LEARNING THROUGH PLAY PARENT WORKSHOP The greatest gift you can give is the ability and desire to learn as children face new situations and challenges at every age. Mariah Bruehl, The Playful Guide to Raising Lifelong Learners, 2013

What you will learn today... What is play? Why playing with your child is important for growth and learning. What they learn from play Parent involvement Play time in the class room

What is play? Play is critical to the healthy growth and development of children. One of the ways children learn about themselves, the people around them, their environment, and their community. By playing, a child will then learn how to process and make sense of what sensations he/she receives whether it’s by sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch. Play relieves stress and boredom, connects people in a positive way, stimulates, creative thinking and exploration, regulates emotions, and boosts confidence.

Parent Task Think of one of your child’s favorite play activities. If possible, choose an activity that involves playing with others -adults or children. Think about some of the things children might be learning from these favorite play activities.

What do children learn through play? Develop Language Skills: – Language develops as a child plays and interacts with others. Begins with: Parents playing cooing games with their children and advances to practical levels such as telling make-believe stories and jokes. Develop Social Skills: – Natural way for children to interact. Opportunities for cooperating, taking turns, sharing, listening, and negotiating exist within the play context/rules.

What do children learn through play? Develop physical skills: – Gross motor skills are developed as a child learns to reach, grasp, crawl, run, climb, and balance. – Fine motor skills are developed as children handle some toys. (Control of the hands and fingers improve)• Cognitive Development:– Learn to solve problems through play. –Learn colors, numbers, size and shapes. Have the ability to enhance their memory skills as well as their attention span. – Able to move on to higher levels of thought as they play in a more stimulating environment.

Parent Involvement Did you know that playing with you is your young child’s most important learning activity? Having fun together regularly will build a strong and positive parent-child relationship. Relationships are the building blocks of the brain and all later learning, including academic learning. “Children learn best when they are engaged in playful ways with important people in their everyday lives.” Making minds website Research shows that the more animals play, the bigger their brains grow. Paul Bailey’s book, Think of an Elephant, 2007 Parent engagement in child learning at home predicted greater academic achievement in children than any other form of parent involvement

Parent Task

Expand your child’s play Talk, talk, talk while your child is playing… Ask open-ended questions. A child is making a house with Lego. Instead of - What colour is the lego? Ask - Why have you decided to build a house?

Ask reflective questions… Who will live in the house you’re building? Why do you think the boy decided to follow the giant? What do you think the princess is feeling? How are you planning to attach the brown triangle to the pink one? What do you think will happen if you take that block out of the tower?

Learning through play in the classroom…

Learning through play in the classroom…

Parent Task Play activity Practise expanding play with your own children in the classroom. I will go around each parent and support and model examples.

Parent Task Discussion What questions or comments were made that were most successful in expanding the play and creating rich conversations? •What was the child learning? •What did you learn as the parent?

The most important part of playing with your children is: Having Fun The most important part of playing with your children is: Having Fun ! Laugh, Be silly, Be creative, Be playful And know that all that fun is adding up to rich learning experiences that will build the skills your children will need for success in school and in life.