Understand the value of play in promoting children’s learning and development
In this tutorial you will learn:
- That a child's ability to play comes naturally without thought
- That play is a vital part of growing up
- That play is crucial to children's learning and development
Table of Contents
- Tutorial Video
- Reading Materials
- 'Why play matters’ from Family Lives
- ‘Laser Reading Text: ‘Understanding how play develops’
- ‘Learning and developing through play’ from Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework
- ‘Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child’ from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
- 'Inclusive play’ from the Sensory Trust
- Presentation
- Click on the icon to the left to launch this lesson's presentation on 'The importance of play'
- Click on the icon to the left to launch this lesson's presentation on 'Play at different developmental stages'
- Good Practice Example
- Interactive Quiz
- Evidence Opportunities
- Extended Learning
- Click on the icon to the left to access an additional presentation about the 16 different types of play.
- Click on the link to look at this article on Playful Communities which describes the benefits of play for children and the wider community.
- Read the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s ‘General Comment Number 7’ (2005) on ‘Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood’. Click on the icon to the left.
- Click to read ‘ How do children learn to play? 6 styles of play in early childhood’ from the BBC. Psychologists and experts have identified a number of styles of play that children engage in, which are key parts of their development.
- Click on the link to the National Strategies Early Years document ‘Learning, Playing and Interacting: Good practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage’. Read the section ‘How children learn’ from page 8 to page 19 which covers adult led and child initiated and includes some case studies.
- Click on the link read an article on ‘Heuristic play – treasure baskets’, with ideas for contents and how to use the baskets.
- Click on the link to the Community Playthings website and their article on ‘Heuristic play’.
- Read this article on ‘Theory of Loose parts’ from Play Scotland, which includes illustrations of how children can use the resources.
- ‘All of Us: Inclusion checklist for settings’. Read this document which offers good practice for including disabled children and young people for childminders.
- This article on the La Petite Mama website examines ‘The benefits of balancing child-initiated and adult-led play’.
- Think And Challenge
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