Constructive Play Today

Early childhood play today has changed in scope and scale, involving more advanced toys and games, but also edging out group playing and personal interaction. Learning games for children have been replaced by gaming and television that allow them to keep busy on their own, thereby reducing the development of social skills. Violence in early childhood play is a huge concern for parents today, as well as the growing popularity of sedentary games that has led to obesity in children.

Constructive play has taken a back seat with technology and electronics growing more popular now. With double-income families, parents and caregivers have less time to spend with their children and are likely to leave them watching the television. However, early childhood play allows a chance to introduce children to learning games and constructive play that help in the long run.

Learning Games for Children

Constructive play is different from the everyday play that children indulge in because it has a goal of teaching the child a new skill or concept, or of honing abilities. Abilities such as spatial skills, and concepts of size, weight, height, distance are made easier to comprehend when learned through play. Constructive play gives children a chance to improve their problem-solving skills, sharing skills, their motor skills and to learn more about themselves and the world around them. Some of the most effective learning games for children are inexpensive and use items found around the house. Important points for parents or caregivers to remember are:

• Play should be safe and non-violent
• Learning games for children should encourage participation, not elimination
• Children should be asked to use their imaginations and creativity in constructive play

Early Childhood Games

Some suggestions for constructive play or learning games for children:

1. Build cubby holes or secret homes by draping tables with blankets or sheets. Children could decorate them as a haunted house, a school, a hospital for their stuffed toys, or a wigwam

2. Painting and coloring of household waste like cardboard cartons, egg trays, tubes, plastic tubs, etc.

3. Outdoor activities like helping with gardening, building rock gardens, bird trays

4. Cutting and pasting colored paper and foil or fabric to make collages

5. Playing with animals, going for walks on beaches or in parks

Role of Adults in Early Childhood Play

During early childhood play, apart from ensuring that children are safe, adults have a significant role to play. Parents and caregivers can provide a variety of toys and instruments for learning games for children. A suggestion or a question from parents or caregivers can lead the child to question his/her own understanding and come up with imaginative solutions also. Dealing with disputes and encouraging participation are areas in which adults can help simple early childhood play turn into constructive play.

References :

1. Constructive Play. Govt of Western Australia
2. Constructive Play. Ministry of Education, NZ
3. Role of Play in Children’s Learning. Open Learn.

Development through Play – Types of Play

Children engage in different forms of play, and while they don’t understand this categorization, it is important that parents and child care professionals do, so that they can direct the activity and ensure that children are exposed to and can learn from games. Children play either on their own, with other children, or with adults. Games take the form of activities that involve exercise and movement, or activities performed while seated or sprawled out, with limited motion. Games also include use of toys, props, imagination, and children’s tools or play-items like beads or coloring books.

Learning Through Games – Life Skills and Play

The strength, energy and fitness levels of children increase when they play in a healthy manner. Exercising muscles, developing active habits and burning up excess energy that could turn destructive are the more obvious benefits of learning through games. Play time is also a good time to teach children about life skills like good manners, appropriate behavior, obeying rules, sharing and team playing, cooperation, and concepts of winning and losing. Vocabulary, speech, curiosity, problem-solving, cognitive and intellectual understanding are some of the abilities that develop through play that is guided or planned. Behavioral problems such as temper tantrums, fussy eating and refusal to perform tasks like using the toilet appropriately or getting dressed can be solved through patient play.

Learning through Play – Tips on Learning Games

• Role playing and dress-up activities help children develop their imagination, and teach them about different roles in society
• Sorting, building and fitting shapes and blocks help children understand concepts of color, shape, size and relative concepts like inside/outside, bigger/small, above/below
• Singing and reciting rhymes and songs develops vocabulary, speech patterns and introduces new ideas
• Story telling encourages children to pay attention and to ask questions
• Painting, cutting and pasting, drawing or coloring and jigsaw puzzles develop motor skills and coordination, as well as teaching about colors, shapes and new objects

Directing and guiding play activities are an important part of a caregiver’s role. Children can often lose focus, put themselves and others at risk, or just get bored while playing. A caregiver is there to side-step these issues and lead children towards healthy development through games. A good child care professional knows when to let children play on their own, and when to control or monitor a game. A simple “What are you doing?” question during a game can lead to the child having to think through a concept, use vocabulary to explain it, and develop interpersonal interaction skills in replying.

School summer holidays are particularly long and if parents work who can take care of the children during this time? Some child care centers are open during the school holidays and are there to take care of your children of course but as an alternative why not try a camp?

This will make a pleasing change for your child and the choices of camps are varied with something suitable for everyone and are there for the entire summer holiday period. Children can spend as little as a single day or the entire summer holiday at camp, taking part in various activities which are usually scheduled throughout the day.

Camps are usually run in a structured format from morning until tea time then the children often have free time to choose which activities they want to do. The children are supervised all of the time be it structured or free time and camps will usually cater for children aged between 4 and 13 years old.

Local day camps

Day camps provide daily course or play schemes during the week in the summer holidays, they will usually offer different programs on an age basis including nursery schemes for children under the age of 5 to action packed activity courses for teenagers.

Prices vary from venue to venue but on average a day will cost around £25, this will include activities throughout the day, usually up to 8 activities will be structured over the day with some free time for your child to relax in under supervision. Activities for teens include:

• Snorkeling lessons
• Horse riding
• Go-kart racing
• Gymnastics
• Circus training
• Quad bike

Residential adventure holidays

Residential camps are becoming increasingly popular with children and teenagers during the summer holiday break from school, residential camps usually run for at least a 7 day period and most camps of this type are multi-activity theme camps, which mean they provide activities based on themes such as sport, drama, outdoor, water and games.

Camps of this type will also provide entertainment during the evening for your child such as a themed disco, cinema and karaoke nights. Activities provided for children and teenagers include:

• Rock climbing
• Archery lessons
• Basketball
• Arts and craft lessons
• Drama lessons
• Singing lessons
• Scuba diving
• Water polo
• Water basketball

Special interest clubs

For those children who are into a particular hobby or sport there are several clubs that offer specific courses for children, clubs of this type will normally take children between the ages of 7 and 16 and are usually provided for at least a week. Some of the activity weeks that clubs such as these provide are:

• Golfing courses
• Football and rugby
• Motor sports
• Pony trekking
• Science camps
• Music camps
• Swimming camps
• Art camps
• Water sport camps

Most clubs will offer package deals, for example the longer you book the cheaper the price becomes, price includes all activities throughout the day, full board and meals and snacks throughout the day, the price also includes evening entertainment.

All staff has to be fully trained in first aid and have qualifications in child care and all camps are inspected and have to meet certain regulations regarding safety. In most cases staff will have had to pass a criminal records background check and staffs who works with children under the age of 8 year old will have to be registered as child minders by law.