Importance of Play in Child Development
Play is considered a child’s most crucial experience because it teaches them how to think independently and socialize through games like peek-a-boo, patty-cake, and playing at home. Through play, children acquire various psychological skills, grow physically, and understand how to perceive the outside environment (Walker & Bass, 2015). However, the absence of play can cause detrimental and enduring repercussions.
Children who do not have access to outdoor play in natural settings are more likely to experience attention and behavioral issues. Children cannot expand their imaginations without appropriate play and develop the skills necessary for success in school, the workforce, and life (Samuelsson & Carlsson, 2008). These impacts would hamper an individual’s psychological and social growth.
Observation of Ice-Play Activity
The observed practice involves children in a classroom setting playing with ice. In the video, three male children are engaged in playing with ice in a bucket. The kids are hitting the ice using metallic and plastic spoons. A teacher arrives, removes the ice from the bucket, and realizes it is already spilling water (Red Leaf Press, 2014). The teacher asks the children why they think the ice is spilling water, and one of the boys responds by saying it is because they almost broke the ice.
Once the teacher breaks the ice, the children continue hitting the block with their spoons. During the play, one of the boys touches the surface of the ice and reacts by saying it is cold (Red Leaf Press, 2014). The same boy then takes a slightly larger object to help him crack the block of ice harder. They break through as they continue playing with the ice, and larger amounts of water spill out. The teacher informs the boys that they made a waterfall by hitting the ice, and they all become happy and continue smashing the ice even harder (Red Leaf Press, 2014).
Once a sizable amount of the ice has been broken, the children get larger plastic spatulas that enable them to collect the water and place it in cups. While they collect the ice water, they communicate, and one boy is heard telling the others not to spill water on his new shirt (Red Leaf Press, 2014). During the play, the children develop socially and physically through communication via the sense of touch.
Developmental Benefits of Social Play
In the academic field, the teacher’s education method is called pedagogy. Thanks to its educational value, the children benefited socially, cognitively, and physically from the ice-playing activity. Social growth is witnessed when the children interact by sharing ideas and thoughts on how to break the ice. The children learned how things fit together through the play as they used a larger object instead of spoons to break the ice harder (Red Leaf Press, 2014).
Furthermore, they used larger spatulas to collect the ice water once the block crumbled, demonstrating cognitive growth. As the children played with ice, they developed physically, particularly their sense of touch. One boy touched the block of ice and immediately jerked when they realized it was cold.
The observed practice is a social play because it helps the kids learn how to share, collaborate, and take turns, breaking the ice. Additionally, this type of play aids in children’s language proficiency development (Walker & Bass, 2015). The play stage is cooperative since it involves children engaging in an activity to achieve a common objective. The children’s common goal was to break the block of ice and collect the ice water.
The four key domains of development in the play event were physical, cognitive, linguistic, and social progress. The teacher facilitated the play by providing the objects used to hit the ice and spatulas used to collect the ice water (Red Leaf Press, 2014). During the play event, the kids established their sense of self and started interacting with one another, thus forming play and identity.
Reference List
Red Leaf Press, 2014. Focused observations chapter 5 video 14. Web.
Samuelsson, I. P. and Carlsson, M. A. (2008). ‘The playing learning child: Towards a pedagogy of early childhood’, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 52(6), pp. 623-641.
Walker, K. and Bass, S. (2015). Early childhood play matters: International teaching through play: Birth to six years. ACER Press.