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Playful Activities To Help Children In Their Education

Jogo Behaviour Support

Play is not a luxury, play is a necessity – Kay Redfield Jamison

Play is vital for healthy human development and is essential to children’s education.

It helps in all aspects in the development of children and young people, including reading, writing, maths, science, social skills, organisational skills and group work skills, plus negotiation and cooperation skills. The list is endless.

The three stages of play that are of crucial importance in ordinary healthy development

Embodiment Play, Projective Play and Role Play

Play enables us to develop the necessary skills needed for adulthood; however as adults we need play to help with our overall wellbeing. Developing play skills supports and enhances the learning capacity of children and young people.

According to Dr Sue Jennings, there are three development stages of play and we need to develop skills from all three areas.

The three stages of play that are of crucial importance in ordinary healthy development are:

  1. Embodiment Play
  2. Projective Play
  3. Role Play

These are described in more detail below.

Embodiment Play

The first stage of play (Jennings, S. 2006) is called Embodiment play which includes sensory play.  This generally begins during the first year of life and continues through their life time.  With this play, the baby uses their body and senses to explore themselves and their world.

From this stage these are a few skills they develop: 

Embodiment Play
  • Ability to make and keep relationships (attachments)
  • Gross motor skills and fine motor skills
  • Co-ordination
  • Learn where their body begins and ends
  • Balance
  • Spatial awareness
  • Language and communication skills
  • Brain development

Below are a small number of activities that can help develop this stage.  As with all the stages, they can be developed at other times in life.

Reference: Jennings, S. (2006) Creative Play with Children at Risk Milton Keynes: Speechmark

Projective Play

The second stage is projection where the child relates more to the external world beyond the body.”  (Jennings, S 2006)

This second stage of play is where children begin to explore the world using toys and objects separate from themselves.  The objects can be used through embodiment play and/or used in dramatic play and in a narrative form.  For example, a child may enjoy using their senses with the sand by touching, smelling, listening, but may also use toys in it and tell a story about the toys in the sand.

From this stage these are a few skills they develop: 

Projective Play
  • Imagination
  • Language and communication skills
  • Continue to develop emotional regulation
  • To manage frustration
  • Numeracy skills
  • Organisation skills
  • Self confidence
  • Friendships

Below are a small number of activities that can help develop this stage.  As with all the stages, they can be developed at other times in life.

Reference: Jennings, S. (2006) Creative Play with Children at Risk Milton Keynes: Speechmark

Role Play

The third stage is role play (Jennings, S 2006) and this usually occurs around the age of two to three years or as the child develops their skills in symbolic interaction with objects.  Children develop role play as a way of re-enacting real life events and stories, for example when children play in the home corner and take on the roles of the adults in their lives.

The ability to role play helps us to understand ourselves and others.  The skills of role playing enable us to meet the demands of every day realities. 

Role Play
  • Ability to see someone else’s view point
  • Increase their empathic skills
  • Negotiation skills
  • Ability to compromise
  • Ability to assert their needs
  • Expand their story making skills
  • Resilience

Below are a small number of activities that can help develop this stage.  As with all the stages, they can be developed at other times in life.

Reference: Jennings, S. (2006) Creative Play with Children at Risk Milton Keynes: Speechmark

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