Importance of play-based learning in Early Childhood

 What is play?

Play is an activity that can be self-chosen and self-directed. Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children. Play as the child's activity, ensures the full and healthy development and social-emotional language makes a significant contribution to it. Its is almost impossible to define play in a single comprehensive definition (Ljubetic, 2020).

Summary of the article

    Play is the universal goal for all childhood experiences, the article address is there a place for play-based learning in a standard-based curriculum (2023). Previous research showed that play is an important teaching strategy. The article talks about all the important benefits of play and why is important for all children to play in those younger years. DAP (developmental appropriate practices help young children learn and keep them engaged during traditional instructions. The article stated that learning through games is structure play based learning that promotes skills of math and literacy. 

The article also stated that when children get to kindergarten there is a decline in play time, because the classroom shifts to standards and accountability. No Child Left Behind was presented in (2001) and children were forced to receive direct instructions. The article talked about aligning the standards with play and hands- on experiences. Overall the article gave contributions to enhancing the importance of play in the development of young children. The article does began to fill in the gap of research on teacher's use of play, although there still need to be several future research done.

How the article may inform your work related to learning the role of play in healthy development

    This article ties in with meeting the Alabama Standards for Early Learning and Development, relationship-based learning experience that promotes collaboration and consistency for all kids ages birth to five.  Play promotes social-emotional skills, creativity, language and literacy development, all in healthy developmental ways. The article hit home for me when it stated that play declines in kindergarten, I remember being in kindergarten and playing in a loft, taking naps after lunch, and my favorite cutting the paws off all the teddy bears (yes, I got in trouble, but those where the fun times). So this year my goal is to get back to more play time, more child initiated activities within my classroom, no entirely doing away with the schedule, but making it more flexible. One thing I notice is that my daughter although she is fourteen, she still plays go outside and jump on the trampoline and she will pull out the Jenga game and ask me or her dad to play with her. So when we think about play does not have an age on it, but when teachers are pressure to create lesson plans that are so structure we take away the play and become over-academicization in the earlier years (2023). 

APA citation

Ellen McKenzie. (2023). Playing with the standards: Meeting rigorous standards through play-based learning. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 51(3), 25–35. https://doi.org/https://www.seca.info/dimensions

Extend learning article

Ljubetic, M., Maglica, T., and Vukadin, Z. (2020). Social and Emotional Learning and Play in Early Years.

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