Importance of play for a child's development.
As the famous Italian physician Maria Montessori once said, “Play is the work of the child.” Play is beneficial to healthy brain development as it allows children to build self-worth by giving them a sense of their abilities while increasing their creativity, imagination, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strengths.
We have compiled a list of why play is crucial to a young learner’s development:
1. Imaginative play fosters creativity
Imaginative play referred to as “make-believe”, happens when a child role-plays an experience of interest, such as playing house or pretending to give lessons at school. Believe it or not, there are several benefits that imaginative play contributes to a child’s development. Fostering creativity and providing a safe space for children to act out scenarios of their choosing, real or fake, allows them to learn about other people’s perspectives. So, if you see a child role-play as a teacher, you can surely be proud to be their subject of interest!
2. Physical play improves dexterity and physical strength
By developing both fine and gross motor skills, physical play sure has its benefits! Gross and fine motor skills are usually combined. For example, children use their gross motor skills to lift a crayon but fine motor skills to grasp it in their hands. If you have ever wondered why kids’ drawings look so obscure, know that practice makes perfect! The more their gross and fine motor skills develop, the better they’ll get at performing specific tasks. Developing these skills are vital as their little hands need to advance in accuracy and strength. Teachers can help this process by encouraging children to play, explore and interact with various items.
3. Supporting cognitive development
Young learners are like little sponges, soaking up everything they see, hear or experience. That’s where cognitive ability is at play since it describes a child’s ability to think, understand, communicate, and remember. However, cognitive development revolves around children making observations, gathering information, and analysing ideas. These developed thinking skills can influence decision-making in a child as they start to demonstrate complex thinking and form their own opinions. Play that promotes cognitive development will involve thought and reasoning. For example, playing repetitive oral games like “I went to the beach” helps aid memory skills. Each person recalls what the others said and adds to the story. These activities would be fun to incorporate in your classroom as you’ll learn a lot about your students while practising their cognitive abilities.
4. Improving emotional strength
As the famous Vince Lombardi quote goes, “winners never quit, and quitters never win”. We all know that life is a game and all games have winners and losers. The same goes for group play. Learning about competition and processing victory or defeat is vital towards childhood development. Children must grasp the fact of the matter that there will always be winners and losers in any competition. The ability to accept this will develop a child’s emotional intelligence and make them more vigilant as they grow. Encouraging a child to free-play without rules is just as advised in their learning and development as it motivates them to take healthy risks and makes them more open to playing win-or-lose games. Through play, children develop an inquiring mind.
5. Improving communication, vocabulary, and language
Ever wonder why the kids in your classroom seem to explode with questions every time they see you? Well, here’s the answer to your question! When children play with adults and each other, they are taught how to get along with others, solve problems, and communicate by using language effectively. As children develop, their way of play matures. First, they might put everything in their mouths or throw things as their way of experimenting and learning how different objects feel and taste. Next, they build with blocks and play with cars and trains. They grasp that specific items go together, have names and that you can play with them in various ways. While playing, children can also learn nouns, verbs, and how to describe an object while putting it into more complex questions and sentences. So, try to embrace their curiosity as best as you can!
6. Better physical and mental health
Have you ever gone outside to relax and regroup? Well, the same goes for children! We already know that play promotes a child’s emotional development. Emotional intelligence is vital for a child’s resilience and mental health. Physical activity boosts positive feelings by releasing a healthy amount of dopamine. Most types of outdoor play involve some level of physical activity, which increases natural endorphins and fosters higher self-esteem. Play teaches kids how to navigate conflict and allows them to expend energy, establish normalcy and promote healing. So, taking your students out for a play day to run around and explore outside might not be such a bad idea!
