What is Play?

Many people hear the term ‘The Circle of Security’, and many people perceive to understand what the Circle of Security really is. However, the key question is.. What does the circle of security look like in practice with young children at Thrive?

Play-based learning is a term you have probably heard around and you have probably wondered what it’s all about and how does play promote learning?

During the act of play children are engaging with many dispositions; imagination, creativity, exploration, resilience, problem solving. Dispositions are essential attitudes to learning, and through this act of play children are enhancing their social, emotional, physical, cognitive and language domains.

The Early Years Learning Framework (2009) define Play as “Play is a context for learning that:

Allows for the expression of personality and uniqueness
Enhances dispositions such as curiosity and creativity
Enables children to make connections between prior experiences and new learning
Assists children to develop relationships and concepts
Stimulates a sense of wellbeing” (p.10)

Additionally, the EYLF also advocates for play-based learning and defines it as ‘a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations’.

Implementing Play-Based Learning

When thinking about play-based learning, it requires a level of planning. Using the environment and resources, educators need to ensure they are targeting children’s interests and developmental levels. Through this planning children will engage with the different elements of play, inclusion self-driven, process-driven, and socially driven.

Each of these elements of play are essential to ensuring the play is associated with learning (Best Chance, n.d.).

Benefits Of Using Play For Learning

Play is the highest form of enjoyment. When children are happy, engaged and stimulated, they are more likely to learn and retain what they are learning. Contrary to this would cause a child to be disengaged and therefore unlikely to retain the learning which is occurring around them.

Play-based learning has the potential to support children’s emergency literacy and language skills and their emerging social and emotional skills. Additionally, play-based learning inspires and creates a space where children use and apply creativity, imagination and confidence, all contributing to a positive attitude to learning (DEWWR, 2009).

Research supports the fact that when children have positive educational experience in the early years, they are more likely to continue experiencing positivity in their later schooling (DEWWR, 2009).

What Does A Play-Based Program Look At Thrive

At Thrive we value play-based learning as the foundations to our curriculum approach. Using both indoor and outdoor environments, educators plan, implement and then evaluate the curriculum ensuring it is based on children’s individual interests. At Thrive each educator spends extended periods of time with children and their families, to truly capture the interests of individual children. It is with this information that the curriculum becomes play focused. As previously mentioned, when children are engaged and stimulated, that is when the learning occurs! Therefore, at Thrive, that comes from knowing each of our children and their interests.

Further to the structure of our curriculum are the routines our Thrive centres implement. Routines are important for children, to support certain transitions (mealtimes, rest times) and to ensure the programs are implemented in a predictable cycle. However, aligning with our thrive PHILOSOPHY, we ensure all children have opportunity to long extended periods of uninterrupted blocks of play. Allowing children extended time to play and learning through their play, enhances their retention of information and future memory recall.

Agency and autonomy are two crucial concepts within play-based learning. Children need to be empowered to use both. When a child builds on their agency and becomes autonomous, they are making decisions about their learning based on their own interests and needs. As supported by the EYLF, children should be driving the direction of their own learning. At Thrive we ensure all educators are equipped with the teaching strategies needed to support children in using agency and autonomy.

So next time the child wants to take the sand from the sandpit or the playdough to the home corner to use it for cooking… don’t stop them. Or next time they want to use the collage material in their construction area… don’t stop them. Rather, step back, watch and see what learning is occurring for your child in that moment.

References

Bubikova-Moan, Næss Hjetland, H., & Wollscheid, S. (2019). ECE teachers’ views on play-based learning: a systematic review. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 27(6), 776–800.

Best Chance. (n.d.). The Science of Play: The Importance of Play-based Learning. https://www.bestchance.org.au/blog/the-science-of-play-the-importance-of-play-based-learning/

DEWWR. (2009). BELONGING, BEING & BECOMING The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Sumsion, Grieshaber, S., McArdle, F., & Shield, P. (2014). The “state of play” in Australia : Early childhood educators and play-based learning. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(3), 4–13.