Introduction
Play in childhood makes a
healthier adult. Therefore, the early childhood curriculum should mandatorily
include play. Thus, effective implementation of play reflected in adulthood
would require the partnership of the educators and the family of the child.
Creative people are curious,
flexible, persistent and independent, with a tremendous spirit of adventure and
a love of play – Henri Matisse
Children learn as they play.
Most importantly, in play, children learn how to learn- O. Fred Donaldson
Past Support Play
Support Play connotes assistance
by others to enable a play to happen. Children need support or permission to
play, and an adult's help can facilitate the process. As a child, the play
support was by mom, dad, caregivers, family, friends, and the community.
One's famous play was with a
doll and cooking utensils provided by mom. One plays mom, bath the doll, dress
the baby, dress the doll's house, and cook for the toy, while hug and kissing
the babe most of the day.
Mom support play mostly by
hugging, kissing, poking; eliciting laugher, provision of toys, imaginative
actions, allowing playtime and letting one wonder outdoors, leading to a voyage
of discovery, imitation, fantasy, love, socialization, bodily play and
understanding self (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2008; Microsoft Research
(Producer)., 2009). Dad plays by throwing and catching one, teaching fun games,
sports, and poking, enabling confidence, removing fear, and establishing
strength (Almon, 2002).
The caregiver plays more like
tumble games, hid and seek, leading to joy and detection. Family and friends
support play with gift toys, running, catching the train, skipping rope, and
teaching play games, which leads to happiness, curiosity, and concentration
(Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2008).
The community supports were in
the provision of materials to play in parks, creating play areas in
restaurants, bookshops, shopping centers, and sand beaches, enabling freedom,
tourism, exploration, creativity, perseverance, and socialization (McKendrick,
Bradford, & Fielder, 2000). Similarly, Almon (2002) specifies support play
as giving children ideas for play, demonstrating for children to copy, beneficial
actions, involvement in child's play when necessary, and encouraging wholesome
play in the child's home-based.
Similar Past, Present, and Proposed Future Play
The most past form of childhood
play is similar to present-day play. The present-day kind of play is typically
an improved version of the old. For instance, the old play Ludo is with a
wooden base, cuplike holes, and stones, but in the present, the same game
played is with cardboard and dice plastic pebbles, which is lighter to carry.
Children love to play naked in the rain and dirt, the same as the present if
allowed. Hid and seek, tumble and ruffle, catching the train, jumping in the
square, plus biking are all past and present form of play.
In the future, play
communication should happen in the workplace. Accordingly, Petelczyc, et al.
(2018) stipulate that play prospects in the working environment can raise
efficiency, creativity, commitment, and self-confidence in the workers.
Educators should establish a thoughtful initiative to institute play in
practicing a skill, incorporate parents to participate in a child's playtime,
which can improve creativity, bonding, and develop future confidence (Brinums,
Imuta, & Suddendorf, 2017).
Role of Play in Childhood to Adulthood
Play is an epitome of a child's
growth that is fundamental to a person's wellbeing. The role of play in
childhood is to merge life components of experience to enable successful
adulthood, which permits creativity that leads to development (Almon, 2002).
Play role in childhood to
adulthood is to acquire skills that support relationships like partnerships and
interpersonal competence., literacy with numeracy, which is the ability to
read, write and solve arithmetic., interaction, being able to communicate
effectively and productiveness; being resourceful and proficient (Hirsh-Pasek
& Golinkoff, 2008).
Play assists the growth of
language and cognitive skills in childhood that becomes beneficial to the child
as an adult in reasoning, decision-making, and problem-solving. Play in
childhood enables in adulthood the capability of control, adventure,
concentration, accountability, verbal, and non-verbal interactions (Sawyer,
2017; Whitebread, et al., 2017).
Conclusion
Play from all indications and as
postulated from researchers is essential to a child's growth. The application
of play in the right settings will enable the child to prepare for adulthood.
However, more play innovations are required to tackle the ever-challenging
world. A guide to always check and balance our need for play is summed up in
the famous proverb
"all work and no play make
Jack a dull boy" by James Howell. Notably, bright boys needed, not dull
boys in today's world for positive impact.
References
Almon, K. (2002). The vital role
of play in early childhood education. Gateway.
43. Retrieved
from http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BAPlayAlmon.pdf
Brinums, M., Imuta, K.,
Suddendorf, T. (2017). Practicing for the future: Deliberate practice in early childhood. Society for
Research in Child Development. doi.10.1111/cdev.12938
Hirsh-Pasek, K. & Golinkoff,
R. M. (2008). Why play = learning. Encyclopedia on early childhood development. Retrieved from
http://www.child-encyclopedia.com
/play/according-experts/why-play-learning
McKendrick, J. H., Bradford, M.
G., & Fielder, A. V. (2000). Making sense of the commercialization of leisure space for children.
Children's geographies: Playing, living,
learning, 8, 86.
Microsoft Research (Producer).
(2009). Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul [Video file].
Retrieved from http://research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=103479
Petelczyc, et al. (2018) Play at
work: An integrative review and agenda for future research
Journal of Management. (44)1, 161 –190. doi:
10.1177/0149206317731519
Sawyer, J. (2017). I think I
can: Preschoolers' private speech and motivation in playful versus non-playful contexts. Early Childhood
Research Quarterly, 38, 84–96.
Whitebread, D. et al. (2017).
The role of play in Children's development: A review of the evidence. The LEGO Foundation. White
Paper. Retrieved from
https://www.legofoundation.com/media/1065/play-types-_
-development-review_web.pdf
Hi Lady Josephine,
ReplyDeleteYour post is very informative and inspiring in the area of play and I agree with you that there should be an "initiative to institute play in practicing a skill, to incorporate parents to participate in a child's playtime, which can improve creativity, bonding, and develop future confidence" (Brinums, Imuta, & Suddendorf, 2017).
As Maria Montessori stated, "play is a child's work" (Fox, 2008).
Reference:
Brinums, M., Imuta, K., Suddendorf, T. (2017). Practicing for the future: Deliberate practice in early childhood. Society for Research in Child Development. doi.10.1111/cdev.12938
Fox, J. (2008). Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood. Retrieved from Early Childhood News Article: www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx
Hi Lady Josephine,
ReplyDeleteI remember having a doll house that I shared with my sister during my early childhood. Your post brought back memories after seeing the picture of the doll house. As I began to reflect on the many roles we played during our play time, I remember spending countless hours with my sister pretending and using our imagination without dolls. We had so much fun.
Hello Gigi,
DeleteThanks for the post. Yes, this course assignment brings back a lot of memories. We are not only learning how to teach effectively, we are been made to use ourselves as the specimen. These are methods that keep what we have learnt in us and a constant reminder, of who we are as educators and experienced individuals in our feed of study. Experience they say is the best teacher; "Experience is the best teacher and the worse experiences teach the best lessons" Harry Callahan. God bless.