As I sat in my backyard of my Finger Lakes home in 2020, I thought about all the 1,000s parents that I have met in the 40+ years of working with their children: the good one's, the bad ones and the all the indifferent ones. I wondered what to do, in my retirement years to be helpful to them.
Then in the small town of Honeoye NY, I became aware of a new type of parent , the ones that hate being a parent, but had children anyway.
Her two babies, if they were awake, they were put into their stroller for one except for when they were eating or getting a diaper changed. I had never met some one like that. I was flabbergasted and intriged at the same time. She spurred me to spend my free time during retirement writting. I want to help her and others like her to connect with their babies in a more loving and nuturing way. It's so important to give them as much love and playtime as you can.
Play is how children explore and learn about their world.
Piaget’s Functional Play
Any repetitive action that the child finds enjoyable is functional play.
Functional play is the first type of play children experience. It begins with babies in the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development. When babies learn to control their bodies and objects, they experience functional play.
Babies play through repetitive actions, like shaking a rattle, splashing in the bath, or repeatedly dropping toys from their highchair. These basic actions become play when the child deliberately engages in the activity for pleasure (Frost, 1992).
As children develop cognitively, their simple, repetitive actions become more and more complex and coordinated. Functional play is not exclusive to the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development.
Children can observe and enjoy functional play throughout their entire childhood. Whenever children discover and practice new motor skills like sliding, climbing, stacking, jumping, and bouncing, they are taking part in functional play.
So here are the resources I have gathered in hope to give new parents support for a more positive parenting journey.
In our hurried lives, we often forget the importance of play for our children. What if a simple prescription could improve the health and well-being of your child?
What if that prescription said, “Play with your kids every day”?
A Simple Prescription, “Play With Your Kids Every Day”
Promote the importance of all types of play and the role of each in your child’s development.
Collaborate with educators to:Protect recess timeEncourage physical activityEmphasize the importance of curious, playful learning.
What Is Play?
First, let’s look at the characteristics of play. While difficult to characterize, general opinion defines play as fun, voluntary, and spontaneous.
Second, play is a child-led activity that results in joyful discovery. It is about the process and not the end product.
Lastly, it involves taking risks, testing boundaries, and experimenting in a safe, nurturing environment.
Importance Of Play
Pediatricians must emphasize the need for time spent playing with our kids. Especially relevant at a time when the nation wants to steal our children’s free-play time.
So many schools are eliminating art, music, physical education, and recess to focus on academics. This focus, coupled with increasing homework, leaves little if any, time for free play.
More parents work outside of the home, requiring more enrichment programs and activities. Also, parents worry about unsafe neighborhoods and playgrounds. As a result, kids spend more time indoors on their screens, taking away time from real play.
With these barriers and your child’s demanding schedule, it is no wonder they have lost so many hours of play weekly.
What suffers from the loss of this free-play time?
First of all, your child’shealth from lack of physical activity.
Their happiness from too much pressure.
Their general well-being from not enough social interaction.
Finally, theircuriosity, imagination, and creativity decrease with adult-led academic activities.
Freely Chosen Play
Overcoming the barriers and supporting free play does not require expensive toys or activities. Things that are open-ended with multiple uses are best for creative, curious discovery.
For example, you can reinforce play and creativity with simple everyday items. Things like wooden building blocks, balls, or other household items stimulate imagination and creativity. Choose toys that encourage your child’s imagination, like crayons, empty boxes, and dolls.
Do you remember building a huge fort out of a few blankets, chairs, and pillows you found lying around the house?
Even more important is being present and spending time with your child listening, laughing, and playing. Remember, play not only benefits your child, but you, too, will find joy and rejuvenation. Best of all, the time spent together builds a better relationship with your child.
A child's day is full of play. Play helps children learn and practice new skills, make friends and find a sense of self. Play changes as children develop into adults and includes hobbies and leisure activities.
Did you know that there are different kinds of play? I just can't bring myself to pretend to be silly. So pretend play was was pretty much up to their Dad. (He still is awesome)That is until the boys started creating themed "play worlds" for both inside and outside play, at home, (which are now called small worlds or miniature play). My mom and grandma called them playsets. But my point is that if you discover that you don't like a certain kind of play that your children like, support their interest in providing them time with someone else that does. The boys were interested in photographing creepy crawlies so they could research and learn about them. I hated snakes so I simply passed on that whole experience. But often offered a picnic in the woods and a scavenger hunt race.
FYI...don't ever tell boys thar love snakes that you hate them..
Let’s look at the stages of block play. By offering the best blocks to support your child’s current stage will ensure a successful block play experience.
We often forget the importance of play for our children. What if a simple prescription could improve the health, happiness, and well-being of your child?
Constructive play is about manipulating, shaping, or constructing something. Let’s explore the benefits of construction play and how you can support it.
Welcome to the world of block play for toddlers and preschoolers! This guide covers the importance of block play, explores its stages and benefits, and shares block activities and setup tips. Join us on an adventure of imagination, creativity, and fun – all aboard the block play express!
Let’s explore learning through play activities for your energetic toddlers and imaginative preschoolers. From block play to imaginative role-playing, our playful learning activities encourage your little ones to discover and develop their social, emotional, language, cognitive, and motor skills. Get ready for hands-on activities designed specifically for your toddlers and preschoolers.
Building blocks for kids, grow with your child! By establishing a block center for block play, you are creating a space for creative and imaginative play.
Magnetic building blocks are a dynamic and frustration-free way to engage your young builder. As a welcome addition to any block play area, the best magnetic blocks will unlock your child’s power to explore, imagine, and create.
Do you want to raise an imaginative and creative child? Have you ever wondered how to foster that creative imagination? Let’s ignite it before its too late!
Types of Playtime
Free, Unstructured Play At Risk!
Unstructured play, an essential source of happiness for our children, is in jeopardy. For centuries, children have done what comes naturally to them, play! Kids played all day long. They built forts, played tag, and made mud pies. Now, it seems our society wants to rob our children of the benefits of play.
Let’s protect childhood and give back playtime!
As the demand on our children’s schedules, routines, and responsibilities increase, more than ever, children need to play. Presently, we see an increased focus on academics and structured activities.
As a result, in favor of more academics, schools are eliminating recess. In the past twenty years, our children have lost hours of free time each week, significantly decreasing their amount of play.
Our kids are over-scheduled with multiple organized and adult-led activities. In other words, each moment is structured and supervised with little, if any, time forfree play.
…recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play…
Structured Play Vs. Unstructured Play
Striking a balance of structured play vs. unstructured play is crucial to raising healthy, happy kids. It can be tricky, as both are valuable ingredients in your child’s development. However, it is the balance that is currently out of sync, and our children’s free play is at risk.
Unscheduled play is spontaneous and adventurous. Furthermore, it is, by nature, process-oriented without a required outcome. While also providing our children with the freedom to explore and make their own choices. Most important, it is enjoyable!
Ultimately, the difference between the two types is the intent of engagement. For example, one comes with a set of instructions, and the other is open-ended.
Structured Play Activities
Structured play is ordinarily adult-led, goal-oriented play with rules and instructions. Some examples of structured play activities include:
Board games or puzzles
Building something from a model or set of instructions
Organized sports teams like soccer
Enrollment in classes like art, music, or dance
Coloring in a picture or painting by numbers
Unstructured Play Activities
Unstructured play is child-driven, open-ended, and process-based. A set of rules or instructions does not bind it. In addition, unstructured play does not include screen time (computers, video games, or television). Some examples of unstructured play activities include:
Building free-form with blocks for kids
Dress up or pretend play
Drawing, coloring or painting on blank paper with no examples
Playground play (free and unorganized)
Raising our children into healthy, happy adults requires plenty of “free play” time. For instance, you can help nurture their unstructured play and creativity with a wooden block set. Additionally, open-ended building sets encourage interaction with others and can build self-confidence.
Explorative Play
Children explore the world through play. Through exploratory play they learn about the world and the effect they can have on the environment.
Children explore the world through play. Through exploratory play they learn about the world and the effect they can have on the environment. This type of play starts from very early in a child's life and is one of the first types of play they experience.
Exploratory play involves the child using all their Senses. It is my favorite kind of play. And is often reffered to as sensory play or open ended play.
They will examine objects by looking, touching (with hands and mouths), listening and moving it to learn about how they can influence the world around them. This type of play would include sand, water and messy play.
Early Explorative Play
From the first weeks of a babies life they begin to learn through explorative play.
It is important that babies have an opportunity to explore using all their senses.
GGC Staff are working on this area to bring you activity ideas for each of the senses.
Continue to encourage Explorative Play, as your child grows and develops the type of explorative play they engage in becomes more complex.
Please be aware that playdough (both shop bought and homemade) may contain wheat. Make sure you use a wheat free alternative if there is a known wheat allergy.
Playdough Warning
Please be aware that playdough (both shop bought and homemade) may contain wheat. Make sure you use a wheat free alternative if there is a known wheat allergy.
Energetic Play& Movement Suggestions
By exploring different movement experiences your child learns about the environment as well as how to make their body move.
Children learn about objects and their use through functional play. They use toys or objects in the way in which they are intended. They will roll a ball and stack blocks.
This type of play can also be described as manipulative play. A child uses their hands to manipulate toys and objects to learn about how to use them. This includes construction play, arts and crafts and tool-use (e.g. scissors) and helps to develop eye-hand co-ordination.
Early Manipulative Play
Manipulative Play in the early stages is about learning to use your hands. Fine motor skills develop through a number of different stages from sensory awareness to in-hand manipulation and tool-use. These skills are essential for the development of other activities of daily living. Below are some play activities to help your child develop these essential skills.
Reach, grasp and release are fundamental fine motor skills. It is important to develop these skills early as they are building blocks to complex fine motor skills and participation in activities of daily living which develop later.
Reach & Grasp
The development of reach and grasp is influenced by a child’s growing interest in objects and desire to attain them.
Children love to place objects into containers and empty them out! This helps them to develop their release skills and refine their eye-hand coordination skills.
Construction play involves manipulating one or more pieces of play materials to create something new. This may involve a variety of methods – stacking, sticking, putting together, taking things apart, sorting or moulding, to name a few.
Construction play develops all types of skills and behaviours;
The motor skills necessary to create and manipulate the items.
Imagination skills.
Planning & ideation skills; the ability to try out and test ideas.
Perseverance when things don’t work.
When playing with others turn taking and collaboration skills.
Taking part in art and craft activities can help your child in many ways. Arts and crafts activities can help to develop your child’s imagination and creativity, their planning and organisation skills and fine motor skills.
There are benefits to using technology both for play and learning. Using technology can help with creativity, problem solving, visual thinking and can make learning fun. Using the right kind of technology/games/activities can support the development of your child’s learning and skills, including fine motor skills, letter/number/shape/colour recognition, eye-hand co-ordination, reading, writing, planning, problem solving etc.
Click on the links for more information for parents/carers in relation to internet safety and also more information on using IT in education.
Building sets for toddlers that are fun, safe, and encourages their creativity. Our building sets are perfect for introducing them to the joy of building!
Do you want to raise an imaginative and creative child? Have you ever wondered how to foster that creative imagination? Let’s ignite it before its too late!
These activity sheets were developed by the Care and Learning Alliance as additional play ideas for parents, carers and children.
Presented in the style of play@home with instructions, variations, benefits and precautions, they continue to encourage everyone to have fun using things found easily around the home.
Remember to use your play@home book regularly as your child grows, as their interests will change and develop and you will be creating those special childhood memories.
If you require publications or documents in an alternative format such as large print, braille and audio versions, please contact Public Health Scotland publications - phs.otherformats@phs.scot.
Before I Learn to Write
Children learn to write at school but there are lots of things they need to do first. It is important for them to have strong bodies and arms. They need to have strong hands and fingers. They need to be able to make marks and draw. They need to see letters and words around them. They need to see you write in every day life.
Please be aware that playdough (both shop bought and homemade) may contain wheat. Make sure you use a wheat free alternative if there is a known wheat allergy.
Pretend Play
Through pretend play children learn to express themselves and practice adult and cultural roles.
Through pretend play children learn to express themselves and practice adult and cultural roles.
Children start by pretending to do everyday activities, they then participate and play with figures/dolls/teddies. They then link pretend play into action sequences and finally join in pretend games with other children.
Babies and toddlers start with pretending to use objects for their given purpose e.g. they will pretend to drink from a cup or use a brush to brush their hair.
They then start to pretend with other objects. A banana might be a phone in their play.
Offering your child lots of access to everyday objects supports the development of their pretend play skills. Let them help you with everyday activities too.
Toddlers and young children then begin to play with dolls, teddies and/or action figures. Again this often starts with them copying everyday activities e.g. feeding the baby, dressing the teddy.
Children start to be able to pretend with other children. They have a shared understanding of the imaginary world and each takes on a role within that world.
Active/Energetic Play
Children learn about how the body works and moves through energetic play.
Children learn about how the body works and moves through active and energetic play. They learn to run, jump, throw & catch and kick. It can include mastering ball games, playground equipment, going on a scooter, riding a bike etc.
Active and Energetic play develops into sporting, fitness and exercise activities used for leisure and pleasure for young people and adults e.g. football, rugby, tennis, swimming, dance and martial arts etc. Individual active and energetic activities can be really helpful for building self esteem. You only have to compete against yourself! Team sports are a great way to stay healthy while developing social skills.
Moving and Exercise
Moving and exercise can help you stay healthy. It also helps with your mood and sleep. Here is some information about how much exercise you should be doing.
Gov.uk explain the physical activity needed for general health benefits for all children and young people.
Physical activity for early years (birth - 5 years)
Physical activity for children and young people (5-18 Years)
Keeping physically active brings many health benefits. For children, regular physical activity is important for growing up to have strong bones and muscles, maintaining a healthy weight and building their confidence.
Ball Skills
Ball skills are a very complex set of skills to learn. Children who find ball skills difficult need lots of practice so vary the activities you try so that they don’t get bored. Always finish on a positive note with them having some success to avoid frustration. You might need to make the activity easier to allow them to succeed.
Learning to ride a bike is a complex task involving balance, motor skills and visual skills. There are lots of community resources that can help you teach your child how to ride their bike. It can be helpful to start with a balance bike.
If your child continues to find this challenging check our strategies for learning to ride a bike. This technique takes time, but the idea is that your child gets a sense of achievement from mastering each step one at a time.
Bike for Good-UK refurbish, repair and teach communities how to maintain bicycles; once you have the skills a bike is for good. They use the bike to do good actions, improve the environment, teach skills and improve mental and physical health.
Learning to Skip
Children learn to jump before they can hop or skip. Skipping is a difficult skill to learn. It involves the legs and arms performing different tasks at the same time. Rhythm and timing are extremely important. Some children find it easier to learn to skip on the spot while others find it easier to learn to skip on the move (e.g. like they are walking). Try both to see which your child finds easier.
Children learn best when they participate in activities that are just the right challenge, not too easy or too difficult. Below are some activities you can try. Try to do them in the order that they are presented in as this will make it easier, but if your child easily achieves one task, move onto the next one.
