1. Play is child directed. It consists of activities that are self performed, not directed by the teacher. Play is an important part of a child’s social, behavioural and cognitive development. Through play children can use their own imagination and creativity to create their environment, they have control over the outcome since there are no rules, their actions are spontaneous, non literal, process oriented and enjoyable. (Developmentally Appropriate Practice, 2011, p. 33) 2. The four categories of play are functional play, symbolic play which has two categories; constructive play and dramatic play, and games with rules.
Functional play also known as “ practice play” is the common form of play for infants and toddlers. Their actions are often repetitive and contribute towards the infant or child achieving confidence which is important towards developing their physical skills. An example of functional play would be a child a child putting objects in a box then emptying and doing it over again. b. Symbolic play has two categories: constructive play and dramatic play. It is commonly seen in two year olds and progresses into the adult years. i.
Constructive play involves a child using material to create something. An example would be a child using boxes to create a fort. Constructive is similar to functional play just with more detail. ii. Dramatic play is when a child pretends to be someone or plays a role. An example of dramatic play would be a child dressing up with a cape and pretending that they are a superhero. Sociodramatic play is when there two or more children role playing together. An example would be playing school, one child is the teacher and the other the student. c.
Games with rules are common with school aged children. They can be known games or ones that the children create and involve a child’s logical thinking and social skills. An example would be a group of children playing hide and go seek. (Developmentally Appropriate Practice, 2011, p. 33-36) The five stages of children’s social play are onlooker behaviour, solitary play, parallel play, associative play and cooperative play. a. Onlooker behaviour is when a child watches other children play. An example would be a child watching a group of children playing tag. . Solitary play is when a child plays by themselves. An example of solitary play would be a child playing with lego by themselves. c. Parallel play is when children are playing the same activity side by side but are not interacting with one another. An example would be two girls brushing their dolls hair and talking to them like a mother. d. Associative group play is when children are engaged in the same play, could even possibly be sharing materials and there is some communication amongst them.
An example would be two children playing with playdoh to make cookies and they agree that each can use a cutting tool and rolling pin but they make their own batch of cookies. e. Cooperative play is when children play together and interact with one another. An example would be children playing restaurant, one being the cook, one being the server and one the customer and agreeing on the roles that will be played out. (Developmentally Appropriate Practice, 2011, p. 36-37)
