Understanding the Value of Play
Rosetta Billingslea
ECE 430 Early Childhood Education Capstone
Mrs. Gayla Lloyd
December 5, 2011

This essay focuses on the value of play and how important play is in a child’s life. I will show substantial evidence as well as examples that support play as an integral part of early learning along with describing two examples that utilize play as an instructional strategy.
Intuitively all early childhood teachers know that play is an integral part of young children’s lives, and that being able to play, both alone and with others, is a hallmark of children’s healthy development. We also understand that play enhances children’s physical, social and emotional, and creative growth, and we daily assess this growth by observing children at play. We observe individual children engaged in different types of play at different times, and we quickly notice that their play becomes more complex and more social as the year progresses. We are able to assess children’s growing abilities to direct their own play, to make decisions about materials and props, and to assert their own ideas and opinions about what they want to play. As children begin to play interactively, we see growth in their abilities to follow the rules of a game, to take turns, to share materials, and to begin to cooperatively solve problems that emerge during the play.
By taking a closer look at children’s play, we see that it does more than stimulate physical, social-emotional, and creative development. Play is also the primary means by which children explore the world, investigate, and build an understanding about how the world works. For example, imagine a small group of children playing in the block area, building with wooden unit blocks. They begin by attempting to stack different sizes and shapes of unit blocks on top of one another. Using the rug as a surface, they place larger blocks on top of smaller blocks, rectangular blocks on top of triangular blocks, and place the blocks haphazardly, so that the tower quickly falls. One of them has an idea! Maybe, if we put on construction hats and look like real construction workers, the tower will stand up better! They quickly agree to try it, put on the hats, and begin to build again. No luck! The building still falls after only a few blocks have been added. Finally another child notices that the bottom block is “wiggly” on the rug and they move the blocks to the harder surface of the floor. This time, they are able to build a little higher than before. After a few more attempts they notice that smaller blocks seem to stay on top of bigger blocks more steadily than the other way around, and they start to choose the sizes of the blocks more carefully, placing the larger blocks at the bottom. Their building begins to get higher and higher. They are so excited about their success that they call the teacher over to see. Play also meets learning objectives and goals. Through play children actively pose problems, explore solutions, and develop understandings of real world concepts of form and function. By comparing and contrasting information gained from each new experience to what they already know, they are actively constructing their knowledge of the way the world works.
Instructional strategies determine the approach for achieving the learning objectives and are included in the pre-instructional activities, information presentation, learner activities, testing, and follow-through. The strategies are usually tied to the needs and interests of students to enhance learning and are based on many types of learning styles (Ekwensi, Moranski, &Townsend-Sweet, 2006). Three examples that utilize play as an instructional strategy are Lecture, reading, and audio/visual.
In conclusion, Play is an active, child-initiated process that supports children’s learning throughout the domains of physical, social/emotional, creative, science, math, language, and literacy. By taking advantage of the highly engaging nature of children’s self-sustained play, and using this as a jumping off point for a deeper exploration of the science concepts involved, teachers can generate curriculum units that both integrate child-centered play and maximize children’s learning throughout these domains. By thoughtful planning and the use of significant strategies to enhance children’s play experiences, they can integrate specific learning goals and objectives for the group and for individuals, dramatically enhance children’s learning, and meet standards for preschool outcomes in all areas.

References Who Am I in the Lives of Children? An Introduction to Early Childhood Education, 8th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.) (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. Washington, DC: NAEYC Ekwensi, F., Moranski, J., & Townsend-Sweet, M., (2006). E-Learning Concepts and
Techniques. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania's Department of Instructional Technology. 5.1 Instructional Strategies for Online Learning. Retrieved December 5, 2011 from website: http://iit.bloomu.edu/Spring2006_eBook_files/ebook_spring2006.pdf