1. The importance of play in the lives of children

2. What is play?
According to Bruner, play can be seen as the main opportunity for children to take risks without fear of failure.
Creativity and play are closely related

3. Developmental Characteristics of Play
Development of motor skills
Vocabulary growth
Sharpening of the senses
Increased concentration
Expression of emotions – empathy
Flexibility
Sharing, turn taking – harmony
Role taking
Ordering, sequencing
Expansion of imagination and creativity
Delay of gratification

4. Cognitive Development and Play
5 basic forms of play:
Functional play/ exploratory play
Constructive play
Dramatic play
Sociodramatic play
Games with rules
**Take some time and review one of the forms as a pair. Be ready to explain it to the group in a few minutes.**

5. Social Development and Play
Solitary play
Parallel play
Associative play
Cooperative play
**Take some time and review one of the forms as a pair. Be ready to explain it to the group in a few minutes.**

6. Distinguishing play from other behaviours
Active engagement
Intrinsic motivation
Attention to means rather than ends
Nonliteral behaviour
Existence of implicit rules
**Take some time and review one of the forms as a pair. Be ready to explain it to the group in a few minutes.**

7. Adapting Play to Individual Learners
1. Children should be free to choose their own play experiences.
2. The environment should offer play alternatives that are meaningful and accessible to children.
3. Play experiences should be based on objectives derived from observations of children in order to facilitate development progress from their present level to a higher level of development.
4. Educators should plan a range of play experiences from the simple to the complex and begin with very concrete learning challenges in which the concepts of skills to be mastered are clear and observable to the learner.
5. A balance of structured and open-ended activities should be provided.
6. A balance of individual and group activities to allow for children’s unique learning styles should be provided.
7. Equipment, materials, and supplies should be placed in well-defined learning centers that ensure children’s receipt of messages from their environment about what they should be doing and learning in each learning center.

8. Types of Play
Active
Cooperative
Creative
Dramatic
Manipulative
Quiet

9. Active Play
Play that involves movement and physical activity. Active play is the perfect type of play to tucker any youngster out!

10. Cooperative Play
More than one child playing together or around each other. Children learn from watching other children play and interacting with them socially

11. Creative Play
Play that ignites a child's imagination and makes something out of nothing!

12. Dramatic Play
Play that involves pretend and make believe, or whatever the imagination dreams.

13. Manipulative Play
Play that involves hand-eye coordination and motor skills. Children need the opportunity to work on finer skills that involve a little more control and direction.

14. Quiet Play
Play that keeps children's mouths shut but their minds open. Playtime for children should have the opportunity to be quiet — the playtime for which adults are sometimes grateful!