‘Play is the work of the child’ - Maria Montessori
Play is meaningful - Children play to make sense of the world around them and to find meaning in an experience by connecting it to something already known. Through play, children express and expand their understanding of their experiences.
Play is joyful - Play may have its frustrations and challenges (Who gets the first turn? Why can’t I make this block building stay up?), but the overall feeling is one of enjoyment, motivation, thrill and pleasure.
Play is actively engaging - Watch children playing and you will usually see that they become deeply involved, often combining physical, mental and verbal engagement.
Play is iterative - Play and learning are not static. Children play to practice skills, try out possibilities, revise hypotheses and discover new challenges, leading to deeper learning.
Play is socially interactive - Play allows children to communicate ideas, to understand others through social interaction, paving the way to build deeper understanding and more powerful relationships.
Learning through play puts the child at the centre of their own learning and allows them to explore and make sense of the world around them, as well as to use and develop their imagination and creativity. By following the child’s lead, adults can be agile and make the most of a child’s particular interest. Adults can then support and challenge children through their use of questioning, resourcing and by making links to previous learning.
One undeniable feature of play is fun. Enjoyment is the main reason for playing. Positive emotions contribute significantly to a sense of well-being and health, and improve the quality of life for children and adults.
Play at Sandringham
Play at Sandringham is a valuable tool for learning, it gives children opportunities to develop a range of skills and also supports children’s emotional well-being. Play and exploration at Sandringham will provide children with a range of both indoor and outdoor experiences which will encourage their interests, celebrate their cultural backgrounds and develop their language as well as gross and fine motor skills.
The potential of play can only be fulfilled when the right environment and resources are in place. At Sandringham we plan carefully to reflect the age and stage of development of the children and provide appropriate resources to give endless opportunities for play and exploration. Staff manage the resources to support the children in making their own choices therefore enabling the children to be involved in purposeful play and build on their interests.
Learning through play is an area of education which has been very well researched. Some of this research includes:
Maria Montessori who said “Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”
Zoltan Dienes who put forward The theory of the six stages of learning with integers, the first stage being Free Play and the second stage being Playing With Rules. Dienes saw mathematics as a creative art. He believed maths should be a fun, explorative process that encourages children to think freely, and creatively.
Lev Vygotsky who said “A child's greatest achievements are possible in play, achievements that tomorrow will become her basic level of real action.”
John Dewey - For Dewey, quality experiential learning comprised meaningful experiences, important or intriguing inquiry topics, and interaction between peers, and between teachers and learners.
At Sandringham Primary School our purpose is to inspire and empower the next generation by being an outstanding, dynamic and vibrant learning community. We feel that learning through play prepares our children to be creative, engaged, lifelong learners ready to thrive in the 21st century world.
Cultural Capital
Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. It is about giving children the best possible start to their early education. Some children start school with different experiences from others, in their learning and play.
By completing the 50 things to experience before your child turns 5, your child will have the chance to develop a range of skills and gather a wealth of experiences. These skills and experiences will be the building blocks for your child’s development.