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Corrections are in Red
Susana Morales
Mary Sypkens
CHDV 110 Principles and Practices
Play Essay
December 2, 2012
At planning time, Annalise says, “I’m going to play with the doggies and magna titles in
the block area. I’m making a tall elevator.” At work time Annalise builds with the magnetic titles
while playing with the small toy days, as she planned. She stacks the titles on top of one another
in a tower like form her “elevator” then places some dogs in it. The elevator then falls over. She
repeats this several times but the elevator continues to fall over. Annalise then arranges the
magnetic tiles into squares, connecting them to form a row. Annalise says to Mrs. Claudia her
teacher, “I’m making doghouses because the elevator keeps falling down.” Mrs. Claudia says,
“I was wondering what you were building, because you planned to make a tall elevator going up
vertically, and now you are using them to make dog houses in a long horizontal row. You solved
the problem by changing the way you were building. “Annalise uses pretend talk while moving
the dog around. At one point she says, “mommy mommy, we are hungry” and opens one of the
dog houses and moves the dog inside where a bigger dog is placed. Annalise says, “Mommy says
the foods not ready, so go play.” While moving the dog around Annalise says to herself out loud
“we have to find something to do until the food is ready.” Annalise says to Mrs. Claudia “Let’s
pretend we are going to the park.” Mrs. Claudia agrees and says; I’m going to slide down the
slide three times and then jump off the climber.” As Mrs. Claudia pretends to do this with one of
the dogs, Annalise watches then copies her and says, “My dog jumped higher than yours.” She
then says, “Mommy says we have to go home now. We need to move our dogs over there so they
can eat.” The pretend play continues.
Early childhood educators often make the point that “children learn through play.” But
what does this statement really mean? In the scenario described above, what exactly is Annalise
learning as she plays? She is planning what she is going to do, carrying out her plan and then
recalling what she did. But did we realize that she is developing the cognitive function such as
working memory, self-regulation (e.g., being aware of and controlling her feelings and actions?
Internal language or “self-talk, “and the ability to organize focus, plan, strategize prioritize,
initiate, and perform other skills that determine later success in school? Indeed she is and these
cognitive skills are all part of what we call executive function-the cognitive abilities. (Lynn &
Fabes 2006 p. 189-192).
Years of research has confirmed the value of play. In early childhood, play helps children
develop skills they cannot get in any other way. Babbling, for example, is a self-initiated form of
play through which infants create the sounds they need to learn the language of their parents.
Likewise, children teach themselves to crawl, stand, and walk through repetitious practice play.
At the preschool level, children engage in dramatic play and learn who is a leader, who is a follower, who is outgoing, who is shy. They also learn to negotiate their own conflicts. (Lynn &
Fabes 2006 p. 189-192).
Play supports emotional development by providing a way to express and cope with feelings.
Pretend play helps children express feelings in the following ways (Piaget, 1962). Simplifying
events by creating an imaginary character, plot, or setting to match their emotional state. A child
afraid of the dark, for example, might eliminate darkness or night from the play episode.
Compensating for situations by adding forbidden acts to pretend play. A child may, for example,
eat cookies and ice cream for breakfast in play, whereas in reality this would not be permitted.
Controlling emotional expression by repeatedly reenacting unpleasant or frightening experiences.
For example, a child might pretend to have an accident after seeing a real traffic accident on the
highway. Avoiding adverse consequences by pretending that another character, real or
imaginary, commits inappropriate acts and suffers the consequences. Children whose television
viewing is monitored at home, for instance, can pretend to allow the doll to watch
indiscriminately and then reprimand the “bad child” for unacceptable TV viewing habits. (Berns
2007, p.201-202).
In addition to expressing feelings, children also learn to cope with their feelings as they act
out being angry, sad, or worried in a situation they control (Erikson, 1963). Pretend play allows
them to think out loud about experiences charged with both pleasant and unpleasant feelings. A
good example is Alexander, a 4-year-old whose dog was recently hit by a car. In his dramatic
play in the pet hospital, his teacher heard him say to another child, “I’m sad because the car hurt
my dog.” Here he was trying to cope with unpleasant feelings from a frightening situation. Play
enabled Alexander to express his feelings so that he could cope with his worry about his dog
(Landreth & Homeyer, 1998). So, too, do older children learn valuable emotional skills, such as
increasingly realistic self-perceptions, the ability to manage their emotions, and self-control that
improves over time through games and inventions. As older children engage in spontaneous and
structured play activities, they come to see themselves as good in some areas and less good in
others. These opportunities to monitor and discriminate among feelings and emotions contribute
to children’s beliefs about their own capacity. (Lynn & Fabes 2006 p. 189-192).
Kenneth Ginsburg, stating the position of the American Academy of pediatrics, Says that
“play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and
emotional well-being of children and youth.” (Ginsburg, January 2007, p. 182). Play is so
important to children’s development that the United Nations High Commission for Human
Rights (1989) recognizes it as a basic right of every child.
The Role of play in Physical Development
Play contributes to children’s fine and gross motor development and body awareness as
they actively use their bodies. Learning to use a writing tool, such as a marker, is an example of
fine motor development through play. The natural progression in small motor development is
from scribbles to shapes and forms to representational pictures. Playing with writing tools helps
children refine their fine motor skills. Gross motor development, such as hopping and skipping,
develops in a similar fashion. When children first learn to hop, they practice hopping on different
feet or just for the pure joy of hopping. As elementary children, they integrate their hopping skill
into many games, such as hopscotch and jump rope games. Using their bodies during play also
enables them to feel physically confident, secure, and self-assured (Isenberg & Quisenberry,
2002).
Jonathan, Eshmmet, and Adrian are constructing a tower in the block area. Jonathan the
strongest child directs the group: “Get some triangles. We need more blocks!” Eshmeet
interrupts: “What about the windows?” Jonathan carries floor boards to the building site.
Adrian totes the double unit blocks that hold up the corners. Eshmeet brings a pile of unit blocks.
They work together, sometimes talking, sometimes building. The tower gets higher and higher. It
has four stories. Jonathan places a series of cylinders and triangles along the top. Adrian places
a row of bears on the second story. Eshmeet adds dollhouse people to each floor.
Coordination and strength are enhanced as each child lifts, carries, and stacks blocks;
small muscles are developed as they decorate the building; and sensory awareness is gained as
they handle the blocks, feel the texture, and note the grain of the wood. (Feeney et al., 2010 p.
297).
A variety of opportunities for children to engage in social play are the best mechanisms
for progressing through the different social stages. By interacting with others in play settings,
children learn social rules such as, give and take, reciprocity, cooperation, and sharing. Through
a range of interactions with children at different social stages, children also learn to use moral
reasoning to develop a mature sense of values. To be prepared to function effectively in the adult
world; children need to participate in lots of social situations (Physical and Cognitive
Development).
The Role of Play in Social Development
During play, children also increase their social competence Smilansky and Shefatya
(1990) contend that school success largely depends on children’s ability to interact positively
with their peers and adults. Play is vital to children’s social development. It enables children to
do the following: Practice both verbal and nonverbal communication skills by negotiating roles,
trying to gain access to ongoing play, and appreciating the feelings of others. Respond to their
peers’ feelings while waiting for their turn and sharing materials and experiences. Experiment
with roles of the people in their home, school, and community by coming into contact with the
needs and wishes of other. Experience others’ points of view by working through conflicts about
space, materials, or rules positively. (Feeney et al., 2010 p. 295-296). The social competence
developed in sociodramatic play “leads to the development of cooperative attitudes and
behaviors. Most peers, families, and educators prize the sharing, helpful, and cooperative
behavior associated with high levels of social competence” (Feeney et al., 2010 p. 296).
Annalise, Kylee, and Candice are playing restaurant in the kitchen area. Annalise is the chef
(cooker), Kylee is the cashier and Candice is the waitress. Annalise goes over to the writing area
and asked, Miley, Adrian, and sky to come play restaurant with them. Annalise, “come over we
are playing restaurant at the kitchen area, who wants to eat.” Annalise, put the eggs in the
refrigerator. Candice takes 2 dishes and 2 forks and sets the dishes on the table. Hands forks to
Miley, sitting at the table; Candice gets another plate and fork and sets it at another chair for
Adrian. Sky the younger child prone to knocking over the dishes on the stove, when she
approaches to help Annalise with the cooking. “Go away Sky!” Annalise says. Sky’s lips quiver
and her eyes fill with tears. Kylee intervenes: “Put the food in the trays here.” Monitoring to the
table. “No!” says Annalise, the food goes in the refrigerator.” Candice points to the
refrigerator: “This is the refrigerator. Put the food here. But don’t mix the vegetables with the
fruit!” Sky places the food and Kylee help her source the food, and directs Sky saying “Go get
me the cups from the counter.” Sky smiles and return with the basket of cups and begins to set
them all around the table for the customers (Miley and Adrian and herself).
Cooperation and negotiation skills are practiced as the children work out how to use the
kitchen materials in the house area; interpersonal sensitivity and concepts of justice are used as
the group includes as younger, less skillful child. (. (Feeney et al., 2010 p. 297).
The Role of Play in Emotional Development
Play is a form of communication for children. Soon after her first birthday a child will
begin to exhibit empathy toward her dolls. By her second birthday, she is actively engaged in
pretend play. She will imitate domestic roles, and take on the role of other people (mother,
teacher, etc.). The ability to play pretend games signals the development of symbolic
representation within the child. Between two and two and a half years, children begin to endow
dolls with a capacity for action and experience: the dolls are made to talk and act independently,
and eventually credited with desires, sensations and emotions. Three year olds can make a
distinction between the real world and the world of imagination. If they are given an emotion,
they can suggest a situation likely to cause it. Three and four year olds are good at figuring out
which emotions go with which situations. Children can conjure up pretend or imaginary
psychological states, such as desires or beliefs, and project them on to their dolls and toy
soldiers. (Lynn & Fabes 2006 p. 212).
Children at play feel they are in control of their world, practicing important skills that
lead them to a sense of mastery over their environment and self. They discover the behaviors and
express emotions in ways that communicate their inner state and enable them to maintain the
self-control necessary for cooperative relationship with other players. For this reason those of us
who work with young children value play for its role in healthy emotional development. (Feeney
et al., 2010 p. 297).
Scarlett is playing in the library area with the puppets by herself. (She recently lost her
grandmother who was fighting lunch cancer.) Scarlett then pretends to play mommy and
daughter with the puppets. Scarlett, “Don’t be sad mommy; grandma is in heaven just like
blossom my kitty cat. Remember when I was very sad and you bought me a new kitty cat, do you
want me to ask God, to send you a new Grandma so you can stop crying like me and be happy
again.” Scarlett then switch from being the daughter to being the mom, “Sweetie grandma Nene,
can’t be replace, I will be ok, go play and live me along, don’t bother me, go with you sister.”
Scarlett, “But I’m hungry mom, and dad is not home again. It makes me sad when you cry.”
Here she was trying to cope with unpleasant feelings from a sad situation. Play enabled
Scarlett to express her feelings so that she could cope with her worry about her mom.
Role playing activities simulate real-life situations that involve emotional or social
development. Children are able to practice handling situations they might encounter, such as a
peer who won’t share a toy or a child who is bullying. The children act out how they could
handle the situation in a socially acceptable way, keeping the emotions of the other person in
mind. Instead of acting out the situation themselves, kids can use puppets, dolls or action figures.
Dress-up play, where kids pretend to be another person, also works well. The extent of the role
playing should depend on the age of the kids and their emotional and social development levels.
The University of Maine also suggests movement, music and sensory activities as social and
emotional activities. Kids are able to use creativity freely during these activities, expressing their
own thoughts and ideas (Physical and Cognitive development).
The Role of Play in Cognitive Development
A major task of the early childhood years is the development of skills and strategies for
learning and problem-solving. In play children learn to set goals, plan how to proceed, and create
ways to organize their approach to cognitive tasks (Feeney et al., 2010 p. 296).
Dylan and Christian are happily playing a game of Power Rangers in the pretend area.
Rita and Baveneet come in and sit at the table, starting to pretend that they are getting ready for
a party. “Hey,” Dylan shouts, “you can’t be there. That’s the Power Rangers house.” “Yeah,
get away,” Christian says. “We are playing here and no girls can come here.” “Uh-un,” Rita
says. “We can play here if we want to. You’ve been here a long time and Baveneet and I want to
get our dresses on and play party.” Dylan. “I’m telling the Miss Connie.” Miss Connie comes
over and she tells the four children “it seems we have a problem, we need to come to a solution,
any one has any suggestions to solve the problem?” Christian, “they can play Power Ranger
with us I guess.” Rita, “or they can play in the block area Power Ranger and we can play party
in the pretend are.” Miss Connie, “what do you want to try? What do you think might work for
all of you? Baveneet and Rita, “Okay, we can play Power Ranger with Dylan and Christian.”
Problem solving skills are developed as the children solve the problem of sharing the
pretend area. And they also plan and agree with the decision of playing together.
Conclusion
In Summary, we as educators are entrusted with the responsibility of fully engaging
children’s minds and bodies in the way they learn best. By understanding the importance of play,
how it helps to develop key cognitive functions and what these functions are, we can become
more effective in protecting purposeful play and more intentional in our interactions with
children during their play.
Work Cited
Berns, Roberta M. Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support. 7th Edition. 2007
Thomson Learning, Inc.
Chapter 02-Physical and Cognitive Development. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Copple, C, & Bredekamp, S. (Eds.). (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood
programs. Serving children from birth through age 8. Washington, DC: National Association for
the Education of young children.
Ginsburg K. R. (January, 2007). The important of play in promoting healthy child development and
maintaining strong parent-child bonds. American Academy of pediatrics, 119(1) 182-191.
Feenney Stephanie, Moravcik, Eva, Nolte Sherry & Christensen, Doris. Who Am I in the Lives of
Children?: An Introduction to Early Childhood Education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
Columbus, Ohio 2010.
Lynn, Carol & Fabes, Martin Richard. Discovering Child Development. Arizona State University 2006.