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 Learning games for children have been replaced by gaming and television that allow them to keep busy on their own, thereby reducing the development of social skills.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.