Early_Years_Settings_Level_1_Essay

1.1 State ways play can support young children’s development Play underpins all development and learning for young children. It is through play that children develop intellectually, creatively, physically, socially and emotionally. Through play children also learn to explore, develop and represent learning experiences that help them to make sense of the world, practice and build up ideas, concepts and skills, learn how to understand the need for rules, take risks and make mistakes, think creatively and imaginatively and communicate with others as they investigate or solve problems. Toys and activities that help children with different forms of physical development: Gross motor skills- lawn mowers, shopping carts, skipping, throwing, dance, bouncy castles, trampolines, bikes, ride ons, climbing frames and musical instruments. Fine motor skills -drawing, abacus, painting, beads, stacking blocks, lacing cards, shape sorters, cards, musical instruments and fastenings on clothes. Balance -bikes, go-karts, ride ons, swings, trampolines and slides. Hand/eye co-ordination- activity mats, stacking beakers, rattles, throwing and catching a ball, large bricks, bean bags and skittles. Foot/eye co-ordination- baby gym, trolley with bricks, bean bags, slide, prams and ride ons. Toys and activities that help children with different forms of intellectual development: Imagination- home corner, hospitals, farms, garages, dressing up, play mobil, cuddly toys, puppets, masks, face painting, making music and moving to music. Concentration & listening skills- blocks, stories, rhymes and memory games. Creativity- blocks, drawing, play-doh, stamps and ink and painting. Observational skills- visit parks, farms, zoos, theatres, libraries, places of interest, and use mirrors so they can observe themselves. Language and reasoning skills- stories, rhymes, interactive toys, flash cards and dolls (pretend the doll is talking, talk about the dolls body parts). Mathematical and scientific concepts- blocks, picture cards, memory games, jigsaw puzzles, board games, cash register, shape games, dominos, foam letters and numbers. Toys and activities that help children with language development: • Sand, water table and interest tables- the children will talk as they play, discussing objects and shared experiences. • Construction play and blocks- children can talk about the shapes, sizes and colours. • Stories- children learn how to read from them, picture books may encourage babies to communicate and also will teach children to concentrate. • Interactive toys- will help with numbers, letters, shapes, sounds, names etc. • Role play- role play is great for expanding children’s imagination and for introducing new vocabulary.  • Song games, Picture games, word games, rhymes. Toys and activities that help children with social and emotional development: • Sand and water table - children will often parallel play or will play together. By playing with the sand and water table children can release their feelings and it can help to relax them. • Constructive play- children will often parallel play. Children will get a sense of achievement as they play when they have made something out of the blocks but will also learn to cope with failure if the blocks fall down or they can’t achieve what they wanted too. • Stories and rhymes- children enjoy sharing books with adults and joining in with rhymes. Stories can enable children to recognise their own experiences and feelings. • Music- children can express their many emotions through music and dance. They will also enjoy being with other children while doing this. • Physical play- children can gain self-confidence from doing physical challenges. Children will learn how to take turns and how to deal with losing and winning when playing games. • Clay and jigsaws- can also help children release their feelings and act out any violent emotions in a safe way be creating and destroying. • Dressing up- gives the children the opportunity to act out their own experiences of roles and relationships. • Painting, play doh and drawing – gives the children a chance to express their feelings. 1.2 Why is play important to Physical Development Play is important to physical development because it helps babies and children learn strength and stamina, hand-eye coordination, balance, foot-eye coordination, gross motor skills and fine motor skills. As children learn to control their movements and learn new skills, they develop a knowledge and awareness of their bodies, which helps build up confidence in themselves. Physical development also helps children keep fit and healthy. Why is play important to Social Development Play is important to social development because children learn to develop communication skills, it enables the child to interact with adults, to encourage independence and a sense of responsibility, to develop an awareness of the needs of others and to enable the child to interact with their peer group. It also helps with children’s feelings. Why is play important to Emotional Development Play is important to emotional development because it helps the growth of a child’s ability to feel and express a range of emotions appropriately. Play that allows children to explore and change their feelings will help the child to cope with their emotions. Through creative and imaginative play children can express their feelings without talking. Why is play important to Intellectual Development Play is important to intellectual development because children learn how to develop concentration, language, listening skills, learning skills, reasoning skills and observational skills. It also helps to encourage creativity and use of the imagination, to enable children to grasp basic mathematical and scientific concepts and to learn through direct experiences. Why is play important to Language Development Play is important for the development of children's language skills. Children experiment with language during play and use words to express their thoughts and ideas. As children become more sophisticated in their play skills, their language development becomes equally sophisticated. Children use language during play to solve problems and to communicate their desires. Language also enables children to plan, discuss and understand what they have learned and helps to share experiences and negotiate arguments. 2.2 Why is it important that all play types are available at each play session The reason why it is important that all play types are available to each play sessions is so that the children can develop through play all the different types of development, physical, intellectual, language and social and emotional. The children also have choice, variety, and different play opportunities. Also if all the different play types are available the lesson will cater for all the children because that way there will be a toy or activity that every child likes and for children to learn and develop they need to enjoy and concentrate with what they are playing with. 1.3 Give examples of how play can be used to meet children’s individual needs. • If a child has language difficulties you could make up a picture cards or a picture game that will help the child communicate and learn the words of the items on the picture cards. • Play can be used to observe the child and see what areas need developing, you can then tailor the play to suit the child e.g. if the child is having trouble with recognising colours a painting activity whereby they can experiment with mixing different colour's. Adult can ask suitable questions like what colours have u made. • If a child has difficulties with mathematics you could play number games, dominoes, and use many different item to count for example beads, cars, blocks, pasta. You could also use an abacus. • A child that finds it hard to throw and catch a ball may need an adult or another child to do an activity with hem such as throwing and catching the bean bag. • If a child is having trouble with shapes you could use different shaped blocks to show and explain what the different shapes are. You could also look at picture books with shapes in it and ask the child if they know the shapes. • With fine motor skills you could use a tray with a different variety of shaped and sized objects in it for example, beads, pasta, paper clips, rubbers, pencils and you could use a pair of plastic oversized tweezers to pick the items up.