Creative Play

What is Creative Play?

In the early stages of a child's life, their brain constantly develops and needs continual stimulation. Whilst education is a focal point for children and their growth, allowing children to express themselves and improve their physical, social, and cognitive skills is a massive part of their development (Winfield, 2023) and creative play provides opportunities for moral, emotional intelligence and language development.

Thus, the child develops completely, making it the perfect way to boost and develop basic skills for everyday life. The definition of creative play is children's play, such as modelling or painting, that tends to satisfy a need for self-expression and to develop physical skills (Winfield, 2023). It also includes role play, music, or dancing.

According to Playdale (n.d.), creative play is how children learn to perceive the world and understand their place in it. When getting involved with creative play in the early years, young children can gain basic problem-solving skills. Creative play boosts their intellectual development by improving their cognitive skills whilst allowing them to pay attention, process how things work, and analyse why it works (Winfield, 2023).

The foundations of learning are set supporting children to become creators of their own knowledge (Playdale n.d). Additionally, cognitive skills are the cornerstone of human development because they enable us to make judgements, solve problems, sequence events, follow instructions and a multitude of other things.

A good analogy is of a conductor of an orchestra ensuring that all the instruments play at the right time and volume. The absence of the conductor causes chaos, confusion and there is no harmony. Our brains work exactly like that.

Children learn how to draw a square by drawing a square or how to make a sandcastle by actually making a sandcastle through hands on experience. Creative play is not an abstract activity it is very much in the present (Playdale n.d) thereby providing developmental benefits for children.

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How Do Children Learn Through Creative Play?

Children learn through creative play by engaging in hands-on activities like painting, building, and role-playing that develop problem-solving and cognitive skills. This type of play allows them to explore concepts naturally while improving their attention, processing abilities, and understanding of cause and effect. The learning happens organically as children experiment, make mistakes, and discover solutions independently.

As Miles (2021) states, creative play is a natural part of childhood development. Through creative play, children express themselves and explore ideas and concepts amidst in the world around them.

The latter statement could not be more accurate as when I reflect on my childhood, memoires of creative play formed an integral part where I remember using my imagination to whisk me away to magical lands where I pretended to be a ballerina, pirate, princess, dancer, or any career that appeared in my mind's eye.

Creative play afforded me the opportunity to express myself, investigate and explore. What made pretend play more exciting was my friends and I dressing up in my parents clothing and wearing oversized shoes! I recollect inviting my family as the audience to plays that we had scripted, rehearsed, and gathered an armful of props (using available material within our home), and located the correct music so that it shaped the scene for the audience and provided cues for the 'cast.'

The opportunities for painting were endless as we created our sets. Playing with my siblings or friends provided an opportunity for discovery and investigation where we used trees as swings, built furniture from material that could be recycled and through trial and error we had to ensure that the swing we built could accommodate our weight and was durable, this was before we knew about the design process!

"Child-oriented play may be a promising, effective, and inexpensive means of promoting toddlers' positive development."

Baking mud cakes and using the sun as an oven and the 'timer' was us counting verbally or skipping that many times! This ignited our imaginations as we were able to use everyday tools, equipment, and resources at our disposal.

We stomped in mud muddles enjoying the flow of the rain on our bare feet and feeling the different textures. Experience is the best teacher!

Of late, creative play has been differentiated from play based on the nature of the players (usually children), the requirements for creative materials to be used (modelling clay, paint, dressing up props), the development of physical skills through embodied learning, and self-expression as well as the use of familiar materials to facilitate creative education.

Creative play was seen to occur when children were given time to engage in unstructured, self-directed play, allowing for unrestricted exploration without fear of judgment, especially when immersed in imaginative play and role-playing (Piaget, 1951) (Hurwitz, 2002).

As more students of all ages engage in creative play to develop their abilities as critical thinking, there is a need to reconsider the nature and benefits of creative play in much broader contexts. Creative play is powerful when integrated with a 'kindergarten' approach to learning that enables designing, creating, experimenting and exploring in an iterative process where players imagine, create, play, share and reflect (Resnick, 2007 in British Council, n.d).

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Why Is Creative Play Important for Child Development?

Creative play is crucial because it develops executive function, emotional regulation, and social skills that form the foundation for academic success. It provides opportunities for children to express themselves while simultaneously building physical coordination,physical coordination, problem-solving abilities and the ability to understand the world around them (Miles, 2021).

When teachers and educators participate in creative play it serves as a source of scaffolding, support, and inspiration for children to engage with the world, and it is through creative play that children acquire the basic skills they will require for everyday life (Resnick, 2007 in British Council, n.d).

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Benefits of Creative Play

Creative play offers numerous benefits for children's development. It creates imagination, encourages problem-solving, and promotes social and emotional growth. Here are some key advantages:

• Cognitive Development: Enhances memory, attention, and critical thinking skills.
• Emotional Development: Provides an avenue for self-expression and emotional regulation.
• Social Development: Encourages cooperation, communication, and empathy through shared play experiences.
• Physical Development: Improves fine and gross motor skills through activities like painting, building, and dancing.
• Language Development: Expands vocabulary and storytelling abilities as children create narratives and engage in role-play.

Creative play is a powerful tool for complete development, supporting children in becoming well-rounded individuals.

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Conclusion

creative play is an essential component of a child's development, offering a wide range of benefits that extend far beyond mere entertainment. It is through these playful experiences that children learn to understand the world, express themselves, and develop the fundamental skills needed for academic and social success. By providing children with opportunities for unstructured, self-directed play, educators and parents can creates their creativity, problem-solving abilities, and emotional intelligence.

Encouraging creative play in both the classroom and at home is an investment in a child's future. It equips them with the tools to navigate challenges, collaborate with others, and express their unique perspectives. As educators, it is our responsibility to champion creative play and ensure that children have the time and space to explore, experiment, and imagine.

By integrating creative play into educational settings, we helps children to become lifelong learners and effective thinkers, ready to shape a better world. Let us continue to advocate for the importance of play and its transformative power in shaping the next generation.

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Further Reading

• Holmes, R. M., & Zika, E. L. (2016). How children use their bodies in creative movement: Implications for education. *Journal of Creative Behavior*, *50*(3), 178-190.
• Russ, S. W. (2016). Pretend play and the development of creative thinking. In P. K. Smith & J. Roopnarine (Eds.), *The Cambridge handbook of play: Developmental and disciplinary perspectives* (pp. 329-346). Cambridge University Press.
• Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2013). Guided play: Where curricular goals meet a playful pedagogy. *Mind, Brain, and Education*, *7*(2), 104-112.
• Whitebread, D., Neale, D., Littleton, K., Miao, V., & Mercer, J. (2015). The role of play in children's development: A review of the evidence. *Early Childhood Education*, *43*(6), 617-633.
• Zosh, J. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Hopkins, E. J., Jensen, A. M., Bub, L. B., Whitebread, D., .. & Golinkoff, R. M. (2018). Accessing the inaccessible: Redefining play as a spectrum. *Frontiers in Psychology*, *9*, 1124.