PLAY IN THE PRESCHOOL YEARS

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

• According to Gallahue (1993), children move through a sequence of motor skill development.

– Reflexive movement. (birth to 1yr). • Infants engage in reflexive movements

– Rudimentary movement. (2 yrs). • Basic motor skills acquired during infancy: Reaching, grasping sitting,

standing, walking.

– Fundamental movement. (2-7yrs). • Greater control over motor skills such as running, jumping, throwing, and

catching. Isolated movement schemes are combined to form more complex movements.

– Specialized movement. (7-to teens years). • Execution of skills committed to certain sports or recreation.

Characteristics of Motor Development

• Preschoolers exhibit capability of a range of motor skills regarding Gross motor development.

– Locomotor skills. • Movements that facilitate jumping, hopping, running, and

climbing.

– Fine-Motor skills. • Preschool children learn to work with puzzles; cut with scissors;

use brushes, pencils, pens, and markers. They manipulate blocks and clay.

– Perceptual-Motor skills. • The ability to combine senses with emerging motor skills to

engage the environment.

Play and Physical Development: Factors of Consideration

• Today, children are more sedentary than 20 years ago.

• Childhood obesity and rising health problems is on the rise

• Rise of non-traditional families (both parents working, single-parent families); often producing latch-key kids.

• Diminishing settings for free play

Categories of Play

• Directed Physical Play.

– A comprehensive preschool program • Locomotor skills to include walking, running, hopping, throwing, catching, and other motor skills.

• Fine motor skills such as block construction, sand play, and art activities.

– Organized physical sports • Soccer, basketball, or T-ball; usually for kids 4 to 5

yrs of age.

Free Play• Free play vs. Structured play.

– Studies have noted that free play promotes greater muscular endurance and motor behaviors.

• Free play is often restricted due to concerns for safety regarding children.

– Children play hard– Unsafe neighborhoods

• Through monitoring, adults are charged to provide a good balance of free play and structured play with many opportunities of expression.

Adult Roles in Physical Play

• Play is diminishing in the presence of – Television– Video games– Rising technocratic society.

• Adults have responsibility to ensure that children receive adequate amounts of time engaged in play and exercise.

•OR ELSE.• Health is compromised• Important physical milestones are compromised• Social and emotional development can be compromised

Characteristics of Cognitive Development

• According to Piaget– Children are preoperational– Children are able to use symbolic reasoning.– Preschoolers are still egocentric.

• Seeing the world from a singular point of view.

• Between 2-4yrs– Children develop symbolic function.

• The ability to picture things through imagination that are not present.

• Intuitive Thought (ages 4-7yrs) – Development of intuitive thought.

– Begin to experiment with ordering and collecting things but it is still limited. (Challenge of centration)

• Children are still very primitive in their reasoning

Piaget’s Level of Cognitive Play

• Practice/Functional Play. – Sensory-motor play.

• Symbolic Play. – Initially appears during sensory motor stage but

transitions to preoperationional.

– Play through imagination and imitation of reality.

– Also evolving to games with rules.

Smilansky’s Levels of Cognitive Play

• Children from 3 to school age alternate between levels of play.

• Functional Play. – Physical play activities. The child uses repetition in physical

actions, language, and manipulation of toys.

• Constructive Play. – Children move from handling objects and materials to constructing

or building for fun.

• Dramatic/Pretend Play. – Imitation of human relationships thru symbolic representations.

Vygotsky’s Perception of the Functions of Play

• Representational Play. – Make-believe play which permits the child to

deal with unrealizable desires.

• Fantasy Play. – Develops as toddlers must learn to follow

approved behaviors and delay gratification.

– As the child matures, fantasy play increases as expectations by society increases

Adult Facilitation to Produce Maximum Outcomes

• Provide activities that lead to greater thinking and problem-solving.

• Provide children with stimulating environments.

• Be encouraging, positive, and supporting.

• Distinguish between play as manipulation and play as active education.

• Provide opportunities for children to engage in dramatic play that encourages cooperation and negotiation.

• Make available materials that encourage representation through construction