Many people are mistaken with the concept of early childhood education. In fact, others interpret it as purely relying on reading books. Whilst this is really important for a child to learn what he has to in life, everyone must remember that much more than being the bookworms that parents want them to be, there is far more that early childhood education can reach.
One of the most integral parts of this educational concept is no less than play. Many of us think that play can be done at home that is why we leave all the reading of books in the classroom. What we fail to recognise is the essence of play in early childhood education –whether at home or in school – because of our obsession for kids to learn what they are supposed to learn. In this page, you will get to know why play is crucial in early childhood education.
Play involves a lot of activities that enhance a child’s imagination and creativity
For that reason alone we will appreciate why play should be incorporated as early as during their childhood education. With play, one can create several masterpieces out of pieces of objects like blocks and clay. Others may use their pen and sketch boards to depict what they see in their surroundings. Play can be a form of expression for kids to send their message. In all of these aspects of play, they use their imagination to turn out things into creative outputs.
It is also a way to develop their social skills
Whilst some kids play at home, it cannot be denied that the activity is limited to their personal social skills, that is, how they communicate with their families. This can be a healthy start for them but once they are in school and they get to rub elbows with other kids, their horizons and perspectives change. The way they mingle with other kids, the way they react to every situation and the way they interact with other people during play will give them an advantage when it comes to developing their social skills. These same skills will be very useful in their lives later on.
It helps children develop and acquire new skills
Skills development is already part of the reasons behind why children are sent to school by parents. We often think that skills are limited to the subjects they learn in school like Math, Science and English. Beyond those areas, however, play can help them develop their skills. Give them building blocks and see how they can form better toys out of these building blocks in a matter of minutes. Hand them straws or ribbons and see how they can change these pieces of materials into works of art within the given span of time by their teachers. Assign roles and see how they play with their characters. These parts of play will give them a good start at life and will make them appreciate their abilities that will later on become their skills.
It makes understanding subject areas a whole lot easier
Children these days get bored with the same activities they see in their books. In fact, if you happen to look at them closely, you might observe that only a few enjoy browsing their books and answering questions there. They find it very hard to do the traditional way of learning. If you incorporate play in their early childhood education, they learn faster. This is because play makes the subject areas more interesting for them.
All in all, early childhood education is very important. Much more than books, play should always be part of your kid’s experience when enrolling in schools at a very young age.