The Importance of Play in a Child's Development

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C9/10 The decrease in free play can also be explained by children being passively entertained through television or computer/video games.

S2 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Convention on the Rights of the Child. General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989. Available at: www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm. Accessed June 22, 2006 (WEB)

S2-C1/1 "Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child."

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C1/16 "According to Fromberg and Gullo (1992), play enhances language development, social competence, creativity, imagination, and thinking skills."

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C8/10 This change may have implications on children's ability to store new information, because children's cognitive capacity is enhanced by a clear-cut and significant change in activity

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C1/10 Play is important because it helps with the intellectual, physical, social and emotional well being of a child.

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C10/10 In sharp contrast to the health benefits of active, creative play and the known developmental benefits of an appropriate level of organized activities, there is ample evidence that this passive entertainment is not protective and, in fact, has some harmful effects.

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C2/10 Play is beneficial to children because it allows them to use their creativity while starting to develop there imagination and motor skills.

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C3/10 "Play is integral to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to enhance children's learning readiness, learning behaviors, and problem-solving skills"

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C4/10 "Social-emotional learning is best integrated with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children's ability to learn are elevated at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning."

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C5/10 "Despite the numerous benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children. This trend has even affected kindergarten children, who have had free play reduced in their schedules to make room for more academics.

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C6/10 A 1989 survey taken by the National Association of Elementary School Principals found that 96% of surveyed school systems had at least 1 recess period. Another survey a decade later found that only 70% of even kindergarten classrooms had a recess period.

S1 Ginsburg, Kenneth R. "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds." Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Jan. 2007, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.(WEB)

S1-C7/10 Currently, many schoolchildren are given less free time and fewer physical outlets at school; many school districts responded to the No Child Left Behind Act of 200137 by reducing time committed to recess, the creative arts, and even physical education in an effort to focus on reading and mathematics.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C10/16 Hymes recommends that children have two classrooms—one indoors and one outdoors. The outdoor play environment should be used as an extension of the indoor classroom. It should be a learning environment as carefully planned as the indoor activity centers and should encourage motor and social skills as well as help children refine existing cognitive structures and construct new ones. Used in this way, the outdoor play environment provides a basis for observational assessments in all areas of development.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C11/16 Fox's outdoor observations also found multiple examples of problem-solving, creative thinking, social competence, language use, and gross and fine motor skills. Although outdoor observations do not replace classroom assessment, they can provide valuable information for teachers of young children.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C12/16 Onlooker behavior—Playing passively by watching or conversing with other children engaged in play activities.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C13/16 Solitary independent—Playing by oneself.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C14/16 Parallel—Playing, even in the middle of a group, while remaining engrossed in one's own activity. Children playing parallel to each other sometimes use each other's toys, but always maintain their independence.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C15/16 Associative—When children share materials and talk to each other, but do not coordinate play objectives or interests.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C16/16 Cooperative—When children organize themselves into roles with specific goals in mind (e.g., to assign the roles of doctor, nurse, and patient and play hospital).

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C2/16 Play is most common during childhood when children's knowledge of self, comprehension of verbal and non-verbal communication, and understanding of the physical and social worlds are expanding dramatically.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C3/16 Fromberg claims that play is the "ultimate integrator of human experience". This means that when children play, they draw upon their past experiences-things they have done, seen others do, read about, or seen on television-and they use these experiences to build games, play scenarios, and engage in activities.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C4/16 Children use fine and gross motor skills in their play. They react to each other socially. They think about what they are doing or going to do. They use language to talk to each other or to themselves and they very often respond emotionally to the play activity

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C5/16 The relationship between play and cognitive development is described differently in the two theories of cognitive development which dominate early childhood education-Piaget's and Vygotsky's.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C6/16 Piaget (1962) defined play as assimilation, or the child's efforts to make environmental stimuli match his or her own concepts. Piagetian theory holds that play, in and of itself, does not necessarily result in the formation of new cognitive structures.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C7/16 Vygotskian theory states that play actually facilitates cognitive development. Children not only practice what they already know-they also learn new things

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C8/16 Early childhood teachers have long recognized the value of play in programs for young children. Unfortunately, teachers often fail to take advantage of the opportunities play provides for observing children's development and learning. Through such observations teachers can learn about children's social interactions, cognitive and language abilities, motor skills, and emotional development.

S4 Fox, Jill Englebright. "Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood." Earlychildhood NEWS - Article Reading Center, Excelligence Learning Corporation, 2008, www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=240. (WEB)

S4-C9/16 Frost recommends that observing children at play be a daily responsibility for early childhood professionals. Regular observations provide teachers with assessment information for identifying children with special needs, planning future play experiences, evaluating play materials, determining areas of strength and weakness for individual children, planning curriculum for individual children, reporting to parents, and checking on a child's on-going progress. The increased use of authentic assessment strategies is making observations of children's play more commonplace in early childhood classrooms.

S5 Walters, Jennifer Marino. "Toy Power." Scholastic Superscience, vol. 25, no. 8, May 2014, p. 4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=mih&AN=95658729. (ARTICLE)

S5-C1/6 "Play allows you to have new experiences, explore your world, and express yourself," says toy reviewer and expert Christopher Byrne

S5 Walters, Jennifer Marino. "Toy Power." Scholastic Superscience, vol. 25, no. 8, May 2014, p. 4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=mih&AN=95658729.(ARTICLE)

S5-C2/6 Playing with toys like a Frisbee allows you to relieve stress and get exercise. Building strength and stamina helps you focus better in the classroom.

S5 Walters, Jennifer Marino. "Toy Power." Scholastic Superscience, vol. 25, no. 8, May 2014, p. 4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=mih&AN=95658729.(ARTICLE)

S5-C3/6 Building with LEGO sets and other blocks helps to improve your math and science skills. You learn fractions by figuring out how many smaller bricks snap together to make a larger one and geometry by fitting various shapes together. You can test designs like an engineer by seeing how high you can build a tower before it falls.

S5 Walters, Jennifer Marino. "Toy Power." Scholastic Superscience, vol. 25, no. 8, May 2014, p. 4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=mih&AN=95658729.(ARTICLE)

S5-C4/6 Board games like Monopoly teach you social skills such as taking turns and how to be a good winner and loser. They help you to understand and follow rules. They improve your ability to develop strategies

S5 Walters, Jennifer Marino. "Toy Power." Scholastic Superscience, vol. 25, no. 8, May 2014, p. 4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=mih&AN=95658729.(ARTICLE)

S5-C5/6 "Role-playing is about that process of discovering who you are," says Byrne. You can try out different personalities and jobs, make mistakes, and learn what's A appropriate and what isn't. You also create stories through role playing, which lets you use your imagination and helps to improve your writing and communication skills.

S5 Walters, Jennifer Marino. "Toy Power." Scholastic Superscience, vol. 25, no. 8, May 2014, p. 4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=mih&AN=95658729.(ARTICLE)

S5-C6/6 Arts and crafts projects like the ones you can do on the Rainbow Loom help improve your focus and attention span. They allow you to be creative and express yourself. They also give you practice in bringing an idea to life: You know what type of bracelet you want to make, and you need to figure out how to do it.

S6 Kirn, Walter and Wendy Cole. "What Ever Happened to PLAY?." Time, vol. 157, no. 17, 30 Apr. 2001, p. 56. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=ulh&AN=4360754. (ARTICLE)

S6-C1/4 No wonder America's swing sets are feeling lonely. With so many roving flashers to elude, so many high-tech skills to master, so many crucial tests to pass and so many anxious parents to reassure, children seem to be playing less and less these days

S6 Kirn, Walter and Wendy Cole. "What Ever Happened to PLAY?." Time, vol. 157, no. 17, 30 Apr. 2001, p. 56. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=ulh&AN=4360754. (ARTICLE)

S6-C2/4 Even hassled grownups are starting to notice. "We're taking away childhood," says Dorothy Sluss, a professor of early-childhood education at East Tennessee State University. "We don't value play in our society. It has become a four-letter word."

S6 Kirn, Walter and Wendy Cole. "What Ever Happened to PLAY?." Time, vol. 157, no. 17, 30 Apr. 2001, p. 56. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=ulh&AN=4360754. (ARTICLE)

S6-C3/4 Statistics back her up. In 1981, according to University of Michigan researchers, the average school-age child had 40% of the day for free time--meaning hours left over after sleeping, eating, studying and engaging in organized activities. By 1997, the figure was down to 25%.

S6 Kirn, Walter and Wendy Cole. "What Ever Happened to PLAY?." Time, vol. 157, no. 17, 30 Apr. 2001, p. 56. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&db=ulh&AN=4360754. (ARTICLE)

S6-C4/4 Play doesn't just make kids happy, healthy and human. It may also make them smarter, says Rosenfeld.

S7 "10 reasons why play is important." National Literacy Trust, National Literacy Trust 2017, 25 Aug. 2017, literacytrust.org.uk/resources/10-reasons-why-play-important/. (WEB)

S7-C1/1 Play lays the foundation for literacy. Play nurtures development and fulfills a baby's inborn need to learn. Play encourages adults to communicate with the children in their lives. Having enough toys or activities to choose from will allow children to express themselves.To practice physical movement, balance and to test their own limits.