The Excellence of Play

The Excellence of Play, second edition by Janet Moyles

The role of adults in providing for 'excellence' in play

As has been signalled. practitioners often express the view that they 'know' or 'feel' that play for children is, or must be. a valuable learning and developmental process; yet they are also aware that this is not often reflected in their curriculum planning or in their classroom management- let alone in the way they think about their roles in teaching and learning(Moyles and Adams 2001). Practitioners unfortunately show their values daily in the way they respond to children's play-'You can play when you've finished your work''; 'Go out to play now and make sure you come back ready to work'- all give inherent messages about the purposes and process of play as well as the lack of real value associated with it. Research doesn't always help as it is often presented in ways that make links between findings and day to day practice very challenging: in busy educational setting, there is simply not time, In any case, the findings frequently have to be interpreted in relation to those particular settings and those specific children. As has been emphasized play is where children are; 'starting from the child' is enshrined in early years philosophy and is linked firmly which the early years play movement (Fisher 2002). Yet the ideology is exceptionally difficult for teachers to fulfil in practice. Explanations presented by practitioners working with 4-8year olds include:

• Children need to learn, not to play.
• There is no time to let them play.
• Older children have grown out of that childish stuff.
• Parents don't want/expect to find their children playing in school.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to play outside school.
• We have to deliver the subject curriculum.
• Everything has to be documented for Ofsted.
• We don't have enough resources for all that active learning stuff.
• Children sooner or later have to learn to get down to work.

Some of these indicated restraints under which teachers perceive they work, for example, time, expectations of others and curriculum overload; others are related to possible confusions anout play, work and learning. Yet others do not reflect the current world eg children have less and less time for play outside school. More often than not, however, teachers comments are tempered by other underlying views and beliefs, frequently with a hint of guilt attatched.

• Play is importan for children but its hard to justify to the head and other teachers.
• Children really get fed up with the pressure- they do need to play more.
• They learn better through practical, first hand experiances but....
• Childrens social skills would be improved if we could provide more play.
• Its important to give then some choice when they've finished their tasks
• Children do tire of sitting down and need something active.
• They love doing messy things and I know I need to achieve a balance.
• I do believe that children learn through play but the work provides the written record.

Yet those who operate a more play-based approach to planning would probably ask; 'can we afford not to to give children opportunities to play, given all that we know about the psychological bases of learning and teaching'/ The national Curriculum and NLNS documents do gibe credence to children's active involvement in their own learning and assessment- by any other name, play! So we need to grasp the nettle for the sake of the children and, in doing so, make our teaching conceivably more enjoyable too.

Food for thought????

Literature- Theories...

Vygotsky's theory of child development - (Child Development, An illustrated guide by Carolyn Meggitt
The importance of play- He believed that play provided foundations for children's develoing skills that are essential to sicail, personal and professional activities. Children benefit from play as it allows them to do things beyond what they can do in 'real' life-such as pretend to drive a car. Play is another way through which children can reach their zome of promimal development.

Psychology of play-(taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky#Psychology_of_play)
Less known is Vygotsky's research on play, or children's games, as a psychological phenomenon and its role in the child's development. Through play the child develops abstract meaning separate from the objects in the world, which is a critical feature in the development of higher mental functions. Vygotsky gives the famous example of a child who wants to ride a horse but cannot. If the child were under three, he would perhaps cry and be angry, but around the age of three the child's relationship with the world changes: "Henceforth play is such that the explanation for it must always be that it is the imaginary, illusory realization of unrealizable desires. Imagination is a new formation that is not present in the consciousness of the very raw young child, is totally absent in animals, and represents a specifically human form of conscious activity. Like all functions of consciousness, it originally arises from action."^[18]
The child wishes to ride a horse but cannot, so he picks up a stick and stands astride of it, thus pretending he is riding a horse. The stick is a pivot. "Action according to rules begins to be determined by ideas, not by objects.... It is terribly difficult for a child to sever thought (the meaning of a word) from object. Play is a transitional stage in this direction. At that critical moment when a stick – i.e., an object – becomes a pivot for severing the meaning of horse from a real horse, one of the basic psychological structures determining the child’s relationship to reality is radically altered".
As children get older, their reliance on pivots such as sticks, dolls and other toys diminishes. They have internalized these pivots as imagination and abstract concepts through which they can understand the world. "The old adage that 'children’s play is imagination in action' can be reversed: we can say that imagination in adolescents and schoolchildren is play without action".^[18]
Vygotsky also referred to the development of social rules that form, for example, when children play house and adopt the roles of different family members. Vygotsky cites an example of two sisters playing being sisters. The rules of behavior between them that go unnoticed in daily life are consciously acquired through play. As well as social rules, the child acquires what we now refer to as self-regulation. For example, when a child stands at the starting line of a running race, she may well desire to run immediately so as to reach the finish line first, but her knowledge of the social rules surrounding the game and her desire to enjoy the game enable her to regulate her initial impulse and wait for the start signal.

Can anyone help?

So I'm at the point of pulling together all the information I have found from the various tools I have used during this inquiry.
I'm finding it quite hard to even know where to start, how to put it together, what goes where etc.

Has any of you got any suggestions on this? Would be greatly appreciated.

Feed back from one of my Forums (Group Discussion)

This is feed back I have had from some of the questions I have been asking on a teaching forum. I have to say, it is providing me with some excellent insights into professionals thoughts and feelings on free play to explore  and making continue in questioning my Inquiry. Hard part is trying to keep all the information confided.

I have high lighted in blue some of the key point that answer some of my questions to help support to critically review, analysis and evaluate the findings during my inquiry.


"In Nursery and Reception, Play IS how children learn. It is fundamentally the way their 3, 4 and 5 year old minds take things in. Young children are natural explorers and curious with it. Free flow allows them the opportunity to play freely, explore their own ideas and understandings in their own way and develop it without limitations in order to consolidate . deepen or create new knowledge and understanding. 
It works in classrooms pretty much as you'd expect. Schools may approach it differently but in my school after a short focused letters and sounds activity or maths, the children 'get busy'. Some people call it 'choosing time'. People seem to be afraid to call it 'play' as if the word is dirty. Even some teachers. Play is hugely important both in Nursery and Reception although most schools will gradually add more structure in Reception over the course of the year so children are ready for the structure of Year 1. At my school though, because of the needs of our children, we also have a play based approach in Year 1 and it becomes more structured in Year 2. It can be difficult for some children to move from the play based approach in the EY to a more formal structure in Year 1. This might be something you might want to explore further. Only huge drawback I can think of is the mess! Everyday I have to remind the children that we need to put our toys away when we finish playing with them since toys on the floor is a safety hazard. I actually did a whole focused session with my class about WHY we need to tidy up. They hadn't a clue bless them! Also resources in the EY although durable are often put through stresses they just aren't made for in free play like being dunked in the water tray to play with even though they may not be waterproof. A big consideration as a teacher working in a play based curriculum is how to make the play more focused at times and how to follow the children's interests. Purposeful play is key. Adult observation and interaction is vital as well as planning and creating further opportunities for the children to deepen their understandings. I have had some issues with parents and understanding the importance and value of a play based approach but again, key to that is practitioners reflecting upon parental understanding and involvement and planning to help parents understand more. This could be through setting up a session or sending out leaflets."

Making it a bit clearer....

So after blogging a few of the things i have been looking at into my inquiry, i looked back and thought someone reading it would think..."so what is her inquiry".
At the end of module 2 i still found myself thinking about what really interest me in my setting, i listed a few and this is what i then put forward for my inquiry proposal.
After looking back on my proposal plan and from Alans feed back i realised i had made my inquiry to big of a task for myself.
So i have narrowed it down to something i have questioned throught out my time in working in schools, specifically nursery and reception (Early Years).
My inquiry is basically a look at free flow play in an early years setting and finding out what is enough play for this age group and wether there should be more or less adult focus within a classroom.
 My inquiry leads me this way as i have been lucky enough to have experence in many different schools, each school is different, dinamic, and has different strengths and weaknesses. The one thing i have noticed from Nursery and Reception is the way the classrooms are run. Some teachers believe that it should be solid free play throughout the session, not many boundries and the children are allowed to get out what ever they want. A short time of phonic learning and mainly interaction with the adults during choosing time to extend their learning . Other Nurserys have a carpet time, they are taught to answer there name when the register is called, respond to questioning, take part in group learning of phonics, mathematics, literacy and science. They then are allowed to go and choose their activities which have already been set up for them. During their choosing time they are called to come and do an adult lead focus activity.
Through seeing both ways run positivly and successfully, it has made me question..... what is the right way?  is there a right way? is it down to the teachers descretion of how he/she wants her/his classroom run? or is the classroom run that way because of the presure from the top of the school? the push for maths and literacy to be taugh at such a young age?

Has anyone got any thoughts on this? Do you find yourself saying the same?

Literature-Research

Natalie Canning- Play and Practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage

This book takes the perspective that play is fundamental to every interaction and connection children make. It argues that play should form the basis and be at the forefront of early years practice as children are experts in their own experiances and interests and they use play as a way in which to explore and experiment with emotions. socila interactions, new ideas and learning.

 Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)- The British Association for Early Childhood Education.

Children are born ready, able and eager to learn. They actively reach out to interact with other people, and in the world around them. Development is not an automatic process, however. It depends on each unique child having the opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enablin environments.

 

 

Child Development, An Illustrated Guide- Carolyn Meggitt

 

Play is particulary important to healthy brain development as it allows children to use thier creativity while developing their imagenation, in addition to their physical, cognitive and emotional skills. It is through play that children at a very early age enagage and interact in the world around them.

Some feed back from Tes Forum

Gemma louise tes website

Free flow benefits - in a well planned environment children experience more and can be observed by more adults. Personally I don't like free flow, it's all a bit manic for me, but maybe that's just the setting I experienced it in

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Send mesPosted by: thumbie 14/03/2013 at 18:57

 

I think you need to be sure what you are comparing free-flow with and what the early years environment would be like without free-flow especially in respect of nursery. Very often the issue, especially with parents, is about when free-flow should be reined in and the transition to a more controlled learning environment introduced.

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Posted by: gemmalouise 14/03/2013 at 19:4

I agree thumbie, also, what do you mean exactly by free flow? I think some people refer to this as choosing time and some people mean specifically going in to other classrooms and outdoor areas of the setting. I work in a one form entry reception class, so essentially I don't do the latter, the children have indoor and outdoor choosing. Regarding, transition, my children have a lot less choosing than they did when they started in September. My lessons are more formal now. I love watching the children getting ready for year one through the way in which you adapt the setting and planning.

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Posted by: thumbie 15/03/2013 at 16:50

This is how I would answer: The free-flow environment consists of activity areas based on areas of learning. The children choose freely from what is available, picking out resources they want to use from easily accessible storage. Some activity areas are enhanced with additional materials, or sometimes materials are deliberately limited for various reasons. Children can choose to go outside or stay inside and move between at will. Practitioners' roles allow for at least one practitioner to support child-initiated play in the free-flow environment. When contrasted with an environment in which children are directed to specific activities the benefits include: children able to choose independently therefore develop independence; children can follow own interests and therefore engage with activities more fully; activities are more open-ended allowing for differentiation; children develop skills of negotiating with others, and can make and maintain chosen friendships; adult input supports and extends the child in their chosen activity rather than being focused on a specific adult aim which may not be appropriate; adult-input is open-ended and responsive. The drawbacks include: lack of adults available for sufficient support, especially if 'housekeeping' duties, or behaviour management takes over from supporting the children's learning; difficulties in monitoring all the children and logistic difficulties in checking that all children have equal opportunities and support; difficulties caused where children do not have the necessary skills of concentration to focus and engage sufficiently for good quality play/learning/ social interaction. It is important in order, particularly, to enable development of social skills, self monitoring of behaviour and independence. Most parents are in favour of children enjoying school but some worry about the class being a free-for-all in which their child might be neglected or might not always be safe. Some parents dislike their child getting dirty or dirtying their clothes at school. Many parents want to see evidence of progress in measurable areas such as counting and reading and find it difficult to see the point of play. Some parents do not understand the philosophy behind free-flow, especially if their education has been very structured and they associate being well-educated with specific and discrete academic skills. I think there are many reasons why it is included in the EYFS, some political and economic as well as some educational reasons based on child development. Occasionally problems arise with parents who are concerned that their child is not progressing as well as they think they can. Some parents put this down to the environment and "Too much play". 488407 Send message   Posted by: gilldyson 15/03/2013 at 17:17 I would agree with much of what Thumbie says but would add that the younger, more immature children, particularly the boys, are more likely to have behaviour issues without free flow - the freedom to run outside, practice their gross motor skills and generally enjoy the outdoors is, in my experience, beyond price.