Learning through play
THE entire month of February is Play Month, and below are some tips from the Early Childhood Commission (ECC) for learning through play.
Outdoor play is essential for young children’s development. Playing outside provides countless opportunities for your children to explore the natural environment, use their imagination and have adventures. Playing will develop their self-confidence, creativity, language and numeracy skills.
When planning outdoor activities remember to:
1) Give your children opportunities to choose and lead their activities.
2) Make sure that the environment is free from hazards.
3) Encourage your children to explore the outside world around them.
4) Have as much fun as possible: run, hide, chase, seek, find, toss, throw and experiment.
5) Allow them to get messy.
Messy play
Messy play is the open-ended exploration of materials and their properties. Messy play allows children to build, imagine, investigate, explore, create, observe, predict and use their senses.
Children will learn foundational cognitive principles as they exercise motor, language, and social skills.
Remember, the mess goes away but the learning always stays.
How play works
•Play materials should be selected based on the age and stage of the child’s development.
•Playing helps develop children’s fine and gross motor skills.
•Play influences children’s growth in social emotional, physical and cognitive development.
•Children learn critical skills and develop as they play.
•Play produces well wired minds.
•Play is critical to brain development.
•Children gain all the skills they need physically, socially, cognitively, emotionally and creatively through play.
When children play they are:
• Building imagination
• Developing language and reading skills
• Strengthening physical skills
• Enhancing self-esteem
• Building math and science skills
• Forming friendships and social skills
• Gaining self-control
• Solving problems
• Learning how to think
• Discovering their world.
Here are the play activities for the rest of the month:
February 15 – Puzzle Day
February 17 – Ball Games Day
February 22 – Blocks Games Day
February 24 – Webinar on play at the early childhood level
February 25 – ECC Play Day.
