There are many social skills that are practiced when children play together such as cooperation, taking turns, sharing, listening, and negotiating. These skills are practiced through cooperative games and the social experience. Children must feel a connectedness or a sense of community or else they will not be able to engage in play (Aktova,2017). Another reason why play is so important is that emotional competence and empathy are developed through play as children learn about feelings and emotions. Primary-age children may take on roles during sociodramatic play in which they play out their own life experiences (e.g., Cuddling the teddy bear when the teddy is “hurt” or feeding the doll when it's “hungry”. The negotiation of who takes what role during play and how that person must act within the play scenario provides children practice demonstrating ways of caring and showing empathy (Aktova,2017). Furthermore, the social aspect of play allows primary-age children to practice specific skills that are usually required in primary curriculum. Therefore social and emotional skills are developed through …show more content…
Active play requires action, either physical, verbal or mental engagement with materials, people, ideas or the environment. Play allows them to explore, identify and negotiate, take risks and create meaning. Children who engage in quality experience are more likely to have developed memory skills, language development and are able to regulate their behaviour. Children can develop relationships, learn to resolve conflicts, negotiate and regulate their behaviours. It offers opportunities to interact with others and develop communication strategies and work with collaborations. Through interaction with others, children can learn to differ fair from unfair practices and even discover how to take turns. Some similar developments can simply not be learned with just teacher to student contact. As conceptually explained by Melinda Wenner, “Because kids enjoy the activity, they do not give up as easily in the face of frustration as they might, say, on a math problem – which helps them develop persistence and negotiating abilities”(Wenner, 2009). Therefore, play-based learning can assist children in developing lifelong