Using Manipulative Materials

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There are many benefits to using manipulative materials and play in a three-year old classroom. Some benefits include but are not limited to, learning and developing necessary skills, such as, the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive characteristics, and the different types of play. The students are able to build, create, and play with a variety of materials in the classroom to help improve their skills. Playtime is the most important aspect to learning. According to NEAYC, “Children practice and reinforce their learning in multiple areas during play. It gives them a place and a time for learning that cannot be achieved through completing a worksheet. For example, in playing restaurant, children write and draw menus, set prices, take …show more content…

According to NEAYC, “Children learn through their play.” Children can improve and develop their cognitive skills, such as math and problem solving in a pretend grocery store, physical skills, such as, balancing blocks and running on the playground, social skills, such as, new vocabulary learned through interactions in play, math skills, like using a cash register, and literacy skills, such as, creating a menu in dramatic play. The students are able to have fun while they are learning, which is a huge benefit towards using manipulative materials and play in the …show more content…

Depending on the child and the manipulatives they are playing with, the child can decide what type of play they want to do. Some students prefer to play by themselves while others are ready to interact and cooperate with other students. As the child gets older he or she will want to play and interact more with his or her peers. Children learn how to play alone, observe, and participate in activities with others because they are provided with developmentally appropriate manipulatives and material to play with. Through my observations, with the younger three year olds and then the older three year olds, the students will move from parallel play to associative and cooperative play quickly within this year. All of this improvement is due to the manipulatives and materials provided for the children to play with. Therefore, having manipulatives and materials in the classroom are very beneficial in improving student interaction through the types of

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