By Melody N. Andes
Play is considered an important development tool in the total development of children. It is through play that children experiment and learn new skills, cope with mechanisms, solve psychological conflicts, obtain confidence and gain understanding of the things around them.
It is a growing and complex activity where they can learn and develop new things, gain new friends and acquaintances and develop their social skills. Because of its importance, preschools used play as a conduit of learning and development and they incorporated play in majority of their activities so preschoolers can have fun and can learn at the same time. According to Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburgh, play enables children to explore and create their own world where they can conquer fears, master things and pretend to be adults.
Moreover, it is also in play where preschoolers and toddlers develop eye-hand coordination and where they first learn the rule of cause and effect. At present, the combination of play and learning is considered the best approach in training toddlers and preschoolers. However, some teachers and parents failed to understand the concept.
Kids learn faster and quicker when play is incorporated in lessons than giving them tedious assignments. Results of studies show that children learn faster when they enjoy what they are doing and where they have fun in doing them. Once they instill in their minds that learning is fun, they are motivated to do it all over again. By stimulating their minds using the combination of learning and play, you can help boost their memory retention, speed of thought, self-confidence and other skills.
By instilling in their minds the interest in learning, they will strive to reach their goals with much willingness and determination. These attributes will help them become successful adults in the future.
Because of the huge importance of giving preschoolers quality games and toys, it is considered a hurdle for parents to select the right toys for them. With the endless options available for them in stores and online retail sites, all they have to do is to do their share of research to know which educational toys and games are fitting for their children. Once they have identified which educational toys and games are suitable for them, they can now source them online or choose from the different educational toys retailers in stores. Parents can select games which boost their English, Math, Music, Science, Arts and Sports skills. When buying educational games, parents and preschool teachers should consider the different personalities, emotional capabilities and reasoning of the preschoolers. By doing so, they can determine what toys and games to use to develop their competencies.
Below are the six areas which are developed through play:
1. Emotional and social development – During their play activities, preschoolers develop friendships and learn the values of sharing, responsibility, gratification, negotiation and resolving conflicts.
2. Cognitive development – They learn to formulate ways to solve their problems.
3. Physical development – They develop flexibility, coordination and balance.
4. Academic development – They boost their memory retention, attention span, imaginative thinking, following directions and problem solving skills.
5. Creativity – They explore new ideas and boost their creative talents.
6. Literacy and Language skills – They pretend and act out roles and can boost their vocabularies.
About the Author: Melody N. Andes enjoys writing for Sensoryedge.com which sells
waiting room toys
and
classroom rugs
as well as a host of additional products.
Source:
isnare.com
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