Advocacy for Play Centered Curriculumn
Advocacy for Play Centered Curriculum
ECE351 Play and Learning for the Young Child
Wendy Anderson
July 30, 2012
Abstract As a mom and a teacher, I am a strong supporter of play-based learning. For some children, play is what helps them grow and develop in areas that we may not see. Children do not learn at the same rate or the same ways as their peers. Each child is different in every way. Providing a play-based curriculum allows each child to learn. I will reflect on some ways that we as teachers can provide a safe learning environment based on play and learning combined.
Advocacy for Play Centered Curriculum Learning is something we all do from the time we are conceived until the time of our death. How we learn and what we learn as children define who we become later in life. We can learn through puzzles, books, and dramatic play. Play also teaches us social skills that we will need in our future schooling and also in our lives. Preschoolers develop and grow through play, they build the necessary skills that they will need for critical thinking and important leadership skills. According to the textbook, a child’s symbolic development can be fostered through pretend play as well as hypothetical situations. Children will develop healthy boundaries between what is real and what is imagination, and also they can learn of all things possible (Van Hoorn; Nourot; Scales & Alward pg.6). An example of this is when we were children we played Cowboys and Indians. We used broomsticks as our horses and wore bandanas and shot imaginary guns, bows and arrows. Today children pretend to be Spiderman, firemen and policemen. Play is not a break from learning but it is a different way to learn. For children with disabilities, play is often the only way they learn, like teaching them how to dress
ECE351 Play and Learning for the Young Child
Wendy Anderson
July 30, 2012
Abstract As a mom and a teacher, I am a strong supporter of play-based learning. For some children, play is what helps them grow and develop in areas that we may not see. Children do not learn at the same rate or the same ways as their peers. Each child is different in every way. Providing a play-based curriculum allows each child to learn. I will reflect on some ways that we as teachers can provide a safe learning environment based on play and learning combined.
Advocacy for Play Centered Curriculum Learning is something we all do from the time we are conceived until the time of our death. How we learn and what we learn as children define who we become later in life. We can learn through puzzles, books, and dramatic play. Play also teaches us social skills that we will need in our future schooling and also in our lives. Preschoolers develop and grow through play, they build the necessary skills that they will need for critical thinking and important leadership skills. According to the textbook, a child’s symbolic development can be fostered through pretend play as well as hypothetical situations. Children will develop healthy boundaries between what is real and what is imagination, and also they can learn of all things possible (Van Hoorn; Nourot; Scales & Alward pg.6). An example of this is when we were children we played Cowboys and Indians. We used broomsticks as our horses and wore bandanas and shot imaginary guns, bows and arrows. Today children pretend to be Spiderman, firemen and policemen. Play is not a break from learning but it is a different way to learn. For children with disabilities, play is often the only way they learn, like teaching them how to dress
References: Downey, J. & Garzoli, E.; (2007). The Effectiveness of a Play-Based Curriculum in Early Childhood Education’. Retrieved July 30, 2012 from http://teachplaybasedlearning.com Tepperman, J. (2007). Play: It’s the way young children learn. : A special supplement to the Children’s Advocate, based on a policy brief from the Bay Area Childhood Funders; Retrieved on July 30, 2012 from http://www.4children.org/issues/2007 Van Hoorn, J.; Nourot P. M., Scales, B.; Alward, Keith R. (2011) Pearson. Play at the Center of Curriculum