My absolute favorite time of day in my classroom is the last 45 minutes, during play time. If all is going well, I enjoy sitting back in different areas of the room and just taking in the scene. At first, I felt like I was cheating…teachers don’t sit down. But it was soon that I realized that I was doing my greatest work, while my students were doing their greatest work.
Sitting back and observing the children that I teach, enables me to know and understand them on a different level as “play is significant as a means for learning, development, and intervention (Myck-Wayne, 2010). When children engage in free play with their peers, I am able to observe social emotional skills, cognitive development and physical growth. While this engagement is taking place in an unstructured setting, I am able to intervene and work one on one with individuals in small doses. More than that, I am also able to take the temperature of the group as a whole and design whole group and small group lessons around the greatest needs that I am seeing during these times.
When I watch the children play in the dramatic play area, I see communication, negotiation and cooperation. I notice when the children are able to share and take turns, and I notice when this may be a struggle. It is the perfect time for me to join the group and help the children problem solve their way through these struggles. I might suggest a strategy that we have learned and practiced, like using a sand timer to help taking turns. I might help a child find the words to communicate his feelings if he is frustrated with a friend. The dramatic play area is a favorite of most children and offers many opportunities for both myself and the children to work together to learn and grow.
While watching children in the puzzle area, I see problem solving skills, cooperation and collaboration at work. The puzzle center shows me incredible communication skills as the children observe the pieces and point out to one another why they do or do not go together. This communication offers opportunities for the children to learn problem solving and observation skills from one another. Again, if I see a struggle, I can swoop in to join the group and help children work through these problems, developing skills along the way.
In the block center children develop problem solving skills while building tall towers, realizing they need certain pieces for strength and stability at the base. They learn this through trial and error as their towers get taller and topple over (Andrews, 2015). I observe boys and girls zooming trucks around, strengthening their core as they bend over to push them along the carpet. I watch children developing fine motor skills while they work in the Play-Doh center, turn the page of the books in the Book Nook, and button the jacket that they just put on the doll. These are all opportunities for me to watch growth in each area, intervene and offer guidance when needed and take note of which skills could be integrated into whole group and small group lessons.
Observing children during play not only is an enjoyable time watching the laughter and fun, it is also a time for me to collect valuable information about what their individual needs are, what the needs of the group are, and it is a time for me to work one on one with children to develop socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically (NAEYC, 2009). While engaged in play, together we all do our greatest work.
References
Andrews, N. (2015). Building curriculum during block play. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 43(1), 11-15.
Myck-Wayne, J. (2010). In defense of play: Beginning the dialogue about the power of play. Young Exceptional Children, 13(4), 14-23.
NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap
