Why Play Is Play Essay

What is play? Is it an activity one does for enjoyment? Is it an essential learning tool? The answer is that there is no definite answer. There are professionals who have studied play and formulated their own answers as to what play is. Some say it’s unstructured peer interactions, others say it’s structured interactions. Some say it’s a special and undefinable activity while others say it’s a basic life activity. The reason for the clear differences about what play is, is because play encompasses many different things and has many different forms. From the moment babies are born until the moment adults die, they all participate in some form of play, whether it be smiling at somebody 's movement, playing hide and seek, or participating in a sport or group. Although the definition of play is not definite, there is at least one definite thing about play. That is that play is an important and crucial part of any developmentally appropriate early childhood classroom and has unfortunately been reduced and replaced by standardized tests and teacher-based teaching and learning. Play is an enormously important tool that human beings use to help them learn new information and without it

Despite all of play’s weird attributes, it is a wonderfully important activity and experience. The lack of play within early childhood programs is impractical and disappointing. American’s are denying their students what they need, so they can measure their student’s academic intelligence, thinking little to none about their student’s social and emotional intelligence, which are just as important. Play is so much more than just play. Play is necessary. Play is learning, engaging, thinking, understanding, caring, knowing, experiencing, and lots more. Play needs to be restored in America’s early childhood