Play Based Curricula

Early childhood is a time of curiosity, a time for play, and a time of rapid development. Every child is unique and deserving of an early childhood education that facilitates academic, social, and developmental growth through a variety of enjoyable experiences. Differentiated instruction adapts content, products and processes to meet the diverse learning needs and preferences of students (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007). Friedrich Froebel, the creator of Kindergarten, believed that children grow and learn as they play (Bruno, 2009). Play-based instruction not only enables young learners to have fun, but it also encourages interactive and cooperative learning, passion for discovery, and a foundation for later learning experiences

“Early roots of play as a best practice for early learning was documented by Plato, a Greek philosopher, who insisted that play is considered a natural activity of childhood.”(Ingrid Crowther, 2011, Pg. 2) Early Childhood Education is a term that refers to educational programs that are devoted to children from birth to the age of eight. “Children of this age learn by exploring and investigating; therefore, their environment should support and encourage this process.”(Rebecca Isbell and Betty Exelby, 2001, Pg. 11) Early childhood environments should be attractive and exciting. These environments should allow children to work and play using proper resources, materials, and tools.

“Play is developmentally appropriate for primary-age children and can provide them with opportunities that enrich the learning experience” (Copple & Bredekamp 2009). Early childhood education holds two main focuses; a child-based focus and a family-based focus. Early childhood education has positive outcomes on the child through their learning experiences, and their growth and development. Based on the family, the results of early education happen through the communication that the family has with the educators and by the encouragement they get from within themselves, and also from the educators.

The terms “play”, “learn” and “teach” are commonly used in the early childhood sector. This essay attempts to define and interconnect these terms to produce a holistic understanding of how play can be used as a medium to help children learn.

Head Start promotes the idea of learning through adult lead instruction and play along with exposure to the concepts of literacy, math and science.

Play-based learning is described as a “context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they actively engage with people, objects and representations” (EYLF 2009, p. 46). Headstart Early Learning Centre has a strong emphasis on play-based learning as they believe it is the best vehicle for a child’s learning as it provides the most appropriate stimulus for their brain development.

These studies resulted in several very interesting cognitive outcomes. Head Start children, especially those who had also participated in Early Head Start, showed significant cognitive improvements while in still in Head Start. Their scores on various developmental tests were above those of the control group, though still below average According to the Third Grade Follow-Up, at the end of the Head Start year, the 4-year-old cohort showed strong improvements in language and literacy skills, compared to the control group, in six different tests:

First of all, I hold a Ph.D. in Human Development from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, and I have been a professor of Early Childhood Education for the last nine ten years. My research in the area of children’s development began in graduate school in 2000. Since then, it has been presented at national and international conferences. Moreover, at this time, I have published twelve research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and in the last year I have presented five more articles for publication that are now in the process of being reviewed.

6). Barblett (2016) asserts that high quality play-based learning is crucial in early education as it aids in the development of brain pathways through active stimulation and exploration, as well as cognitive, intellectual and physical development such language, better developed memory skills and an improvement in fine and gross motor skills. It has also been documented that play-based learning in early childhood benefits children by helping them adapt better to school and conclusively aids children to perform better in academic learning as they progress (Bodrova & Leong,

In early childhood, play diverges, contingent on an immense amount of intricacies and has been predisposed through the years by numerous theories in early childhood development. Consideration needs to be taken as to if play is free and simple or not.

Preschool is very important for the developmental process and growth of young children and should be mandatory to attend. Preschool is best defined as, an Early Childhood Education Program, in which children combine learning with play in a program run by professionally trained adults. Preschoolers are typically three to six years old. A popular misconception behind Early Childhood Education programs is that it’s not teaching children but rather simply babysitting them but that is not the case. Preschool teachers use direct and indirect learning experiences to further the process of development and growth. A direct learning experience is planned out with a specific goal in mind and an indirect learning experience occurs at the spur of

More than 15 million children in the United States younger than 18 years live in poverty.1 These children experience disparities in education, health care, and socioeconomic resources.2–6 Children living in poverty may also be deprived of the benefits of safe and creative playtime and access to age-appropriate extracurricular activities. The implications of play deprivation may be substantial, because play is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of children beginning in early childhood.7 In addition, play offers an opportunity for parents to view the world from their child’s perspective as they engage fully with their children during playtime; all families deserve ready access to this bonding opportunity. Even before the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights cited play as a right of every child, philosophers and psychologists, such as Plato, Piaget, and Friedrich Froebel, recognized the importance of play in healthy child development.8–10

For parents whose child might be in a more academic preschool or transitional kindergarten class, Dee suggests talking with the teacher or principal to point out what the “extensive body of research seems to indicate about the role of play.”

The caregiver is accountable for providing a safe and enjoyable play-based educational Curriculum. In planning for such experience, we must take into account the children’s capability, needs, and what interests them. These plans must be developmentally appropriate and adaptable. Integrated curriculum takes particular attention to the children's interests and able to change the plans based on their needs. Such curriculum would provide and facilitates play-based experiences and perceives the children's interactions in the process of developing play-based educational content areas “This process is described as curriculum-generated play and play-generated curriculum” (Van Hoorn et al., 2011) (Saracho, 2012, P. 71) (2). Contents that take into

Play is usually a natural activity in early childhood and has significant importance in early childhood special education. Play assists in enhancing the children social competence, creativity, language development, and their thinking skills. Play is usually the key vehicle for the developing of language, social skulls in young children (Rogers ET all. 2009). Moreover, it serves as a functional behavior which contributes to the life quality of the children. .