Thursday, September 1, 2011

Importance of Social Play in Literacy Development

As we begin the school year, I would like to emphasize the role of play in our preschool classroom. Play is a facilitator of every type of learning at this young age as it stimulates the mind and the body. In this particular instance, I would like to share how play will have a huge part in your children's literacy development.



  • Play encourages social interaction. In being social, children are able to feed off of each other and share knowledge of written language. By acting out a particular event in which spoken words are used to communicate written words, (ie. playing restaurant and having the server writing down an order for food) children are able to furthur understand that those written markings on paper actually have meaning.

  • Play allows a child to "behave beyond his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself." This quote was made by behavior theorist L. S. Vygotsky. Through my experience, I have found this to be very true as, through play, children take on roles that at their age would not be realisitc. But in acting out these characters, they use language that is also beyond their daily behavior. Through play, their literacy and language horizons are broadened.

I hope that this snippet of information has given you an eager outlook on how we will work together to enhance your children's literacy development and passion for reading!

6 comments:

  1. One thing that I really like about your post is that it is very friendly and inviting. I believe a parent reading this would be very encouraged and glad that their child is in your care. I also truly agree with play being very important. They do go seemingly beyond their age while playing and usually always say something that surprises me. Their was this one young child who was a "waitress" and giving the "bill" to her classmates. When one student handed her the amount that was on the "bill" she told him he had forgot the tip. I was not expecting that.

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  2. Parents need to understand that play is an important part of children's growth and development. It's hard for parents to see that when children are playing that they are actually learning. I think you did a great job to explain that to parents in a gentle and friendly way. Your introduction draws parents in with a warm and inviting tone. Good job!

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  3. I think was a great was to address your topic. I never truly understood how important play was until I was placed in the infant room last year. To an outsider, what we did in that classroom may have seemed like, what I have been told, "babysitting." However, it is so much more than that even at such a young age. Parents and other onlookers definitely need to know how important play is.
    Good job :)

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  4. I love this Vygotsky quote too! Children do play their way into literacy by pretending to read in order to participate in the literacy practices with their families.

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  5. Your quote is amazing! It is really great that you will make parents aware of the fact that play is so important to you! It will really ensure that the children have multiple ways of learning and interacting with one another! Parents will certainly feel that you will offer and fun and educational environment for their child!

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  6. This is a really great introduction for parents who are uneasy with play being equated to learning. Encouraging social play is a great way for kids to excel in whatever subject they are pursuing. With parents on board with this idea, it can encourage the children to explore this method of learning even more.

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