Running Header: ROLE OF PLAY PERFORMANCE TEST ONE 1

Role of Play Performance Test One

Jaimie Olchowski

Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

ECE 106 Role of Play in Early Childhood Education

Lori OLeary

November 30, 2016

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The Miriam-Webster definition of play is recreational activity; especially: the

spontaneous activity of children. However, play can be defined as so much more. Peter Gray

says that there is five defining characteristics in play: play is self-chosen and self-directed; play

is activity in which means are more valued than ends; play has structure, or rules, which are not

dictated by physical necessity but emanate from the minds of the players; play is imaginative,

non-literal, mentally removed in some way from real or serious life; and play involves an

active, alert, but non-stressed frame of mind. Play is something amazing. It is the basis of all

learning and development through a wide range of activities.

George Dorsey said Play is the beginning of knowledge and Joseph Chilton Pearce said

Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold. With that being said, it

is quite evident that the value of play is incredible. It affects development and relationships

throughout life. Stuart Brown said Play ismore than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood

makes for happy, smart adults and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age. Though

children play more frequently and intentionally than adults, it still plays an important part in the

life of an adult. Through play children learn the basics of how to cooperate and get along with

their peers and adults. Lev Vygotsky said A child's greatest achievements are possible in play,

achievements that tomorrow will become her basic level of real action and morality. This quote

explains how children are able to be challenged and experience success through various types of

play. Children use play to make decisions, something that they often are not able to enough in

everyday life. Through play they are also allowed to be spontaneous and imaginative. Peter Gray

said In play one enters a realm that is physically located in the real world, makes use of props in

the real world, is often about the real world, is said by the players to be real, and yet in some way

is mentally removed from the real world. Children are able to use play to disconnect from
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reality, imagine new and old scenarios, and act out familiar situations. Play can be used in many

ways for children to process and understand the world. It is essential to the development and

foundations of learning throughout life.

Lev Vygotsky said As in the focus of a magnifying glass, play contains all

developmental tendencies in a condensed form and is itself a major source of development. Play

is crucial to positive development in all areas: social, cognitive, spiritual, creative, physical, and

emotional. Children develop social and emotional skills through play in many ways. Children

will learn to share and cooperate, express and interpret feelings, and learn communication skills

through group play, specifically cooperative play. In cooperative play, children step in and out of

play to establish roles or events (Role of Play in Early Childhood Education, p. 41). Children can

also learn social skills in the other form of group play, associative play, where children share and

manage materials. The building of the foundation of these social skills are important for the rest

of a childs life.

Play helps children in emotional development by providing an outlet for expressing their

emotions. This happens in many ways with a variety of materials, such as clay, blocks, dolls,

sand, and water. It is said that children use play to express their emotions in four ways. The first

of these is simplifying events by creating an imaginary character, plot, or setting to match their

emotional state (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2014). An example of this would be if a child was afraid of

the dark, they might eliminate night or darkness from their play. The second is that they will

compensate for situations by adding forbidden acts into their pretend play (Isenberg & Jalongo,

2014). This could look like a child pretending to eat ice cream and cookies for breakfast, since

they would likely not be allowed to act this out in reality. For the third way of expressing

feelings, children will control emotional expression by repeatedly re-enacting unpleasant or

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frightening experiences (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2014). If a child saw an accident on the highway,

they might re-enact that with their toys. The final way is that children will avoid adverse

consequences by pretending that another character, real or imaginary, commits inappropriate acts

and suffers the consequences (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2014). This may look like a child getting their

doll to hit another toy and then disciplining their doll. Therefore, play is very important for

children to express their feelings.

A childs physical development happens through play by using their fine and gross motor

skills to complete movements. Fine motor skills are developed in activities such as learning to

colour and write. Gross motor skills are developed through larger physical movements like

running, hopping, skipping and jumping. They incorporate this into play in games such as

hopscotch and jump rope. Creative development can also be established through play. Children

can express their creativity and take risks without consequences through a variety of crafts and

projects. Some materials that can be used for creative play are clay, paint, markers, and crayons.

Friedrich Froebel said Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it

alone is the free expression of what is in a childs soul. Overall, it is not hard to see that play is

necessary for positive development throughout life, from infancy to adulthood.

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References
2010. 10 reasons why play is important. July 26.
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talk_to_your_baby/news/2332_10_reasons_wh
y_play_is_important.
Authors, Various. n.d. Quotes About Play.
http://www.childsplaymagazine.com/quotes/index.htm.
Grey, Peter. 2008. Psychology Today. November 19.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200811/the-value-play-
i-the-definition-play-gives-insights.
Isenberg J., Jalongo M. 2014. Why is Play Important? Social and Emotional
Development, Physical Development, Creative Development. April 30.
http://www.education.com/reference/article/importance-play--social-
emotional/.
n.d. Merriam-webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play.
n.d. Play Quotes. http://thinkexist.com/quotations/play/.
Unknown. n.d. Philosophical and Psychological.
http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/quotations/vygotsky.html.