"Knowledge arises neither from objects
nor the child,
but from interactions
between the child and those objects."
-- Jean Piaget
What Does Play Teach?
Fingerplays
fine-motor skills
counting
coordination
self-esteem
creativity
cooperation
spatial concepts
language and vocabulary development
imagination
emotional statement
abstract reasoning
shapes
spatial concepts
comprehension including gravity, stability, weight, and balance
problem solving
fine motor skills
nutrition
science
concepts(prediction, cause and effect)
emotional statement
symbolic representation
fine-motor skills
*Submitted by Sherry