*Collaborative Post*
Playtime is, on the most basic level, a simple and fun activity for children, but in truth it can be a lot more than just games and adrenaline. For younger children in particular, play is a key component of early cognitive exercise, which allows kids to build crucial skills and allows them the ideal foundation for lifelong learning. From problem-solving to language learning, from social development to creativity, how we play as kids allows us to better understand and interact with the wider world as we grow.
Structured play and unstructured
In our early developmental stages, there will be two main forms of play: structured and unstructured. The former relates to activities that are overseen by adults, including storytelling, puzzles and art projects. These tend to be activities with a specific objective; that could be improving a child’s motor skills, expanding their vocabulary, or enabling them to better understand colors.
Unstructured play, on the other hand, allows children to play as they prefer and gives them a free hand in what they do. This can involve things like building with blocks, exploring outdoors and playing with stuffed animals. It is important to realize that both types of play are essential, they are not in competition with one another. Guided learning helps kids learn facts and rules, while unstructured playtime helps them to discover things by themselves, enhancing their curiosity and often aiding creativity.
How play boosts cognitive and social skills
Play is the mos natural way for children to develop critical thinking and problem solving. Games with an element of sorting, constructing or matching help with pattern recognition and understanding of principles such as cause and effect. Of course, when your little one is at daycare, they’re not being taught pattern recognition and cause and effect as such. They’re having fun, and the learning is happening as a result. They don’t need to be weighed down with heavier concepts.
Language development is also boosted by playtime. For example, free role play where kids are encouraged to take on a character allows them to practice language, form sentences and communicate with others; along with singing songs, it allows them to engage in a wider world which is also excellent for social skills. Even playing a game like “I Spy” gets them to think about spelling, looking at the outside world and the room they are in, and making clues harder or easier, which makes it great mental exercise.
The skills developed through play are an excellent way to introduce concepts that will serve a child well in later life without putting pressure on them in the way that academic learning does. By creating this kind of learning environment, it is possible to give kids a head start which will make more complex lessons easier to handle, all while allowing them to have fun and engage with other kids their age. Sometimes, the most effective way to teach kids is not to teach them at all, but to give them the incentive to learn almost by accident, as a by-product of just having a good time.