CHILDREN LEARN TO PLAY AND PLAY TO LEARN ... IT IS THEIR WORK
This week, I have set myself the daunting task of sorting out my children’s toys. Dolls and trains and missing puzzle pieces. Some that are precious, some that are forgotten. Having spent an hour with the toys, I feel like I have been with them. I’ve certainly been in their world! These toys are building blocks for their brains, the tools of their trade, lessons for the university of life. Because, through play, children learn what the world is about, and they explore ways of coping with it and mastering challenges.
HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN?
Children learn by involving themselves in activities - they need to see, explore, listen and experiment with things. Words are not enough. Yet, as parents, we often say: ‘don’t touch’, ‘careful, you’ll fall’, ‘put that down’, ‘that will break’, ‘sit still’ or ‘do something constructive’. Children do need boundaries for safety, and to learn to be disciplined about homework. But they also need uninterrupted ‘yes time’ in safe areas with a variety of materials to explore.
Imaginative play, or free drawing is a language that children use to act out their fears and worries. Children can use play to deal with the challenges of school, friendships and families. Social play, or playing with others, whether it is an organised game or House House, helps children to learn how to interact with others, negotiate rules and learn to consider another’s needs, feelings and ideas.
WHAT CAN PARENTS DO THIS WEEKEND?
1. Join in with the children - and let them take the lead
2. Leave the children to play on their own
3. Play educational games with them and have fun yourself
4. Turn tidy up into a race or a game eg I spy something beginning with G that needs to go in the toy box. It’s slower, but the job gets done.
5. Read books together
6. Make dressing up clothes
7. Tell Jokes (or buy a holiday joke book, or find a good website with jokes).
Now that this article is nearly complete, I realise that they toys are still in a mess. But perhaps it is not the organisation that matters. Instead, I think I’ll go and see what the kids are up to, and find out if they would like to play!
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This article has been written by Anwen Cunningham-Scholtz. A mother and child psychologist operating in the Durban area.