Quote:
Originally Posted by Lil_Emz
J (K3D328) The benefits to children of learning through play and not relying on formal experiences and activities that are inappropriate for the childs age, needs and abilities
its my last question and i have written about benifits of play but not sure what else i can put
help would be appreciated x
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We all learn better if we do something ourselves. Try and remember when you were young and you watched your mother/father prepare the dinner, ever since you can remember.
One day your mother decides (or you ask) if you can help. She gives you a knife to prepare the carrots. She might watch you try and struggle a little, so she says "Now watch how I hold the knife like this as I scrape the carrot." and you do, then you attempt it again, and with each try (practice) you get better. Your mother has helped, scaffolded and made sure you are in a safe environment - your first experience of using a cooking knife is under her expertise.
Now you work with children and you provide the props, the resources and are there to help scaffold (if needed) and keep them safe in an appropriate environment.
You provide lots of different lengths of materials and some children make a den with it, some use it as a picnic rug, some wrap up teddies/dolls and some wrap themselves in it.
What are they learning?
The children are initiating their own play, they will be role modelling for each other, encouraging each other to use language to communicate - whether it is body or verbal, other children may help/scaffold, cooperating with other, using imagination on their own or together creating their own storyline.
They are learning in their own stage (schema) at their own pace (no need to hurry through them).
They didn't have a formal beginning, a formal end or a formal expected outcome - they chose how long, what they did, when they finished.
They were 'in charge' of their own learning.
They were their own teachers and knew just how they liked to 'be taught'.