Playing is Learning

 

‘Play is the foundation of learning, creativity, self-expression, and constructive problem solving. It’s how children wrestle with life to make it meaningful.’ - Susan Linn Contemporary American psychiatrist

There are numerous quotes that illustrate the importance of play for children, and here at St John’s we embrace this importance.  The above quote is one that I think sums up the importance of play nicely, though it is not an exhaustive set of reasons for encouraging play. Let’s take a look at the quote and pick it apart – what does it actually mean? ‘Learning’ – when children play they rehearse what they have seen and been shown. This is the most common reason given for the importance of play. It is a medium that allows them to practise and hone their developing skills in a safe way, in an environment that the child controls. This gives them autonomy over their learning with regard to pace as they begin to trust their senses and bodies. ‘Creativity’ – children who play are developing their imaginations, think about things in a different way and experiment and explore.

The best mathematicians need to develop an imagination in order to make those leaps of knowledge. ‘Self-expression’ – how important is it for children’s mental health for them to understand from an early age that they are allowed to be themselves, have their own likes and dislikes, their own preferences. This helps them have empathy for others who may be different and develop an understanding of the needs of others. Play allows children to develop their self-esteem and gives them a sense of achievement. ‘Constructive problem solving’ – play allows children to have a go without fear of getting things wrong. It allows them to experiment and try over and again until they find a solution. Sigmund Freud believed play to be cathartic, allowing children to safely relive and work through negative and traumatic events. There is a reason therapists use play therapy as a tool, and considering the difficult years our children have experienced during Covid lockdowns, play should be an essential part of the day for all our children.

The second part of the quote I find most interesting and I agree that through play, children make sense of the world.  Small world play gives a child total control over his or her environment, in a world that is often reliant on the support and dependence of others. It allows children time to learn how to control objects and ideas and begin to interpret experiences.

Play can be inside or outside, that does not really matter but what it does have to be is free.  The best play is when adults do not direct the play but they do have an important role to take part in play.  Adults can be on hand to add language to children’s feelings and experiences, correct misconceptions and guide children to find solutions to problems. The fact that children are learning through practical means also helps them make connections both in the brain and between different tasks - for example, a child who learns that using blocks that have flat faces and then blocks that are interlinked make a more solid structure, becomes an experimental model maker, which may lead into a joy of design and technology or architecture.

Having said that there is a place within the classroom for supported or directed play. With hands-on play activities, the children are using their senses to explore, helping to make those all-important brain connections. It is a tool that helps children learn in a way that suits their cognitive development, for example when playing with shapes, children begin to notice properties, similarities and differences and to organise information in a visual way.  It is important for adults to sometimes model play when children are being introduced to a new experiences, such as our post office role play area or when we talk about the properties of materials - adults can provide lots of different things to investigate and sort.

Play time at school is always a joyous occasion with screams, laughter, lots of running around and, most importantly, friends. Play is where friendships and bonds are made that develop important social skills for the future. UN negotiators are born on the playground, where they learn to co-operate and compromise with each other. These interactions help children learn how to live in the wider world and to become a valued member of society.

Something I would like us all to think about as adults is if you want to learn something new what do you do? Do you read about it first? Do you go and watch it first? What happens next? Nobody is going to be good at something first time round, what we do is we play with it, we rehearse, we keep trying until we get better.  This is adults play and the following quote sums it up nicely.

‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old … we grow old because we stop playing.’ - George Bernard Shaw

Keep playing everyone!

June Ruddy, Head of Pre-Prep