When children reach preschool age, their personalities begin to shine through. Kids start to experiment with the world and play with their surroundings. Despite its seemingly frivolous nature, playtime is one of the most important parts of early education and play. It’s a great way to help kids develop cognitive, physical, social, and emotional skills. Playtime often mirrors and reinforces development in other areas, including problem-solving and creativity, and it’s one of the first ways kids learn to express themselves. Childhood learning development is heavily influenced by play, as it enhances their ability to interact and learn in natural, engaging ways.
Why is play important in early childhood development?
Like a bird learning how to fly, kids use play to learn how to interact with their peers, explore their independence, and engage with the world around them. Those skills are essential during the preschool years when many kids interact with other kids their age for the first time. Playtime is also an excellent way for parents and caregivers to spend time with their children, strengthen relationships, and help kids develop new skills. Not to mention, playtime is fun! Developing play skills early on fosters these crucial abilities.
During play, kids encounter the unexpected and can try out new responses to see what works and what doesn’t. They can test new theories and push boundaries to figure out how things work in different settings and with other groups of people. While kids play, their brains are hard at work developing attention, memory, pattern recognition, concept formation, reasoning, and more. At playtime, offer activities and games that stimulate your child’s mental faculties and are fun at the same time! These age-appropriate activities are great examples of cognitive play.
Brain Games for Preschoolers: Play with Education
- Tea parties: builds coordination, learn to share, take turns, and communicate while building social skills
- Singing songs together: develop language and vocabulary, gain a sense of rhythm and pitch, and develop listening skills
- Guessing games (such as 20 questions): develop communication, critical thinking, and communication skills
- Matching games: build short-term memory, visual memory, and pattern recognition
- Card games (such as Go Fish or Chutes & Ladders): language development, build confidence, increase social skills, teamwork
- Building blocks: fine motor skills, gross motor skills, problem-solving, creativity, imagination
- Pretend play: teamwork, communication, imagination, social and emotional skills, communication skills
- Scavenger hunts: self-regulation, curiosity, problem-solving, organizing, and executive functioning
What are the physical benefits of playtime?
Playtime doesn’t always involve much movement, but active play can be a holistic activity—exercising the body as much as the mind. Kids develop physical fitness, agility, balance, stamina, coordination, and more during playtime.
Anything that gets your child outside in the sunshine and running around should provide all the physical benefits you’re looking for, but here are some great ways to get them moving.
- Hopscotch
- Hide and seek
- Capture the flag
- Four square
- Jump rope
- Red light, green light
- Red rover
- Simon says
- Tag (and its many variations: freeze, shadow, flashlight, etc.)
Many games listed above can be played indoors or outdoors to keep our bodies moving even when the weather isn’t ideal, so don’t count them out just because it’s raining or cold! Of course, the inside offers its own unique options. Turn on your favorite tunes and bust a move with a family dance party, stack the couch cushions and cover them with blankets to build a private fort, play hot potato, or work together to keep a balloon off the ground. Come to think of it, the floor’s lava!
What are the social benefits of play in kindergarten and early education?
While kids are learning the rules of their new favorite games, they’re also learning the rules of social interaction and developing play skills. Playtime lets them define and push social boundaries, like knowing when to share or when to hold their ground. Through play, kids learn how to express themselves to their peers and adults, develop social skills, and learn to navigate group dynamics.
Playtime teaches kids how to work with others, how to compromise, and how to resolve conflict. Kids will be exposed to social cues while playing games or running around the playground and learn to see something from someone else’s perspective. To help your child develop social skills, play games that focus on eye contact and interpersonal interaction.
Start simple with a staring contest to help kids practice maintaining eye contact. Try having a conversation during the game to solidify those skills. Create stories together, collaborate on characters and events, and bring in stuffies or other toys to give the characters physical form. The goal is to get your child used to working in tandem with other people.
How can playtime help with a child’s emotional development?
Play in Kindergarten, preschool, or at home can be a source of joy (that’s why we like it so much), but it can also be a source of frustration at this age, especially when playing with others. If a child isn’t immediately successful or feels like their playmates aren’t playing fair, they might experience some unfamiliar negative emotions. Playtime is an opportunity for kids to experience new feelings, not all of which are pleasant, and learn to self-regulate their emotions.
When pleasant, playtime reduces stress and anxiety overall, not just during play sessions, and even less favorable playdates can be helpful. Learning to manage negative emotions during playtime is an important early step in managing emotions in other parts of our lives. Playing with your child allows you to identify new emotional terrain and help them navigate their feelings.
- Sing songs together: Include songs about feelings, like “If You’re Happy and You Know It” or “Wheels on the Bus.”
- Mirror game: Have your child mimic the motion you’re conveying and name it. Identifying feelings in others helps them identify feelings in themselves.
- Board games or video games: As children mature, expand the types of play they’re exposed to. Board games and video games can provide opportunities to experience success and failure, winning and losing, in healthy ways.
If your child is safe, happy, and having a good time, there’s no wrong way to play. While they’re giggling, exploring, and learning, look for opportunities to guide, teach, and comfort them. As they have the chance to interact with the world around them, they will gain independence and confidence, and you’ll see them thriving in preschool and ready for kindergarten, too.
