Importance of Play in Children's Learning and Development

INTRODUCTION
This resource booklet will discuss the important roles of play in children’s learning and development. The theories of plays, type of plays and how learning can be supported through play. Finally, it will discuss how practitioners observe and plan appropriate play experiences for young children, the cultural differences and anti-discriminatory practice.
IMPORTANCE OF PLAYS IN CHILDREN’S LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT.
PLAY
Play serves countless important purposes such as a means by which children develop their physical, intellectual, emotional, language and social skills. Benson and   Haith, (2009).
Cutis (1998), highlighted play as an integral part of the curriculum from birth to the end of the reception year.
However, Plays can take place in different environment such as indoors or outdoors and these help children to explore and discover their immediate world Stevens, (2012). This is how children practices new ideas, skills and take risks to express their imagination in other to solve problems on their own or with their peers.
TYPES OF PLAY
There are various types of play such as
Small world play is types a type of role play that allows children to be creative and unprompted in dramatic as well as ordinary life circumstances which is of great interest to children. Small world play is upmost like puppet play and storytelling. However, it is important for   children because it encourage them to   talk when playing together, it helps children to create story around the thing they know, it inspire children to communicate feelings in a safe manner, it inspire children to play together   and to exchange ideas. In other hand, Small world play is important to practitioners because it permit them to teach and discover children’s ways of thinking, attitude, abilities to play in group, language and communication skills and their levels of awareness and understanding. This type of play is linked to appendix 1. Children exploring the story of Gruffalo, using...