It’s more than just play

Sameera Sood

Imagine this scenario: the household help at home takes the day off. You have to sweep and mop the entire house before you leave for work. How will you feel? Angry/upset/frustrated?

Yet we have seen children spontaneously pick up a broom and happily sweep the floor. In fact, they get upset when the broom is taken away from them.

The act of sweeping, considered strenuous and boring by adults, becomes play for children. This brings us to the big question – What is play? And how is it important for children?

Work is what you are obliged to do, play is what you’re not obliged to do – this statement by Mark Twain clearly highlights the distinction between work and play.

Play is
• Freely chosen
• Personally directed
• Intrinsically motivated

Play is a self-chosen activity. Children participate in play for the enjoyment and satisfaction they derive from successful participation.

All children play. They explore the world, make sense of their environment and learn about the world around them through play. Play helps them construct knowledge, develop intellectual and social skills, acquire dexterity and learn emotional control. Thus, play is the route through which children learn spontaneously and without pressure.

Why is play important?
Physical and motor development
Play helps children grow strong and healthy. Vigorous play such as running, kicking ball, riding a bicycle, etc., improves strength, stamina, muscle co-ordination and balance. Quiet play such as constructing with blocks or molding with clay improves fine motor co-ordination and dexterity.

Language development
Children learn new words in the context of their play activities. A child who has a doctor set to play with learns words such as thermometer, stethoscope, and injection. Similarly, children learn names of play material (ball, blocks, dice, hurdles), action words (throw, give, slide) and descriptive words (fast, big, high).

Play provides them with opportunities to speak with and listen to their friends and use language to plan, direct and review their activities.

Cognitive development
Play helps in concept formation. For example, while playing in the sand pit, children fill in a bucket with sand using a spade. They learn what “full” or “empty” means. They also learn that sand is coarse and dry; dry sand can be poured easily but it cannot be molded into shapes. They learn that when sand is added to water, it sinks at the bottom. Children develop understanding of concepts related to science, math, people, community, places, and natural world through play.

At the same time play provides an opportunity for children to learn and practice different skills. Think of a child trying to make a submarine using blocks. Through this play activity she learns to concentrate on a task. She learns to work in a focused manner and delay gratification. She learns to set challenges for herself and solve problems through trial and error.

Social development
While playing, children learn acceptable social behaviour and rules of social interaction. As they participate in make-believe play, they act out social roles of ‘mama and papa’. When they act as teacher or doctor or pretend to ‘go to office’ they recapitulate different professional roles.

Playing in a group helps children learn norms of social interaction such as taking turns, following rules and sharing. As they ‘win’ or ‘lose’, ‘come first’ or ‘second’ they learn to express their emotions through socially acceptable modes. They begin to understand themselves and others and internalize rules of social interaction through play.

Creativity and self expression
Play activities that involve drawing, painting, and music encourage self- expression. Children learn to appreciate colours, rhythm, and movement. When they build with sand, play with water or even participate in make-believe play, children learn to express themselves.

Play helps children develop a positive self concept Children enjoy play and they learn new skills and concepts that they can use in other situations. All play activities may not bring instant enjoyment. For example, a child may not be able to complete a new puzzle right away. Even these difficult activities help children to extend themselves and persist. They learn not to give up easily and the achievement that follows generates a feeling of accomplishment that contributes towards positive self concept.

Teacher’s role
To ensure that children derive optimum advantage through play, teachers have to

Facilitate
Scaffold
Observe

1. Facilitate play
• By selecting play material carefully. Play material should be

Age appropriate: For example large blocks should be chosen for young children so that they can grasp them easily. Tiny Lego like blocks are appropriate for children above the age of six who have a well developed pincer grip.

Challenging: Toys should not be single dimensional. They should have a repeat value and should encourage active play. For example, playing with a battery operated car can become predictable and monotonous once the initial excitement has worn off. On the other hand, a set of blocks will provide a child endless hours of amusement as she tries to make different things each time she sits down to play.

Safe and attractive: Select toys with rounded edges, smooth texture and of non-toxic material. They should be attractive, colourful, and inviting to play with.

• By creating physically and emotionally safe environment where children can play and express themselves without fear of failure or ridicule. This includes ensuring that all children are included in play activities and stepping in to stop aggressive and unsafe behaviour.

2. Scaffold play
Imagine a child trying to solve a puzzle and failing to do so after several attempts. In this situation a teacher has to scaffold play by encouraging her, suggesting alternative ways of approaching the problem and even demonstrating a step to guide the child. Many teachers believe that while children are playing they can catch up with other tasks such as marking notebooks or preparing worksheets. However play cannot be ‘timeout’ for teachers. They need to get involved in children’s play to guide, support, encourage play to optimize its learning potential.

3. Observe play
Observing children while they are playing is a powerful tool in understanding them. Teachers can assess their development and understand underlying emotions and fears that children often fail to reveal. She can use these observations to identify children’s strengths and limitations and use this information to inform future planning.

Play thus is an invaluable tool for learning and development. It forms the foundation of language and cognitive development. Teachers need to ensure that children get adequate opportunities to play in school so that they learn joyously and without pressure. This will make learning play and not ‘work’ for children.

The author leads Curriculum Design and Teacher Development at Inspire, an educational consultancy that provides curriculum, training and school set-up solutions. She can be reached at sameera.sood@inspireedu.org.