‘The Importance of play in the Foundation Stage’ Parent Workshop: December 2010 Mr D Hogarth (Leader of Foundation Stage)

A Child's Plea (Author Unknown) Today I did my maths and science A Child's Plea (Author Unknown) Today I did my maths and science. I toasted bread, I halved and quartered, counted, measured, and used my eyes, ears and hands. I added and subtracted on the way. I used magnets, blocks and a memory tray. I learned about a rainbow and how to weigh. So please don't say - 'ANYTHING IN YOUR BAG TODAY?' You see. I'm sharing as I play, to learn to listen and speak clearly when I talk to wait my turn and when inside to walk. To put my words into a phrase, to find my name and write it down. To do it with a smile and not a frown, to put my painting brush away. So please, don't say - 'WHAT NOTHING IN YOUR BAG TODAY?' I learned about a snail and a worm. Remembered how to take my turn. Helped a friend when he was stuck. Learned that water runs off a duck. Looked at words from left to right. Agreed to differ, not to fight. So please don't say - 'DID YOU ONLY PLAY TODAY?'

Just Playing When I'm building in the block room, Please don't say I'm "just playing." For, you see, I'm learning as I play. About balance and shapes. When I'm getting all dressed up, Setting the table, caring for the babies. Don't get the idea I'm "just playing." For, you see, I'm learning as I play. When you see me up to my elbows in paint, Or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay, Please don't let me hear you say "he's just playing." For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm expressing myself and being creative. I may be an artist or an inventor someday. When you see me sitting in a chair "Reading" to an imaginary audience, Please don't laugh and think I'm "just playing." For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a teacher someday. When you see me combing the bushes for bugs, Or packing my pockets with choice things I find, Don't pass it off as "just playing." For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a scientist someday. When you see me engrossed in a puzzle, Or some "plaything" at my school, Please don't feel the time is wasted in "play" For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate. I may be in business someday. When you see me cooking or tasting foods, Please don't think that because I enjoy it, it is jut "play. I'm learning to follow directions and see differences.' I may be a chef someday. When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body, Please don't say I'm "just playing." For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning how my body works. I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday. When you ask me what I've done at school today, And I say, "I played." Please don't misunderstand me. For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in work. I'm preparing for tomorrow. Today, I'm a child and my work is play. - Anita Wadley

Workshop Outline Activity time! How does play help young children learn? Learning through play (video) Role of the play partner. How to help facilitate play at home. Questions / Assessment

Activity 1 and 2: Look at this construction kit. On your page list all the activities that you think the children would do with the bricks. (Activity 1) Make a list of all the skills that you think the children might be using/developing/practising while playing with the construction kit. (Activity 2)

Activity 1: Ideas for building blocks As observed this term by the teaching staff: Building a range of different things towers, houses, rockets, space-ships, trains, boats, dens, tunnels Creating patterns (colour sorting, repeating patterns) Role Play (Builders, Bob the Builder) Mobile phones Creating perimeters/boundaries Building campfires (i.e. wooden logs) Containers (upside down to hold things) Boats (Float in water) Steps (to raise children’s height) To talk about tall, short, long To throw (outside, who can get the furthest) Practising addition / subtraction skills Cakes, bread cooking in the oven Line in a row for balancing on

Children often see things that we don’t, choose activities we wouldn’t think to choose, turn our activities into things we hadn’t thought of, use language we hadn’t thought of, create and imagine roles they have experienced and lead the learning independently.

Activity 2: Just ‘some’ of the skills possibly being developed Imagination skills – creating / re-creating familiar and unfamiliar settings/ situations/ objects / roles Language skills (short, tall, tower, connect, build etc) Fine / gross motor skills Hand-eye co-ordination Team work, co-operation, communications skills Turn taking, sharing, negotiating Mathematical concepts (patterns, tall, short, long, light, heavy etc) Problem solving skills Scientific understanding (concepts such as: strong, weak, float, sink) Physical development skills Resilience, perseverance Building exploration, experimenting skills Physical development – balancing skills

(EYFS, Bruce, ‘Learning through Play’ 2001) ‘Children at play are able to stay flexible, respond to events and changing situations, be sensitive to people, to adapt, think on their feet, and keep altering what they do in a fast-moving scene. When the process of play is rich, it can lead children into creating rich products in their stories, paintings, dances, music making, drawings, sculptures and constructions, or in the solving of scientific and mathematical problems.’ (EYFS, Bruce, ‘Learning through Play’ 2001)

Play helps me…. Play is an important part of learning with children. Play can help children to develop these positive dispositions for learning: Find an interest in something Be willing to explore, experiment and try new things out Know how and where to seek help Be inventive – creating problems, and finding solutions Be flexible – testing and refining solutions Be engaged and involved – concentrating, sustaining interest, preserving with a task, even when it is challenging Make choices and decisions Make plans and knowing how to carry them out Play and working collaboratively with peers and adults Manage self, managing others Develop ‘can-do’ orientations to learning Be resilient – finding alternative strategies if things don’t go as planned Understand the perspectives and emotions of other people Have a lot of fun!

Why learn through play? Play helps your child in many different ways including; developing physically, learning about the world, building up language skills, learning to express emotions, develop improved conversational skills, develop creativity skills and learn how to be sociable. Learning Development Video (0.00 - 10.17mins)

Role of the Play Partner (Play/Learning facilitator) Play alongside children, scaffolding and extending their play/learning to support and enable them to make purposeful choices about their activities which consolidate learning and are fun! Nurturer- Positive support and encouragement, gaining attention, encouraging social interaction, support emotional development Reinforcer- Ensuring that desired forms of behaviour increase and undesired forms decrease – model use of activities and the behaviour you want to see. Information giver- Telling children facts or ideas or helping them find out more (model) Challenger- Creating novel and puzzling environments and set challenges (open questions: 1 question to every 3 comments) Tutor- Instructing a child how to do something by modelling or experimenting

Facilitating play at home… Follow the children’s ideas - let them lead the play. Tell them they can choose the game/activity/play Give time to practise and repeat Positive praise for their achievements Copy what your child is doing and commentate as they play. Model play and expand on techniques and language used. Be flexible and allow for changes in play. Use open ending questions to help sustain, extend and deepen the play. Do not over question the children Observe, wait, listen (OWL)

Top tip used by Monkspath Foundation Stage Staff. Observe (Observe what your child is doing so that you gain a better understanding of what they are doing) Wait (Do you need to get involved? Is the play already effective? Will you disrupt the play? Could you improve the play? Could you extend or challenge the activity in a fun way) Listen (Listen to your child, they may not be playing the activity you thought they were? You will gain a better understanding of what they are doing and how you can get involved)

Some things we tend to do… but should try to avoid! Making children play like adults, making children do activities that ‘we’ want them to do, and how we want to do them. Going too fast and not giving the child enough time or time to repeat game and build up/consolidate skills. Having too high expectations. Trying to get the children to play a certain way, steering the play to meet our objectives.

Questions?