It's Never Just Play Analysis

The Importance of Play Gillespie’s article “It’s Never Just Play!” talks about the importance of children’s play in learning and developing (Gillespie, 2016, p. 92-94). It does this by supplying and examining a scenario of child led play. In the scenario three toddlers reenact a typical naptime in their classroom (Gillespie, 2016, p. 92). Thoroughly examining this scenario during free play Gillespie lays out how the children are developing the six Cs, which is a list of six skills needed to succeed as an adult in the 21st Century (Gillespie, 2016, p. 92-94). The six Cs consist of collaboration, communication, content, creative innovation, critical thinking, and confidence (Gillespie, 2016, p. 92-94). Play time is a great and effective time

There are three simple we can take to provide children this opportunity. First off, it is important to have an adequate amount of time set aside for free play every day, because as we’ve seen the benefits of free play and child guided activities as numerous. Secondly, it is imperative that the environment is conducive to this form of child play. There are several factors to consider such as the safety of the space and toys available. Because play is so vital to a child it is important to provide them with developmentally appropriate toys, so that they will have the best opportunity for play. To have a good opportunity for play toys must not only be geared toward their developmental stage and the things they are learning/working on, but they must also be safe and interesting to a child. When picking toys for infants and children they do not always have to be the newest or most flashy thing, simple things we may not even think of as toys can be very useful and interesting to children and will help them use their imaginations. Lastly, it is important that as a teacher you encourage and go along with such forms of play. These are just a few of many possible ways to help engage your children in vital and exciting opportunities for of