5 Things Your Kid Will Learn at Play Today

What did you do at playtime today? Think about it. We all should incorporate time into our daily schedules to include productive play. Productive play is an essential way to learn, explore, discover, and grow both individually and collectively. Valuable life skills such as learning how to cooperate, ways to solve problems, verbal and non-verbal language skills, math skills, and so much more emerge during play. Have you taken a moment to observe the 5 things your kid will learn at play today?

 5 Things Your Kid Will Learn at Play Today

Solitary Play - Time spent playing alone offers many beneficial learning experiences. Independently entertaining themselves by stacking or sorting manipulatives, coloring or drawing pictures, building projects, solving puzzles, or reading books develop individual focus, imaginative concepts, and self interests.

Parallel Play - Playing side-by-side with other children kids will experience a similar environment in different ways. Sand play provides one child the opportunity to create a path of roadways, as another child bakes cookies, sharing toys, tools, and conversation, yet each pursuing their interests.

Cooperative Play - Engaged and evolved, cooperative play involves dramatic and interactive play as part of a shared experience. Developing social skills emerge during group interactions requiring teamwork, assigned roles and responsibilities, and group goals.

Structured Play - Learning to play and participation in organized physical activities with specified rules is an essential life skill. Increased focus and attention to details brings following rules, attention to details, and fosters an ideal setting for skill acquisition and mastery. Varying degrees of structured play nurture both group and individual personality traits.

Free (Self-Directed) Play - Creativity inspires the whimsy and openness of free play. Activities of interest are freely pursued by little learners in an environment open to self-directed play.