The Power of Play

Presented by Najiyya Alim

Parent Advisory Committee
Facilitator

YOUR Child at Work

There are many theories and philosophies of early
child education and development. Of all of the
insightful approaches, I chose to briefly examine
Waldorf, Maria Montessori, and Lev Vygotsky. I
would like to explore their theories on the purpose
of early child education. We will observe ways in
which children learn through play and the
information we should emphasize with meaningful
activities.

Players are active agents in learning, imagining, and

creating together. This kind of mature or quality play
involves imaginary situations, explicit roles, and implicit
rules and is recognizable by its persistence and tendency to
become more elaborate over time. (Drew, Christie,
Johnson, Meckley, Nell, M.L. 2008).

Educating Outside of the Circle

PLAY PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR CHILDREN TO APPLY THE INFORMATION GIVEN TO THEM BY
ADULTS AND TO UTILIZE THEM THROUGHOUT HANDS ON EXPERIENCES IN PLAY. CHILDREN,
ESPECIALLY 0-5, ARE ENGAGED IN NEW EXPERIENCES ALMOST DAILY. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT
THEIR EXPERIENCES FOR WHAT IT IS. THEY HAVE ONLY BEEN ON THIS EARTH FOR LESS THAN 5
YEARS. EVERY NEW EXPERIENCE HAS IN IT A LESSON LEARNED. THEY ARE DEVELOPING SOCIAL
SKILLS, HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARENESS, LANGUAGE, CREATIVITY, AND PROBLEM SOLVING.
CIRCLE TIME CANNOT TEACH MUCH OF THESE ABILITIES, THEY MUST BE EXPERIENCED.

Children at play are also learning skills while

having a blast. They are becoming socially active
with others during play, they are learning to
share with one another, they are counting
objects and naming colors while playing.
Children are learning measurement skills when
doing cooking activities in the class. They are
learning about science with activities such as the
activity: Will it sink or float they are also
learning about science with mixing of colors and
how the colors are changing. The children are
working with toys of different shapes, colors,
and sizes .Children are then learning colors,
shapes, classification, counting and many more
skills while playing. Children are also learning
literacy and language through play by picture
reading, recognizing symbols, identifying letters
and words and so forth.

Rudolph Steiner
Waldorf schools are the product of an incredible
philosopher Rudolph Steiner. Rudolph Steiner was an
Australian philosopher. He believed in a very humanistic
approach to learning through hands on activities. In 1907,
he wrote an extensive essay, entitled "Education in the
Light of Spiritual Science. Within this profound work, he
described the major phases of child development. He
suggested that these would be the basis of a healthy
approach to education. Years later he was asked to
lecture in Stuttgart. The first school was established in
1919 in Stuttgart, Germany. Steiner was the founder of
anthroposophy.

He characterized
anthroposophy as:
Anthroposophy is a
path of knowledge, to guide
the spiritual in the human
being
to the spiritual in the
universe. Anthroposophists
are those who experience, as
an essential need of life,
certain questions on the
nature of the human being
and the
universe, just as one
experiences hunger and
thirst. (Anthroposophic
Press,1996)

Waldorf schools encourage the curiosity of children by

facilitating an organic environment and an appreciation
for nature. Children are not given paper work until the
age of seven to maximize the experiences of children.
According to the practices of the Waldorf schools, the
purpose of education was to allow children the freedom
to develop their inner potential.

Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget believes the purpose of
early development education is to
help the child develop mental
concepts. Piaget understood the
areas to increase cognitive
development in child development.
Biological maturation, activity,
environment, and social integration
are all areas of focus. Activities are
presented to scaffold cognitive
development stages. Children have
their own pace of maturation set by
biology. They also learn through
their environment and experiences.
Social interactions provide
opportunities for children to learn
from their peers

Observation
We as educators provide
opportunities throughout
the day to experiment
with trial and error. It is
very important for
teachers to not only create
centers in their classroom
but to create experiences
and opportunities to
discover.

Lev Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky was a very
influential mind of his time
and his fire has not
diminished one bit.
Although he died at the
young age of 38, he is a
very significant theorist of
early childhood education.
He placed much emphasis
on social contributions in
the process of cognitive
development.

Vygotsky encouraged educator to provide many opportunities for

social interaction. He believed in the emphasis of dramatic play as a
means to promote language and learning through social play.
Through dramatic play children can develop in many areas.
Children are learning self-regulation while interacting with their
peers. This parallel play allows them to experiment with back and
forth interaction as well as the beginning stages of negotiation.
Learning that things cannot always go in our favor is a process. It is
a lesson that has to be learned over time. Children also learn
physical control.

Through dramatic play children can learn social cues

and the unacceptable social interaction of other
cultures. Observing dramatic play teachers and
caregivers can learn a lot about the dynamics of the
childs home and other influences. We can utilize the
dramatic play areas to emphasis desirable behaviors
and interactions.

Language
Building language and vocabulary is
instrumental to creating a grand foundation
for comprehension. Many times educators
are invested in teaching their students rope
memory. Children will go a lot further with a
deep sense of understanding and
comprehension on the subject matter.
Children have deeper connection with
literature when and if they can understand
what exactly is being taught.

Maria Montessori began her role in

education taming unruly children. Maria
Montessori saw that these children had
the capability to absorb culture. She was
the first to introduce child size furniture
into the classroom. She believed the
classroom, the learning environment,
should be peaceful, quiet, and orderly.
Montessori believed in teaching children
how to be independent and doing things
for themselves. I have found that
Montessori is very strict and meticulous in
its nature.

The activities provided

throughout the day should reflect
this theory. Maria Montessori
believes in a meticulously
prepared curriculum. She
believes that children learn
through writing first. The theory of
Maria Montessori is help me do
it myself. With my own children I
practice the theory of teaching
them to do things for themselves
at a very young age. As my
children enter kindergarten they
feel confident in their own
capabilities.

Guided play is designed with specific toys

set out in a specific interest area by the
teacher. Children gain a hands on
experience through this approach. The
imagination of the child can be immediately
transported into a whole new world through
meaningful activities and fun experiences.

Directed play allows the teacher to observe

the children and their understanding of the
lesson being taught. The teacher can
reinforce lessons or enhance the
understanding of her students through her
active involvement in the play.

Guided play is designed with specific toys

set out in a specific interest area by the
teacher. For example a teacher arranges
the house area to look like an auto shop.
She provides appropriate materials form an
auto store along with a child size car to
work on to reinforce transportation.
In the same classroom the teacher may
ask the children to help her build a mini city
in the block area utilizing cars and people
figures. The

The children are gaining a hands on

approach to the importance of
transportation as the children interact and
travel throughout this mini city with their
teacher.
This directed play allows the teacher to
observe the children and their
understanding of the lesson being taught.
The teacher can reinforce lessons or
enhance the understanding of her students
through her active involvement in the play.

A group of children may align their chairs

in a way to make a care. They have placed
2 chairs in front and two more chairs
behind. One student is driving. The teacher
may ask, Where are you going? The
children reply, Chuck E. Cheese. This
spontaneous play was not directed by the
teacher.

In our facility our teachers build their curriculum around

the interest of the children. As a supervisor I know that
the lesson plan on the wall may have a well thought out
lesson plan but we always keep the day moving by
following the interest of the children. Sometimes a fun
activity may take longer than the time allotted on the
parent board.
Play generated curriculum is formed by the monitoring of
the childrens interest and developing strategies to
stimulate their intellectual curiosities. Curriculum
generated play is guiding the children to understand the
ingenuity of the play activity.

Play has been demonized as useless

activity. A portion of parents and
educators have placed play in a box as
an ingredient for substandard education.
Unfortunately the ingredients for
education are limited by books, theories,
and the interpreters of those theories.
The guardians of effort towards quality
education are simply limiting the
potential of their students. Educators will
give the appropriate responsiveness to
those needing just a little support. A
teacher provides a fruitful environment
for their students with meaningful
activities. Structured play has the
potential to provide learning extensions
well beyond our imaginations

Reference
*Drew, W., Christie, J., Johnson, J.E., Meckley, Alice, M., Nell, M.L. (2008).
Constructive Play: A Value-Added Strategy for Meeting Early Learning Standards.
Young Children 63(4) p38-44.; Retrieved from
http://isaeplay.org/Resource_Articles/YC_Constructive_Play.pdf
*Jaruszewicz, C. (2012). Curriculum and methods for early childhood educators.
San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education
*National Institute for Early Educational Research. (2002, September). Growing
and learning in preschool [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://nieer.org/publications/nieer-videos/video-growing-and-learning-preschool
*Peterson, S., Jones, L., & McGinley, K. A. (2008). Early learning guidelines for
infants and toddlers: Recommendations to states. Washington, DC: Zero to Three.
*Van Hoorn, J., Nourot, P. M., Scales, B. R., Alward, K. (2011). Play at the center of
the curriculum. (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.