Creative Activities and Curriculum for Young Children By Mary Mayesky Slides Prepared by Jennifer Johnson ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Chapter 7 Play, Development, and Creativity ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

The Concept of Play For children: Play is living Living is play Intrinsically motivated Aids mental, social, cognitive, and physical development Individual or group An activity not a product Mechanism by which children learn ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

The Concept of Play Qualities of play Play is a process Play is child-initiated Everything and anything can happen Play becomes arena for testing rules Play is an activity of the mind ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

The Concept of Play Qualities of play Practice play Constructive play Rough-and-tumble play Dramatic play Games with rules ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Play: Theories of Parten, Smilansky, Piaget & Vygotsky Stages of play Onlooker Solitary Parallel Associative Cooperative Free or spontaneous play Organized play Imaginative play ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Play: Theories of Parten, Smilansky, Piaget & Vygotsky Mental/cognitive development Piaget’s theory: Play as assimilation Vygotsky’s theory: Play facilitates cognitive development ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Play: Theories of Parten, Smilansky, Piaget & Vygotsky Social emotional development Smilansky’s theory: Play, social class, and culture Benefits of play Positive self-concept Expression and understanding of emotions Mastery of the environment Safe trying on of adult roles ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Importance of Play to Human Growth and Development Physical development Small and large motor development Overall coordination Balance Hand-eye coordination Physical strength Senses Strength Outdoor play/recess ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Developmentally Appropriate Childhood Games Modify Musical Chairs Modify Simon Says Modify Duck, Duck, Goose Older children’s play and cognitive development Emotional growth Social growth ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Adapting Environments to Encourage Social Development for Children with Special Needs Remember children with special needs are children first Use children-first language Make adaptations Children with special needs may not always initiate play Nature of the child’s special condition will affect play A child with visual impairments may need assistance ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Adapting Environments to Encourage Social Development for Children with Special Needs Play and children with special needs Teacher talk Recasting Repeating Expanding Questioning Prompting Adaption Accessibility ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Violent Play Some reasons for violent play Violence in everyday life Feelings Media, toys, and violence ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.

Working with Children’s Violent Play Reduce amount of violence children see Promote imaginative and creative play Observe children’s play Encourage children to deal with issues of violence Talk with children about violent play Correct misconceptions about violence Encourage children to engage in creative play ©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resereved.