Play at the Center of Curriculum - Van Hoorn, Nourot, Scales, Alward

• The Head Start Child Outcomes Framework lists eight dimensions of school readiness with numerous indicators or examples provided to further describe each dimension: language development, literacy, mathematics, science, creative arts, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, and physical health and development (2 - 18)
• survey results show that kindergarten teachers believe that children’s language abilities, their eagerness to learn, and their overall ability to regulate their own behavior in group settings (including following rules set by the teacher and getting along with peers) are the key determinants of readiness (2 -18)
• research is beginning to demonstrate more and more, play is at least in part the route to school readiness. (2 - 20)
• preschool children are highly motivated to engage in pretend play. Play is such a pleasurable activity for young children, in fact, that there is no need to coerce or cajole them to participate as there often is in other types of teacher-directed activity (2 - 25)
• Considerable evidence exists that pretend play during preschool is associated with development of important school readiness behaviors such as self-regulation, social skills, language, and early literacy skills (2 - 25)
• Play is the main way children learn and develop ideas about the world. It helps them build the skills necessary for critical thinking and leadership. It’s how they learn to solve problems and to feel good about their ability to learn. 3 - 1

How does play support actual learning?

• Play fosters all aspects of young children's development. . . emotional, social, intellectual, linguistic, and physical (3)
  • Make sure to note how each of these aspects is important to school readiness
• Play is fundamental because it drives young children's development (4)
• Play is an expression of the children's developing personality, sense of self, intellect, social capacity, and physicality (4)
  • Link these to aspects on pg. 3 and to school readiness
• Children's sense of autonomy, initiative, and industry are rooted in intrinsic motivation and active engagement (6)
  • both of which play support

What is a play-centered curriculum/will it actually teach?

• A play-centered curriculum is not a laissez-faire curriculum in which anything goes (3)
  • it uses the power of play to foster children's development. . . in all settings and contexts (3)
• Longitudinal studies of student achievement show that children who receive more didactic instruction in the early years fail to demonstrate increased academic performance throughout elementary school and later grades (7)

Math & Science

• When children play with materials such as blocks, clay, sand, and water, they develop skills in logic. They experiment with cause and effect, with counting and sorting things and solving problems. This practice in experimenting, observing, comparing, and working with shapes, sizes, and quantities forms the basis for understanding math and science and for all higher-order thinking. (3 - np)
• Children learn to solve problems (What does this do? Does this puzzle piece fit here?) through play. Children also learn colors, numbers, size and shapes. They have the ability to enhance their memory skills as well as their attention span. Children move on to higher levels of thought as they play in a more stimulating environment. (4 - 1)
• A play-based curriculum offers children opportunities throughout the day to develop the ability to think abstractly by experiencing real objects using their senses (6 - np)
• Block building, bike riding, and sand and water play all foster the construction of spatial relationships, gravity, and other concepts of physics (1 - 56).
• Real-life experiences are essential to children's future understanding and abilities to solve problems, and form the foundation for learning science concepts as children develop (1 - 56).
• Dramatic play can also contribute to the development of classification and relational concepts (1- 57).
• All aspects of logical-mathematical thinking show up in children's play (1 - 58).
• Through spontaneous and guided play, children begin to understand basic mathematical concepts . . . as spatial relationships, number and operations, measurement, and patterns (1 - 153).
• Many of young children's experiences involve spatial relationships . . . these include proximity, enclosed versus open space, vertical versus horizontal movements, and numerous shapes (1 - 153).
• Young children are involved in inquiry as they seek answers to their own questions, even though this spontaneous play is not the formal, analytical process of the scientist or older student (1 - 207)
• Children's own inquiry, their attempts to learn about the world and how things work, should be at the heart of their science curriculum (1 - 207)
• As all young children play, they are involved in activity that scientists would identify as 'learning about science' (1 - 208)
• Scientific concepts are organizing principles of 'what we know' (1 - 214)

Social

• "Sociodramatic play provides an excellent context for children to develop and practice many of the important skills and behaviors that contribute to later success in school and life" (2 - 19)
• research shows that play during the years before school is effective in developing the selfregulatory capacities of preschool children (2 - 21)
• research supports a strong relationship between sociodramatic play and social competence (2 - 21)
• during pretend play, social behavior among preschoolers is more mature, cooperative, and reciprocal, and children remain engaged longer than in other classroom situations (2 - 22)
• As children share materials and play together, they learn to cooperate, listen to others, stand up for their own ideas, handle frustration, and empathize. (3 - np)
• The absence of positive social interactions in childhood is linked to negative consequences later in life, such as withdrawal, loneliness, depression, and feelings of anxiety. In addition, low acceptance by peers in the early years is a predictor of grade retention, school dropout, and mental health and behavior problems (5 - 104)

Language / Literacy

• a strong relationship exists between pretend play and language development. During sociodramatic play, children often take on the roles of adults and, therefore, emulate the more sophisticated language of adults (2 - 22)
• teacher-directed socio-dramatic play can provide "second-language learners with opportunities for verbal communication in meaningful contexts during situations where they are motivated to participate in play with other children" (2 - 24)
• the Home School Study has shown that teacher-supported dramatic play can have a positive effect on children’s literacy-related language skills at kindergarten (2 - 24)
• Play provides a context within which children read and write for real purposes. (2 - 24)
  • By putting writing tools and appropriate books in play settings, children engage with these materials in meaningful ways. Dramatic play also provides practice in constructing narrative, or relating events or stories, similar to the process used in writing and helpful in understanding what is read
• Oral language skills and storytelling are the building blocks of reading and writing, as well as subjects like social studies and science. (3 - np)
• In play-centered programs, communication through gesture, action, talk, and written symbols supports both play and literacy (1 - 179).
• The natural processes of language learning are turned upside down when we attempt to teach isolated skills, such as letter formation and phonics rules, to children before they have shown interest and motivation in spontaneous efforts to dictate a text or write a letter themselves (1 - 182).

Sources (2) - Play and School Readiness - Sue Bredekamp [http://www.hawaii.edu/edper/pdf/Vol38Iss1/Play%26School.pdf] Bredekamp, S. (2004). Play and school readiness. In E. F. Zigler, D. G. Singer, & S. J. Bishop-Josef (Eds.), Children’s Play: The Roots of Reading (pp. 159–174). Washington, DC: ZERO TO THREE (www.zerotothree.org).

(3) - Play: It's the Way Young Children Learn - Jean Tepperman