Today's classrooms are run by educational minutes, pacing guides, and rigor, rigor, rigor. It is easy to feel like a robot going through the motions. I have made it my mission to keep learning fun for early childhood and elementary students.
I have taught for 9 years: 3 in first grade, (took off to be a stay at home mom) 4k for 2 years, 2nd for one year, and now 4 years back in first grade. I love working with young learners. They are so eager and are a curious bunch. First graders are an awesome group. The growth exhibited in a short 10 months of schooling is amazing. They come to me barely being able to put sounds together to make words and leave me being able to read and write fluently. They are a busy and active age group. It breaks my heart that the pace of school now has us sitting, listening, and working at our desks most of the day. Young learners should not be expected to sit and "perform" from 7:30-3:00 every day. They need movement, action, social interaction, and play.
According to www.parentingforbrain.com there are 9 Benefits of Play:
1. Stimulate Early Brain Development
Learning starts right from birth, and the home is often where this learning first takes place. Children gain knowledge through playful activities, and creating a play-rich environment equips them with vital life experiences. As children engage with blocks, sand, coloring materials, and outdoor play, they are not only having fun but also forming crucial neural connections. This doesn't and shouldn't stop when a child enters school age. Rather it should continue and grow.
2. Improve Intelligence
Play is often coupled with problem solving. How can I build a better tower? Who will play with this dinosaur? How can I make the color purple? Children are naturally curious and they are great at problem solving in the pursuit of play.
3. Spark Creative Thinking
In my classroom, anytime I give my students free draw or free play time, I am amazed at what they can create! They can take Legos and create whole universes or paper and pencils to create dolls and stories. The are no limits to what they can come up with. School has sadly become a place of sit still, be quiet, do your work. Children need to be up and active in their learning. They need to touch, feel, move, and experience things. This builds background knowledge and vocabulary that will support them as they move through their academic standards.
4.Improve Communication, Vocabulary, and Language
I will never forget one year I taught 4k preschool. I had a little boy who only spoke Spanish. He was my first experience with a child whose home language was something other than English. His father was fluent enough for communication but the little boy was terrified those first few days of school. I can only imagine how that would feel to be dropped off with complete strangers who couldn't understand you. What blew me away was how quickly the children began to break down those language barriers. They started playing kitchen together and he was picking up English words while his peers where picking up Spanish words. Play is a wonderful opportunity to work on communication, language, and vocabulary skills.
5. Promote Impulse Control and Emotional Regulation
Self-regulation is very important skill for students of all ages to learn. Taking turns and sharing is not something that comes naturally to many children. Big emotions are normal but when children are given opportunities to practice behaviors through play, they start to internalize them. It can be rather humbling to watch a child mimic you through play. My daughters use to line up their stuffed animals and "teach" them like they saw Mommy doing. They would correct "rowdy" students or praise others (often named after themselves). They were playing our their experiences and emotions. Sometimes I'd hear "myself" giving the same correction I had just told them earlier. One time my youngest daughter, who can be a bit feisty, had gotten in trouble earlier for snatching a toy away from her cousin. She was playing me and correcting her stuffed animal that "it's nice to share" and "be kind". She was acting out her experiences.
6. Grow Social Competence and Empathy
This year in my first grade class I have two students with special needs. They spend most of their day in special education unit but they join us for Fun Friday and free time. I love watching the interactions of my students. Sitting there playing with Legos, they are patient and kind with their classmates. They lead them around the room showing them new things or inviting them to play. These play time opportunities help them build empathy towards others.
7. Better Physical and Mental Health
Running, dancing, and moving around obviously help children physically but also mentally. My students love taking Brain Breaks. Sometimes I turn on Jack Hartman and we dance together to a silly song. Other times we hit our "30 second Dance Party" button and make each other laugh at our crazy moves. Sometimes we do jumping jacks or stretch to get our bodies moving. All of these things help the body physically and mentally. Obviously we can't play the full school day, but by taking little breaks, students are able to move around and refocus themselves.
8. Teach Life Lessons
Pretend play helps children act out their daily lives, the successes and the struggles. One of my goals for my classroom next year is to bring back a pretend play area in my classroom. The experiences should not stop after kindergarten. Towards the end of each year I create a "Camp-Read-A-Lot" day in my classroom. The students practice first grade skills in a camp theme. I string lights under the small group table to "read under the stars" and they build word smores but the center they love the most is a camping play center. I bought a little campsite pretend play kit. It has a little tent and all the things you would need to camp out. The kids adore this center. It is completely opened ended, they can create and play however they want. I love watching how they work together to make a pretend fire, or tell spooky campfire stories. I really want to add a little area in my classroom next year that has pretend play options for students. I may make it themed to match what we are learning--an archeological dig when we learn about Egypt or dinosaurs, a doctor's office for the human body unit, etc.
9. Strengthen Relation with Caretakers and Peers
Kids build relationship by playing together. This doesn't mean there aren't occasional arguments or misunderstandings but rather when these happen, what a great teachable moment to learn how to work together! When teachers and students play together they build trust in their relationships.
So how can I apply play into a typical elementary school setting?
Soft Starts
One way I have made this happen is what I call "Soft Starts". Each morning the students come in, unpack, and can pick a STEM bin to play with. At the beginning of the year I put the buckets out on the tables and students play at their seat. As the year progresses, I give students more choices. I may lay a few buckets out around the room and set a limit of 4 per bucket or I may let them pick what they want to play with. This is a great way to start our day. It gives them time to adjust and begin to get their brains warmed up. Depending on our schedule, I try to give them a little time in the afternoon as well.
Learning Centers
Another way I incorporate play into the classroom is through learning centers. I love to create hands-on "games" for students to play with their peers and practice grade-level skills. Children love to play and are so much more willing to practice skills in game form rather than worksheets. We have a Read and Write the Room center where students pretend to be word det and find all the hidden words. We have word building centers where they put word puzzles together or work on building words with letter tiles. We have a Story Corner where students can "teach" or read to stuffed animals. We also have a Game Center where they play things like Chutes and Ladders or Battleship with skill words. It can take time to create, prep, and update centers and games but it is so worth it. My students are excited to "play" and they don't even realize they are still learning. During math we also play a variety of games to practice our skills. There is not limit to how you can "gamify" learning!
The world of education seems to have forgotten that we teach children. They are not little robots, they are meant to sit and be quiet. Students are more than test scores. So much of our time is all about assessments and scores rather than looking at each child. Children are more stressed than ever. When I think back on my elementary experiences, they were fun. Yes, there were tests and projects, but the focus wasn't my score on the ACAP or i-Ready. My teachers showed me the value of learning and helped me fall in love with it. There was time to explore and play. This is what I want for my daughters and my students. Play needs to come back into our elementary education classrooms. It can have a place that is fun and meaningful. It takes time and dedication but the outcome creates well-rounded children who have a love of learning.
Reference
Li, P. (2024, March 1). Importance of play in early childhood (9 benefits & infographic). Parenting For Brain. https://www.parentingforbrain.com/benefits-play-learning-activities-early-childhood/
