Playtime is a very important aspect of every child’s day.
Play is the true work of a child. Children are busy when they are playing, and
they are learning when they play.
For example, when children are looking,
pouring, bouncing, hiding, building, knocking down, climbing, running, and
play-acting they are still learning! However, a room stuffed full of toys will
not invite creative, independent, sustained play.
Playrooms must be well
organized with learning centers where everything is in place so that when kids
want to create, build or pretend, they have everything they need right at their
fingertips. The Smart Playrooms team, Karri Bowen-Poole and Chris Simpson, share these four reasons why a playroom encourages success in school:
1. An organized playroom allows children to engage in creative,
independent play. This type of play has positive effects on the brain and on a
child’s ability to learn. In fact, recent research has shown that creative,
independent play may function as an important, if not crucial, mode for
learning. You can encourage creative, independent play in children by providing
open-ended toys and creating an organized
space for playtime.
Read more: "How can I keep my kids entertained inside?"
2. Creating a pretend play center will invite creative play.
Studies reveal a link between pretend play and the development of language
skills. It has been found that children who engage in pretend play have better
language skills - both receptive language (what a child understands) and
expressive language (the words she speaks). Pretend play can also help enhance
their relationships with others as children grow older.
3. An organized block center with age-appropriate building
materials and plenty of floor space will encourage children to build. Block
play is linked to better math skills. Researchers found that 4-year olds who
played with blocks were more likely to achieve high math scores in high school.
In order to encourage powerful block play at home, it’s recommended that
parents have an efficient system of block storage and organization in the playroom.
Read more: Manage the paper mounds!
4. Organized block centers inspire complex building and
creating. This type of building teaches creative, divergent problem-solving.
Psychologists recognize two major types of problems. Convergent problems have
only one correct solution. Divergent problems can be solved in multiple ways.
Because kids can put together blocks in a variety of ways,
block play is divergent play. Recent research found that children who played
with blocks performed better on divergent problems. They also showed more
creativity in their attempts to solve the problems. Divergent play with blocks
prepares children to think creatively and better solve divergent problems.