The adult’s role within a play-based program

What is the adult’s role within a play-based program?

 Within a play-based program the adults role is not to dominate or dictate but to guide, evoke and extend. By continually evaluating the children’s play you will be able to discover what they are learning and from there help shape and extend their learning. This may include asking questions to expand the play, participating, interacting, consolidating, observing and monitoring the play. With this being said children are focused, learn to think and can follow through with their discussions, ideas and negotiations. “Children develop inner motivation and readily take responsibility for their own learning, so are equipped for higher learning and life skills. The most important play for young children is play with parents-make sure you make some time for play every day.”

Source: http://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/WebFiles/Council%20Services/Family%20and%20Child/Learning%20is%20Child%27s%20Play.pdf

 How can we help children play?

• Provide children with lots of materials, both commercial and homemade. Toys are great, but don't overlook boxes, tubes, kitchen tools, feathers, various papers, adult objects such as calculators, old phones, old stereo equipment, etc. It does have to be interesting and appealing, but it doesn't have to be expensive.

• Allow children time to play. Make sure kids aren't over-scheduled and exhausted. Tired children are cranky, sluggish, and easily frustrated...not the best frame of mind for creative endeavours.

• Allow children to be in charge of playtime. It is not effective playtime if an adult plans the activity, the structure and the outcome. Children need to be allowed the freedom to form ideas, practice skills and use materials at their own pace. Adults can and should play with children. Just make sure you are following the child's directives and ideas and not the other way around.

  This information was quoted directly from Suite101: Kids Play to Learn: Parents and teachers can help kids learn by helping kids play http://primaryschool.suite101.com/article.cfm/kids_play_to_learn#ixzz0g6F5UfeA 

What does play look like?

• Children may play on their own in solitary play; alongside someone else

but independently in parallel play or with other children in cooperative play

• Play may be structured, where someone else makes the rules and decisions

• Play may be unstructured, where the child is self-directed or takes

all the initiative.

We can support children’s play by

• allowing for extended periods of time for children to remain in ‘the flow’

of their play

• providing resources such as safe household items and materials

• making enough space to focus on the play activity

• catering for choices of activity, materials and equipment

• role-modeling to encourage and extend ideas

• challenging them with more complex thinking, novel ideas or experiences

The information above was quoted directly from the source of: http://www.det.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/960/play-based_learning.pdf