TKW Consulting

The Value of Play for Preschool Children
Debbie Wilburn 9/12/06

To some people, play is something to keep children amused and out of mischief. It is what children do until they are big enough for the serious work of school. But, in fact, play is more than a diversion. It is how children learn.

What do children learn from play? Many things. They learn about objects, events, and concepts (softness and hardness, for example). They gain various skills such as coordinating finger muscles. They learn how to group and classify objects and make sense of things. They learn about cause and effect and how to solve simple problems. They learn how to express feelings and get along with others. They gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. They begin to think about their world in new ways (by pretending to be someone else, for example).

Your job is to guide children's learning through play. You do that by giving children time and space to play, providing play materials that match their ages and development, and talking with them about their play.

Many parents have mixed feelings about play. They think it is all right for children to spend part of their time playing, but they worry that children are supposed to be "working" at learning. That is why many parents look for child care that will teach their 3- and 4-year-olds beginning skills in reading, math, and even computers.

Play is children's work. Play is how children learn, and children at different age levels learn in different ways. Between 2 and 7 years, children learn by playing with things in first-hand experiences (learning that cotton is absorbent by dipping it in water rather than by being told about it, for example).

Children need time and space to play with little direction from anyone. Free play allows children to choose things that are meaningful and interesting to them. It allows them to learn in a casual, incidental way. An example is showing the child a room with blocks. You watch the child, respond to her, and keep her from throwing blocks, but essentially you leave the child free to do what she wants.

While free play is important, at times you will want to extend the children's learning experiences through directed play. You are the one who chooses an activity, and you do it with the children. One morning, for example, you have your preschoolers try finger painting with shaving cream. You spread paper on the floor, spray a mound of shaving cream for each child, and encourage the children to touch it and move it around on the paper. You talk about what you are doing and ask children how it feels.

Tips for Encouraging Play

• Give children plenty of time to play. Avoid offering play as a reward for finishing work or hurrying children to finish.
• Give children plenty of room to play. Arrange definite play spaces inside the home and in the yard.
• Provide a variety of interesting materials-household items, toys, art materials, books, puzzles. These do not have to be elaborate, but they should be appropriate to the children's ages.
• Remember that children's social development is different at different ages. Older children play cooperatively.
• Give children clear limits. This can be done not only by what you say but also by how you arrange the room and which materials you set out.
• Encourage children to put away one set of things before getting out another. At the same time, allow for some flexibility in the uses of certain items. Watch the children for cues, and plan to provide different sets of things from time to time.
• Watch children as they play to learn about their likes, dislikes, and interests. Encourage children to talk about what they are doing and how they feel. Use new words to expand their vocabulary.
• Join in children's play occasionally. Get down on the floor and build a block house, or turn lunch into a pretend restaurant with you and the children playing waiters, cooks, and customers.

Ideas for the Days When You Need "Something New"
Following are some reminders of things to do when you need a change of pace.

1. Boxes-Use large boxes such as appliance boxes or furniture boxes to create play houses. Think creatively. Make one box a castle, another a western fort, and yet another a space ship. If there are no large boxes available near you, try building the same kind of thing with smaller ones. Any store that sells toilet tissue will have fairly large boxes that work nicely.Use smaller boxes to create a town. Draw streets, ponds, trees, and other features onto an old sheet or shower curtain. (Note: if you use washable markers, it will wash out when you are done.) Let the children create houses, stores, hospitals, and more. It will be interesting to learn what buildings they think are important. Make horses, race cars, doll furniture . . . ask the children what they think the boxes should
   be.
2. Rocks-Find smooth rocks or go on a rock hunt with the children. Wash the rocks. Paint the rocks. Sort the rocks by size, color, and texture. Ask the children what they would like to do with the rocks-they'll have lots of ideas.
3. Collages, Mobiles, and Sculptures-Gather magazines, yarn, scraps of wood, leaves (non-poisonous ones), weeds, ribbon scraps, and anything else that happens to be around. Make a collage on a piece of paper, or create a bird's nest or sculpture of some sort from the collection. Older children may wish to attach items to a coat hanger to create a mobile. Hang the items from strings attached to the hanger. They will have an opportunity to create a work of art and learn how to balance the items on the hanger.
4. Baker's Clay-Mold it, shape it, and use it just as you would clay except that you can bake the finished products if you wish. Baker's Clay Recipe: 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup water. Knead until soft and thoroughly mixed. Bake pieces at 350 degrees until lightly browned. Children should not eat the clay, nor should they eat from the finished pieces. You will want to remove any spills before they dry, as the air-dried clay is very hard.
5. Plastic Bottles-Use for pouring, dramatic play, or science projects like "Tornado in a Bottle" or "Ocean in a Bottle." Tornado in a Bottle requires two one-liter soda bottles. Fill one bottle ¾ full with water. Place the mouth of the empty bottle to the mouth of the one with water, and use duct tape to seal them. The children can swirl the bottles and then set them down with the empty one down and see a mini "tornado" swirl in the water. Ocean in a Bottle can be created in a small baby oil bottle or something similar. Fill the bottle ½ full of baby oil and the other half full of water that has been colored with food coloring. Again, seal the bottle with duct tape. The oil and water will not mix, and the result is a visual delight. The children will be able to position the bottles so it appears that waves are flowing through the bottles.

Source: The Child Care Provider Program: Training for Family Day Homes & Licensed Facilities. Texas Cooperative Extension