PLAY-BASED LEARNING: BENEFITS AND HOW IT WORKS

Play-based learning provides ‘a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their

social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations’

- Australia’s Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Learning Through Play

What areas of learning does play improve?

Cognitive and creativity

Social

Well-being

Physical coordination

What types of play help improve these areas of learning?

Music and Dance Arts and Crafts Dramatic Play Outdoor Play Constructive Play

“Play opens the windows of learning in a child’s life and acquaints him or her with movement, observation, relationships, emotions and much more.”* Essentially this means that when a child is playing, with either parents, friends or toys, they are engaging in learning about themselves, those around them, and their environment. To understand, let’s look at:

*Sean Brotherson

Improves: Cognitive and Creativity

Basic mathematical, scientific and thinking skills are learned by

experimenting with people and objects around children. For

example:

Building a block tower can help children

recognise problems and think about how to solve

them properly

Floating (and sinking) toys in water helps children understand

buoyancy

Determining how to share toys evenly between a

group helps children learn basic mathematics

The development of cognitive skills, including dispositions for learning (such as curiosity and persistence), memory and thinking skills, and language and literacy skills, have strong links to play.* Additionally, play nurtures creativity, imagination, strategies for problem solving and the expansion of a child’s critical divergent thought process.

*Bodrova & Leong

Improves: Social Skills

Research shows that playing with others assists children in building positive relationships through

understanding proper social skills. Children build empathy as they become more aware

of their own and others’ emotions, motivations and desires.

As children get better at communicating and negotiating, it’s easier for them to bond with others because they create understanding and trust.

Communication skills are improved, as children can use new words to tell stories and voice their opinions.

Negotiation and problem solving are learned through improved empathy.

Improves: Well-being

Well-being has to do with the mental

state of your child, which is essential as

a child looks to become more

independent and happier

• Play helps children to express and work through emotions and experiences

• By playing and making mistakes, children learn how to have a good sense of humour

• By engaging in solo-play, children learn that individual happiness can be created

• Play causes a mix of endorphins that lifts spirits and distracts children from pain, fear, and other burdens

Improves: Physical Coordination Playing Means Children Are: •  Running •  Jumping •  Climbing •  Picking up/carrying

objects •  Swimming •  Kicking and throwing

Health Benefits •  Improved

metabolism •  Increased energy

expenditures

Learned Skills •  Eye-hand

coordination •  Large muscular

skills (running, etc.) •  Small muscular

skills (picking up a ball, etc.)

Types: Music and Dance

Tapping rhythms and other nursery rhymes helps develop rhythm, language understanding, and tones.

Partner dancing helps children learn about matching movements to music and coordinating with another person.

Dancing spontaneously helps children increase their imagination, express their emotions, and explore space in 3 dimensions.

Playing a musical instrument helps children to use their senses to understand an object, by responding to what they hear and see.

Types: Arts and Crafts

Creating pictures and sculptures helps children to learn about space, shapes, area and symmetry through creative and critical thinking

Painting allows children to use a new artistic medium, which helps them to explore their

imagination and intuition with new materials.

Making crafts teaches children aspects of connecting parts

together and getting the right information from the instructor

or instructions.

Types: Dramatic Play

Giving a child a specific role to perform will encourage

recalling and applying his or her own experiences to that

given point in time.

By creating a fake persona that the child must play, you are allowing him or her to

use literary and communicative skills that

he or she might not usually use in everyday life.

Using props while engaging in dramatic play allows

children to further identify with their assigned role, as

well as learn about interacting with other

characters and objects with that role.

Types: Outdoor Play

Sand Play • Giving children free-

range in a sandbox will allow them to learn the concept of area, as well as how they personally can affect that area

• When building sand castles, the social aspects of sharing and cooperation are incorporated

Water Play • Builds concentration as

children look to pour water from container to container

• Permits children to learn for themselves the therapeutic properties that water has

Air Play • Flying a kite or holding a

hand-held windmill can show children the effect that wind has on objects, and how the strength of the wind effects them

• By trying to run or jump on a windy day, children can learn about the power of air and how it creates resistance

Photo: "H

appy Holiday O

n The Beach" by

supakitmod

Photo: "C

hildren Toys" by artur84

Type: Construction Play Independent Collaboration

Develops fine motor skills as children pass to others, while also pushing, pulling, holding, connecting and placing objects

where they are needed

Forces children to learn to take turns and share equipment

when building up collaborative projects

Creates confidence in children when they are able to make

their own structures.

Builds concentration as children focus on what part of

a structure needs to be changed and rebuilt.

Making Time for Play

Scheduling Play Time!

Playing is one of the best (and most fun) ways for children to

learn, so parents should include it in their

child’s schedule

Play helps learning at any age, which means playing with your child can actually help you learn new concepts

and lessons

Schools also need to develop an environment in

which children can positively learn through

play

At Yew Chung International School, children are

encouraged to actively participate, investigate and experiment to find out about the world in which they live