Making English Funtastic!

Children learn through play

 Toys are fun, but toys are also tools that help children learn about themselves and the world around them. Play is critical to the healthy growth and development of children. As children play, they learn to solve problems, to get along with others and to develop the fine and gross motor skills needed to grow and learn. Hospital staff often use play as a means of providing therapy to children. Play helps a child do the following:

1.  • Develop physical skills. Gross motor skills are developed as a child learns to reach, grasp, crawl, run, climb and balance. Fine motor skills are developed as children handle small toys. 
2. • Develop cognitive concepts. Children learn to solve problems (What does this do? Does this puzzle piece fit here?) through play. Children also learn colors, numbers, size and shapes. They have the ability to enhance their memory skills as well as their attention span. Children move on to higher levels of thought as they play in a more stimulating environment
3. . • Develop language skills. Language develops as a child plays and interacts with others. This begins with parents playing cooing games with their children and advances to practical levels such as telling make-believe stories and jokes.
4.  • Develop social skills. Learning to cooperate, negotiate, take turns and play by the rules are allimportant skills learned in early games. These skills grow as the child plays. As a result, children learn the roles and rules of society. 

Play opens the windows

    of learning in a child’s life and acquaints him or her with movement, observation, relationships, emotions and much more. Play time is learning time for young children. Build towers, read, dance, sing, paint, run and laugh together – and watch your child’s learning unfold.