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Welcome to the Forgotten ECE, the show where before and after school educators, summer

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camp and PD staff and CYWs have a place where they are seen, heard and valued.

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I'm your host, Jamie Wakeler, and I'm so excited you're here.

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Welcome to the Forgotten ECE.

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I'm your host, Jamie, and today we're diving deep into a crucial topic for early childhood

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education, the power of play.

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Specifically, we're going to explore how play significantly impacts the development of children

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aged four and older and why it's often more effective than, ba da da da, traditional desk

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learning.

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Play isn't just fun.

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Hard to believe, I know.

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It's fundamental to healthy development.

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It supports physical, cognitive, social and emotional growth.

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And let's just take a little look and break down at the different dimensions of play enriched

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with the documented facts and research.

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So anyone who's skeptical or who's like, no, desk learning is the way to go, just so you

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can kind of understand where I'm coming from.

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So first, there's some different types of play.

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Free play, that is unstructured, child led, where children make their own rules and decision.

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Research published in the American Journal of Play indicates that free play actually

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fosters creativity and problem solving skills.

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And children who engage in free play are better at thinking outside the box and developing

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innovative solutions.

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Okay, pause for a second.

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Picture our world today.

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Every good thing about our world had to come from an out of the box thinker.

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No one who was thinking inside of the box developed the sphere in Vegas.

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Okay, have you seen that thing?

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There's no way an in the box thinker developed that.

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No offense to in the box thinkers, I guess I would say.

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Okay, two structured play.

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It involves a guided activities.

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This type of play can teach specific skills.

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It's essential for children to have ample time of free play.

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But a study from the International Journal of Play found that children learn best where

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they can balance structured activities and free exploration.

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And then you come to social play.

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This type focuses on interactions with peers and research from the Journal of Child Psychology

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and Psychiatrics shows that social play helps develop communication skills, cooperation,

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and emotional regulation, which we know are essential for building healthy relationships.

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And these are all things that children need to grow up and be healthy adults with.

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We need to have communication skills.

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We need to have cooperation.

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We need to have emotional regulation.

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And then there's some documented benefits of play for children specifically aged four

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and older, like cognitive development.

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A study published in child development found that children engaged in imaginative play

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exhibit greater cognitive flexibility that is crucial for problem solving and play help

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children helps children learn concepts such as cause and effect, spatial awareness, and

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even basic math skills through hands on activities.

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I suck at math and I was actually I was told once that everyone could be good at math and

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I don't know if that is true specifically because I feel like I'm not really great at

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math but it's fine.

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I did have a really amazing math teacher in grade nine and I think grade 10 who actually

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was the first math teacher ever to be actually able to teach me anything.

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But that's because it was a hands on approach.

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It's because he taught me the way I learned best, which no one did before then.

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My elementary school year sucked because math was awful.

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Well, actually it sucked for a lot of things, but math specifically awful.

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And I think it's important that we, I guess we'll talk about this in a little bit, but

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that we meet children where they're at and this is how we engage them in learning.

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I'm not saying math's not important.

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Sure, it's important.

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I am saying that we do have technology that does 90% of the math for you these days, but

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math is still important and the concepts that we need to know are important to learn and

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there's better ways to teach it than standing at the front of the room speaking at children,

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get down to their levels, play, make it a game.

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I also had a teacher in grade six.

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Oh my gosh.

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I shouldn't be telling the story because I still don't understand it and it's so embarrassing.

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So actually if anyone listening understands the game and wants to tell me, that'd be cool.

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It was some kind of rolling dice game and you rolled these dice and then you had to

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say how many polar bears there were.

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I feel like I'm actually getting it wrong, but anyways, it was fun.

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It was like, oh, was it fun?

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I guess it was fun for the people that got it.

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Anyways, you rolled these dice and then there was certain dice laying down and then you'd

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count the polar bears.

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I have no idea the trick and I mean, actually I could probably Google it, but anyways, I

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don't know the trick.

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So if anyone knows that game or the trick, cool.

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But the point is that I remember these things because it was through play, because it was

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a game.

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I don't remember the teachers talking up at the board and telling me how to multiply or

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divide or do arithmetic.

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What's the word?

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Algebra.

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I don't remember the times that it was fun.

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I remember the pattern pieces that we had to put together to make patterns.

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I remember the things that were engaging.

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Another important developmental aspect of play is emotional development because play

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provides a safe space for emotional expression.

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Research actually indicates that children involved in dramatic plays such as role playing

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different characters are better at understanding their own emotions and emphasizing with others.

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A study done by the University of California, Berkeley, found that children who play together

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show improved emotional intelligence and self-regulation.

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These are all incredible things that children learn.

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If there's one thing I know for sure, the world needs more empathy, more taking consideration

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of others.

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And this is a great topic that can be learned through play.

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Looking at physical development activities like running, jumping and climbing enhance

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both gross and fine motor skills.

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No surprise there.

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And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, active play is crucial

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for maintaining a healthy weight and developing coordination.

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The CDC emphasizes that physical play can lead to improved fitness levels and stronger

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foundation of lifelong health.

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Children will learn a love of being active when they're younger.

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Social skills.

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The social skills are incredible that they learn.

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Children will be able to learn negotiation, sharing and resolving conflicts during social

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play.

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There are so many people that don't know how to resolve conflicts now.

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Oh my goodness.

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There's so many.

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And a study from the University of Minnesota found that children who engage in regular

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social play exhibit enhanced social competence and better friendship skills as they grow

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older.

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We as adults should be playing more specifically to learn these things that we may lack in,

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like negotiation or sharing or resolving conflicts.

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So last thing I kind of wanted to touch on before we talk about real world applications

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is learning through play versus the traditional desk learning.

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I'll call it traditional desk learning, but like I'm talking classrooms sitting at desks,

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teachers barking at the students, no offense, and students having to grasp and understanding

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from that perspective.

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Research actually shows that children learn more effectively through play compared to

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these traditional desk methods and a landmark study published in the Journal of Early Childhood

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Research Quarterly found that children who engage in play-based learning demonstrated

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higher levels of engagement and better retention of the knowledge compared to those who learn

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in a more conventional classroom setting.

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Active experimental learning allows children to connect concept to real life situations,

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making the learning process more meaningful and enjoyable.

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Think about when you're learning something new at your job or at work.

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It's hard getting told what to do rather than getting shown, being shown.

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It's hard to be explained to or talked to to be taught.

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It's so much easier if you're enjoying it.

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I remember as a kid trying to make fun games or do fun songs when I had to memorize stuff

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for tests.

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I hate tests.

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Tests is another topic that we can talk about another day.

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I don't think tests are valuable at all, but it's fine.

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Another day, another topic.

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But the point is that we learn better when it's enjoyable.

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We learn better when it's made for us, when it's fun, when we have an interest.

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I want to stress that children have to be interested in what we're showing them and

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there's ways.

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We are creative people.

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We are so smart.

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Early childhood educators are literally geniuses because we know how to get down.

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We know how to connect to the children in ways that others don't.

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And by making those connections, by learning and watching and observing on what children

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are interested in and then creating games and activities that not only teach some math

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concepts or language concepts or science concepts or creative concepts, we do that just by observing

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children.

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We just watch and see and then create these crazy things to help them.

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That's incredible.

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We're incredible.

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You, you right now listening to me, you are incredible.

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All right, I'm going to explain how we can harness the power of play into our educational

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settings a little bit.

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So stay tuned for some practical tips.

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Obviously, first, creating a play friendly environment.

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So you're ensuring your spaces are safe and conducive to various types of play.

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Science should promote exploration, foster creativity and holistic learning.

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I know that one of the challenging things of before and after school programs is the

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spaces.

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Utilize what you can to set up the space.

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If you can get functional trolleys that can be used for more than one thing, that's great.

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Like carrying your supplies, but also as a tabletop.

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Or if you can utilize floor space or if you're in a library, if you can utilize the tables

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for tabletop games, there's all these sorts of things you can do.

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It just, it takes work and you know what else it takes?

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It takes community by talking to each other and seeing what each other is doing.

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And this is what I want to build so much with the Forgotten ECE is that we have a community

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of educators that can bounce ideas off each other.

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We are the experts, us in it.

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So the educators that are in it every day are the experts and there's no better person

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to learn from than each other.

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I also want you to put a focus on imaginative play.

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Provide diverse props and materials that inspire creativity.

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Simple items like cardboard boxes can become anything like a spaceship or a house or even

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a castle.

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And this kind of play we know enhances cognitive and social development.

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So it's important.

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And I know we get to a certain age where we're like, do children really want to dress up

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or where are we going to put this stuff or we have no room for it.

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But it's such a vital part of it.

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Play is building these imaginations.

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I can speak from personal experience that my imagination is dwindling.

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I used to be so creative and I used to be so enlightened by creativity, I would say.

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And then we get things like Pinterest or chat GPT or CPT chat.

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It's GPT, right?

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Anyways, and all of these ideas that you can find online.

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I don't have to think for myself at all, hardly.

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Sometimes I do, but there's so many things out there to help us.

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And it's important that children have these creativity because that's how they'll become

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these out of the box thinkers that we need in the world today.

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I also want to end on being an active participant.

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I know it's hard as a before and after school educator to actually engage and play with

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the children because sometimes they don't want you to play.

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Sometimes they have their own thing going and you don't want to interrupt.

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But it's important to join in because studies show that adult involvement can enhance learning

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experience by asking open ended questions, by encouraging children to elaborate on their

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ideas and strategies.

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All of these things contribute to children thinking and being more creative and engaging

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more in the play that's happening around them.

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In conclusion, play is an essential aspect of childhood development that supports multiple

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domain.

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And as educators and caregivers, we should be celebrating and nurturing this powerful

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tool.

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Prioritize play because we're not just allowing children to have fun, we're helping them grow

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into well-rounded, capable, competent individuals.

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Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of The Forgotten ECE.

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I hope you've gained some valuable insight into the vital role of play.

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And if you've enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe and share it with others who might

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benefit.

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Until next time, remember, happy learning, advocate for yourself and embrace the power

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of play.

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Thanks everyone.

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Thank you.

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Amazing listeners for your support.

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Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at missjami underscore R E C E.

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Give a star rating and leave a review.

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Is there something you want to hear about in relation to before and after school programs

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or full day summer camp?

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DM me or comment.

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Again, thank you so much and happy learning.