Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/copiloting-play/5026416/
For young children, play is an authentic skyway to learn and develop across content areas and domains. Inviting the use of imagination, creativity, and flexible thinking, play offers ample opportunity to embrace the acts of exploring, wondering, investigating, and discovering. Alongside of these processes that contribute so much to thinking skills, play nurtures life skills (Gartrell, 2020). Social-emotional-cognitive proficiencies, developed and honed as children play, lay the foundation for success both inside and outside of the classroom. Sometimes referred to as soft skills (to which the author says first things first!), this array of abilities supports children in learning to effectively navigate within the classroom. The foundation provides substantial benefits to the child in the present and for the future (NAEYC, 2021). Beyond the school walls, a strong social-emotional-cognitive foundation gained through play propels children forward through life.
In the context of play, young children can develop positive self-concept, gain confidence, build relationships with peers and significant adults, learn to label and regulate emotions, and refine communication and problem-solving skills, all leading to higher levels of achievement (Heidemann & Hewitt, 2010). However, these gains do not happen by chance. It takes intentional support from teachers and other significant adults willing to assume ...