1.2
Development and learning are interconnected as children need to develop certain skills in order learn other things. They can also be driven to learn some things, new skills or abilities as they wish to achieve a goal. An example of this is that children are driven to learn to walk, for this to happen, they need to have a sense of balance, coordination and further growth is required. The child will develop balance, strength in their legs, and improved coordination.
Once the child has learnt to walk, they can experience a whole range of different things, they can reach things they have only been able to look at for the past few months, it can therefore be said that because the child has leant to walk they have now the ability to access further learning.
Child initiated play encourages the child to make decisions for themselves, allowing the child to engage in this activity encourages them to gain independence, it equally gives them the opportunity to discover their likes and dislikes.
The ability to make choices by themselves, directly impacts on their cognitive skills, allowing them to rationalize, problem solve and come to a conclusion. Play can come in numerous forms, through the use of many different mediums therefore improving a child’s imagination.
Play helps to enhance a child’s readiness for a more academic form of learning, it encourages many areas of development, children learn new socializing skills as they interact with more children, language is benefitted as the children learn and use new words. This early language development will in turn benefit children as they later learn to read and write.
Additionally, play offers children with many problem-solving opportunities, through such activities as building with blocks, water and sand play, doing puzzles, or constructing and designing their imaginative play area, children must make use of critical thinking skills. Child initiated play encourages a child’s curiosity about their world. This heightened curiosity is a method for further learning. When children are free to pursue areas of interest, they are more likely to develop a positive attitude towards learning.
I hope this helps.
Mark.
level 3 handbook link