Some people believe that children need to ‘work’ not play, and that playing serves no useful purpose in a learning and development environment.
Play is known to expand the ability to imagine and prepares children for later life when playing out real – life activities. Play also allows children to extend their concepts, skills, attitudes and achievements. Play helps to improve speech language and communication because it offers
v Making choices and decisions
v Using one’s own ideas and imagination
v Experimenting
v Trying out new behaviours and practising old ones
v Practising skills and learning new ones
v Exercising, developing and co-ordinating body, mind and brain
v Adapting or transforming knowledge, attitudes and skills
v Negotiating
v Follow an interest or line of enquiry
v Making up rules and changing them
v Making mistakes
v Setting one’s own goals
v Trying to emulate someone else
v Using symbols
v Making sense of puzzling situations, events or equipment
v Becoming and being confident and enjoying challenges
v Having fun with friends or familiar adults
There are many different types of social play and they usually take on the form of Parten’s six types:
Unoccupied (play): when the child is not playing just observing. A child could be standing in one spot or performing random movements.
Onlooker (behaviour) play: playing passively by watching or conversing with other children engaged in play activities.
Solitary (independent) play: playing by oneself.
Parallel play: playing even in the middle of a group, while remaining engrossed in one’s own activity.
Cooperative play: when children organise themselves into roles with specific goals in mind. For example, roles of mummy, daddy and baby in a home setting.
Associative play: when children share materials and talk to each other, but do not coordinate play objectives or interests.” (Parten, M.1932).