Learn and play

Learning through play

Nejra Handžić Naisa Čehajić

Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments.

Children possess a natural curiosity to explore and play, sto there are five elements of children's play: • Play must be pleasurable and enjoyable. • Play must have no extrinsic goals; there is no prescribed learning that must occur. • Play is spontaneous and voluntary. • Play involves active engagement on the part of the player. • Play involves an element of make-believe.

It has been acknowledged that there is a strong link between play and learning for young children, especially in the areas of problem solving, language acquisition, literacy, numeracy and social, physical, and emotional skills.

Young children actively explore their environment and the world around them through learning-based play.

• Play is a vital part of a child's optimal social, cognitive, physical and emotional development. Researchers agree that play provides a strong foundation for intellectual growth, creativity, problem-solving and basic academic knowledge.

• According to Dorothy Singer, “Through make-believe games children can be anyone they wish and go anywhere they want. When they engage in sociodramatic play, they learn how to cope with feelings, how to bring the large, confusing world into a small, manageable size; and how to become socially adept as they share, take turns and cooperate with each other. When children play, they are learning new words, how to problem solve, and how to be flexible”.

As children learn through purposeful, quality play experience, they build critical basic skills for cognitive development and academic achievement.

These include:

• Problem-solving

• Vocabulary

• Verbalization

• Co-operation skills

• Questioning

• Language comprehension

• The perspectives of others

• Imagination

• Observation

• Empathy

Through play, children learn a set of skills:

social skills, creativity, hand-eye coordination, problem solving and imagination. It is argued that these skills are better learned through play than through flashcards or academic drills.

INFO

The benefits of play are so extensive that it has been deemed an evolutionary and developmentally important activity, allowing children the space to engage in socially appropriate interactions and behaviors that will serve them far into adulthood.

Why is it important ?

Play is meaningful

Children play to make sense of the world around them, and to find meaning in an experience by connecting it to something already known. Through play, children express and expand their understanding of their experiences

Play is joyful

Look at children – or adults – playing, often smiling and laughing. Of course, play may have its frustrations and challenges (Who gets the first turn? Why can’t I make this block building stay up?), but the overall feeling is one of enjoyment, motivation, thrill and pleasure.

Play is actively engaging

Watch children playing, and you will usually see that they become deeply involved, often combining physical, mental and verbal engagement.

Play is iterative

Play and learning are not static. Children play to practice skills, try out possibilities, revise hypotheses and discover new challenges, leading to deeper learning.

Play is socially interactive

Play allows children to communicate ideas, to understand others through social interaction, paving the way to build deeper understanding and more powerful relationships.

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