Physical Development In Children: Importance Of Safe Play-Based Learning Experiences

The Importance of Physical Development in Children

Question:

Discuss about the Child study choosing development domain.

Physical development in children involves sensory skills by hearing, touching, seeing and smelling etc. Florida health (2012) described during age 8-12 months infants beg to reach for and pick up the objects; then try to stand by holding equipments and objects. The infants also develop their grasp and hand and eye coordination skills that allow them to pick up or throw toys and objects using their thumb and index finger. I chose two domains, which is physical development, language, and literacy and my focus child is Declan who is nine months old.

VLS (2018) stated that the educators, teachers and the parents must encourage and support infants to develop their overall physical skills, as every child is different.

During my placement, I acknowledged that environment is part of the curriculum and physical development directly involve with the environment. Providing safe, positive and learning environment with age appropriate toys, equipment to the infants help them to develop in major domains such as physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional as well as in creative skills. I planned to conduct spontaneous physical activity for my focus child and small group of infants in the seeds room. These physical activities provided opportunities enhancing Declan’s fine and gross motor skills, coordination and grasp skills. I provided safe play based learning experiences including below materials and resource that helped to develop infant’s physical domain in many ways.

• Toddler adventure play spacer/ slide and steps combo

This play space includes different parts such as carpet ramp, mirror ramp, cubby house and few small steps. The infants had access to explore various obstacles through crawling, stepping, walking around holding slides and sliding.

• Fish and splash water table

I set up this activity for my focus child to explore his sensory skills as well as develop his hand and eye coordination skills. The infant had endless fun time with the water play like splashing water with his both hands and catching fish and floating objects. He became familiar with the materials and the water by seeing, touching developing his imagination skills.

• Baby walker and push and pull toys

These play materials and resources improved his gross motor skills through his first steps.  Declan was curious and by second week he was able to stand for around 5 second with support and begin to walk. Push toys helped Declan to improve his walking skills with my reassurance and encouraged him to play outdoors.

• The Beads frame and wooden blocks, cubes

It develops infant’s fine motor skills through stacking; knocking them and open- ended learning space for young children to allow develops their imagination skills.

Setting up effective physical environment for young children  

Positive learning environment is important where child develops physical competence and explore the indoor-outdoor space in many ways by making sense of the surrounding (David and Weinstein 2013). 

During my placement, I planned and implemented quality-learning experiences for the infants with many opportunities to improve their physical skills. Various teaching strategies were applied according to the child needs, interest and parents goals. I arranged outdoor play as I observed Declan showed lot of interest in sand pit and stand holding table and slides. The water play, block play and push and pull toys were significant events for the infants as it encouraged free play activity and they became familiar with environment knowing about living and non-living things (Moore, R.C., 2017). I allowed young children to be engaged with the physical activities multiple times and after few days, Declan was able to pick the sand-using spade.

The Role of Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers in Encouraging Physical Development

According to Vygotsky theory of cognitive development, a child thinking is affected by his or her acquired knowledge of the social community. Language is the crucial tool that helps children to gain their social knowledge and at the same time learn from others. He explained that information from surrounding is transformed and internalized through language. The physical activities involved in play help children to understand the external world through language. Therefore, when children are engaged in constructive play, there is constant dialogue and as a result, they make sense of their inner speech and cognitive development occurs through social interaction (Bjorklund and Causey 2017). In addition, language serves the purpose of self-control, regulation and cognitive processes like thought and memory. In this way, a child transits from other-regulation to self-regulated in cognitive processes. Therefore, the theory explains that discovery of language is executed through play or physical activities being an important part of this transition.

Variety of intellectual skills are enhanced during constructive play when the infants manipulative objects as symbolic and representing their ideas. Physical activities set up indoor outdoor both the infants can grasp and reach with the age appropriate toys and equipment. Because I noticed in seeds room not set up enough indoor physical activities and some eye tracking toys hang up on the roof, the young children cannot reach or touch them. I had discussion with the room leader make some changes with the physical activities but with the centre policy some activities not allow to display on the wall or eye tracking toys not allow to hang on the frame that baby able to reach.

Domains of learning language and literacy have huge impact on children’s life in developing reading and writing skills. Literacy rich environments are important for language development as it emphasizes on the important aspects of speaking for toddlers. To create a language-rich environment, early child educators facilitate specific materials, classroom designing and intentional instruction.  Literacy development is crucial for toddlers and babies as through a language-rich environment; they communicate using various gestures, gurgles, cries and facial expressions. During the toddler years, language development takes place through saying words, babbling and they expand their vocabulary (Skwarchuk, Sowinski and LeFevre 2014). According to Gillen and Hall (2013), the ability to read and write begins during the early years of life and literacy rich environment engage children in activities that stimulate language and literacy learning. Materials like reading, print and writing materials provide opportunities for literacy learning in classroom for toddlers both indoors and outdoors. Research suggests that when children are engaged in variety of literacy experiences in environments that encourage interactions, they develop as able writers, readers or literacy learners (Wasserman and Zambo 2013).

During my professional experience, through my observation, I created play based literacy environment for infants including various experiences.

Provide books with large pictures

Board books

Popup books

Make sensory board with different 3D pictures that children can feel and seen

Sing a song with puppets and musical instruments

The Benefits of Safe Play-Based Learning Experiences on Physical Development

During the two weeks of my placement, I had an effective and positive communication with the babies that helped me in identifying their needs, interests and preferences. Language and literacy is extended through music, dance, story times, and movements and talking while connecting with others (EYLF 2009). According to the Piaget (1952) theory, language development in the first few years’ of infant life takes place by exploring through their senses and developing sensor motor stage. The infants begin to understand symbolic representation and words that mean people or objects like mummy, baba, and ball.  

Routine times are important to develop social and language skills of babies. I had the opportunity to enhance infant’s language skills by listening to my conversation and I used back and forth simple words with them. As an example in the mealtime while I am feeding them, I said ‘yummy mash potatoes today look at this, as the infants have the ability to respond to spoken language.

Interaction with the infants during play times are amazing, I noticed day by day how they respond to the new words using gestures and bubbling. I repeated words few times and pointed to the pictures, toddlers were very eye tracking and able to grasp and look at it. Some infants were able to point pictures objects once I allow them to play few days with the same activity and lead positive communication with them.  

According to Pinto, Pessanha and Aguiar (2013) play is defined as children work as through play, infants learn to interact with others in their surrounding environment, acquire motor, cognitive, speech and language, discover their interests and develop socio-emotional skills. Through various forms of play, infants learn to create, discover and solve problem in caring and safe environment. Positive play interaction with educators helps toddlers to develop the foundations for successful communication, social, motor and academic skills. Verbal language has an impact on play skills development as toddlers begin to imitate their educators’ language and behaviour engaging in positive play interactions. Toddlers also begin to demonstrate increase in independence and demonstrate parallel play (playing with educators, but not with them). When educators join in play, they follow child lead and promote turn taking in play and conversation. In play interactions, responsiveness is a great approach in play and conversation that promote positive interactions between children and their educators (Cutter-Mackenzie and Edwards 2013). 

Story times with the board books sound books and picture books

I placed the different types of books for infants so that they look at them. I made sure that books are in the basket that helped infants for easy grasp. I set up book experience for my focus child Declan. He could turn pages and pointed the images that interested him such as cars, balls etc. I provided opportunities for loud reading for small group of children who showed interest for story times. I used the puppet for telling brown bear story as it helped young children to identify pictures, animal names, learn how to turn pages and respond to others’ communication. In addition, the storybook had many repetitive words that helped infants to increase their language skills. 

Creating a Positive and Safe Learning Environment for Children’s Physical Development

Picture books and storytelling help to achieve reading milestones for infants where they learn about reading through everyday book reading experiences. The toddlers understand that books contain variety of interesting pictures, stories and words that help them to explore the world. Toddlers try to use storybook language in their conversations that enhances the language and literacy skills. Picture books contain story that improves their language skills claiming that they contain simple language and tell a tale through the detailed picture books (Yokota and Teale 2014). Moreover, it helps them to get familiar with words, language, sounds and imagination that in turn stimulate their brain development and curiosity. Toddlers learn to hold the book and see through it by turning pages in picture books and storytelling develops a child’s communication skills and language literacy skills. Concisely, early literacy skills development and ability to understand words and listen to them occurs through picture books and storytelling.  

Music has the power to go beyond words and among the best experiences in early childhood. Music activities promote child development in various ways. The singing of lullaby stimulates early language development, supports growing spatial awareness in infants and promotes attachment. Moreover, playing songs and musical styles from home culture of infants create continuity and one’s own language development. This helps to inculcate feelings of security and safety in children and validates the importance of language and culture in them. According to Gordon, Fehd and McCandliss (2015) music helps in developing language skills activating language and literacy development in various ways. Spoken language in music help toddlers to understand and practice language in a simple manner as well as decipher meaning. Music is also a better way to support their language development and help children in understanding their own rhymes and culture songs. There is also receptive language skills development when children listen to music as they learn to pretend play by hearing and acting out the way recording is played.

Picture books and puppets

Reading books and puppets enhance language development as babies respond to sounds during these activities linked to language development. According to Roskos and Christie (2013) when mothers get involved in puppet play and book reading, babies make speech-like sounds enhancing language development during infancy. Reading to children can be linked to language outcomes as it helps to identify specific behaviours that happen during book reading. The responses that children make during story reading help to develop speech-like sounds in them often imitated by infants or expansion of sounds. Reading books increase their exposure to language helpful in teaching speech and inculcate language skills. Books are considered to be the perfect tool for language literacy among infants as they hear many words like unfamiliar words and through repetition, they learn to understand them. Moreover, books motivate children in communication and respond to adults while learning new words in the process. Through book reading, children learn new words and in this process, meanings get clear to them. When children point to pictures in the book, they use their gestures to explain the word meaning and as a result, use new words in conversing with adults. Similarly, puppet play enhances child’s vocalizations as it includes baby sounds that are coded for verbal content. They are a great medium of literacy development as it engages infants’ attention and imagination towards learning of new concepts and skills (Lillard et al. 2013). Therefore, it can be concluded that puppets enhance learning and play in children that are greatly used in childcare.

Language and Literacy Development in Young Children

Puppets are an early literacy development tool that is quite interacting and help children to enhance their language development. When children interact with puppets, they talk to them readily and in this process, it builds their language skills. Children also play with puppets and use them in narrating their stories that greatly develop their vocabulary and language. They also learn about the structure of story as it has a beginning, middle and end. When educators get involved in puppet play, it helps to elaborate on what a child is trying to say and use them in variety of words (Bird and Edwards 2015). Puppet play also uses songs that help to develop phonological awareness skills aiding them in sounding out words. When children use puppets in play, it demonstrates skills like comprehension and sequencing helping them to grow through their imaginations. When educators uses puppets, it aid in making stories come alive and by telling stories, there is an enriched and fun-filled learning experience making more meaningful for infants. Puppets movement and gestures captures attention of the infants as it strengthens their vocabulary development and listening skills.  Puppets are a valuable means for the promotion of oral language skills and help them to converse with peers and adults.

According to Massey (2013) when children play with puppets while interacting and talking to them, it helps in language skills development. Learning through play is fundamental in childhood education, puppet help to inculcate necessary learning skills in them. This helps to encourage creative discovery and play and stimulate imagination-working wonders for socio-emotional, language, physical and cognitive development. For many children, puppet play helps to open up a new medium of communication that supports acquisition of learning skills. Puppets are also used as therapeutic purposes for educators in early childhood education as it greatly supports language development and communication skills in infants and toddlers. Moreover, when children play with puppets, they learn to converse, acquire new word learning, formulate thoughts and are able to convey their message efficiently. The effective way to develop language skills in infants is role-play in puppets to model oral language. Adults become responsive and get involved with infants encourages correct sentence structure and introduces new vocabulary language into conversation. Infants get captivated with the colourful puppet animals and small people taking them into their own imagination and representing a humorous and safe look at the world (Lillard et al. 2013). Therefore, puppets are a safe way for educators to help infants develop their literacy skills and enhance language development.

Push and pull toys for play is important for physical development in infants. They greatly enhance their motor skills as toys can be manipulated wither by pulling or pushing. Moreover, push or pull play help to develop fine and gross motor skills as children use their hands for gripping the handle as they pull or push or grasp the pull. This greatly strengthens their arms and legs muscles as they play with the toy. These toys greatly foster creative play and independent learning as infants learns to toddle and pull off their toys on a lead. They learn to navigate the obstacles that they encounter while playing with it. This toy also offers physical challenge to the children, as they have to stand, hold the push-along toy and later walk as they push through it (Newson and Newson 2017). This is a milestone for the infants as they learn stability during the first steps of their life. Similarly, as the infant moves on, it helps them to coordinate and tow their pull-along toy and navigate their way forwards while pulling it. The ideas for push and pull toys are a medium of making infants learn how to get ready to walk during the first days of their life. The baby is cruising and learning to stand and at the same time, it is a great way to make them walk. Push or pull toys are great way to enhance eye-hand coordination, visual attention, wrist extension, stabilizing hands and bilateral coordination. In these ways, push or pull toys, movement greatly enhances their physical development being one of the milestones in early child development (Mucaro, Durren and Lokos 2013).   

• Develop infants gross and fine motor skills

Gross motor skills development is enhanced through push or pulls toys that support infants who are not ready to walk or stand on their own. In push toys, teetering helps to build balance, strength and confidence being the three essential ingredients that help infants to walk efficiently. The ride-on in the push-toys have a bar or handle at the back that helps infants to toddle easily developing their motor skills in gripping and handling and teaching them to stand on their own (Babik and Michel 2016).

• Develop strength hand and eye coordination skills by holding handle and walk through to one direction

Eye and hand coordination is also enhanced through push and pull toys supporting and guiding them to walk and stand. When infants hold a push toy, it helps them to look ahead and avoid obstacles. This also helps them to boost their confidence and be more coordinated as they walk and imparts sense of coordination and movement to the infants. The push or pull toys help to stimulate their imagination and coordination as they work with activity panel on the baby walkers.  It improves their hand and eye coordination by promoting dexterity and encourages them to carry out manipulations (Mucaro, Durren and Lokos 2013).  

• Develop social skills sharing space and toys

Push or pull toys enhances social skills in infants as they share their toys and space with others. During play, they share with others, negotiate and resolve conflicts promoted through play experiences. Language and attitude development also takes place as infants learn to establish healthy relationships with others including adults enhancing their communication skills, self-esteem and healthy attitudes towards peers and adults (Lynch and Kidd 2017).  

• Respect to the environment

When children are engaged in toy play, they learn to respect environment that is based on their abilities, strengths and needs. It enhances their normal play and makes them successful and independent in carrying out play on their own. Various aspects of play help infants to make relationship with nature and earth. There is also acquisition of knowledge affecting their growth and development as children play outdoors setting the stage for making them love and respect environment (Johnson, Celik and Al-Mansour 2013).

Schema in child development is described as patterns of repeated behaviour that allows infants to express and explore themselves through development of ideas and thoughts through play. This also helps infants to construct meaning in what they are doing. Infants learn best through opportunities when they are engaged in active learning through hands-on experiences. It also helps them to use their senses for the development of systematic, methodical and logical gathering of information. The repetitive actions in schema allow infants and babies to problem solve, predict, question, speculate, imagine and inculcate the ability to make individual choices so that they are able to make their own decisions in familiar areas (flyingstart.uk.com 2018). Through basic understanding and knowledge about schema, it helps educators to support children in their observations that in turn help them in assessing and planning developmental steps for children. Observed schema includes trajectory, rotation, enclosing, enveloping, transporting, connecting, positioning and orientation.

According to Hetherington, Lerner and Perlmutter (2013) schematic patterns of repetitive play can support a practitioner in the children schematic play that are build on individual interests and when they take part in such activities, it impart powerful learning opportunities to them. Therefore, schema may be able to be defined as sustained and shared learning experiences for making infants innovative and thoughtful.  

Transporting Declan picked up the books, turned the book upside down some times, and put in to the basket.

Rotation Declan showed interest in reading and listening to the picture books and story. He turned his head, listened to the animal sound when he pressed the button on the book.

Trajectory Declan who is my focus child moved his arms horizontal and tried to clap.

Connecting: I have observed Declan loves to put together pictures puzzles with his hands.  .    

Push and pull toy can be linked to schema behaviour as tool use can be used for problem solving as overt mutual action helps to reveal how an infant achieve his or her goal through planning. As pull and push toys and walker measures motor action, it is used to show different facets of mastery and skill acquisition. As a result, schema in push and pull toys with schema help to excite interest spur research when they begin with problem solving during their development (flyingstart.uk.com 2018).

Declan who is nine months old is confident play and can imitate adult action and movements. He loves to explore, manipulate objects such as wooden blocks and beads frame.

Crawling through the ramp and climbing on the steps holding the slides of the equipment.  Declan begging to stand up himself and he able to climb on the small bench.

I observed Declan pushed the walker and the carts freely around the outdoor play area. He could repeat the toys and pusher from one distance to another place; however, he still needs educator’s assistance and support.

Declan displayed rotational Schema behaviour when he turned knobs on the pusher, played with the wheel toys, and rolled back and forth.

Quality area 1 in National Quality Standard is aimed at ensuring that educational program, practice is stimulation and engagement.

• This enhances earning and development in children nurturing their life skills development and complementing opportunities, experiences and relationships they make at home, school and in community.
• The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) Quality Area 1 focuses on the enhancement of child learning and development through coordinated work supporting the development of social and personal competence (acecqa.gov.au 2018).
• This area also focuses on supporting the cognitive processes of creating, thinking, analysis, thinking, categorizing, symbolizing and remembering in play and interactions.
• In this area, it is expected that services be provided to children through EYLF in the development of programs for child development and learning.
• The National Quality Framework for the Early Childhood Development and Care provides framework for educators supporting their learning and quality education during the early childhood years (Tayler et al. 2013).

Quality Area 3 focuses on physical environment under the National Quality Standards. It ensures to provide a suitable, safe and rich physical environment to children so that it offers diverse opportunities to children for proper learning and development (acecqa.gov.au 2018).

• This quality area is aimed at providing spaces and resources to children that is well equipped, deigned and organized.
• This area also ensures maximization of children engagement and positive experience and secured relationships.
• This quality area helps children to explore their natural environment inculcating the respect for nature and earth under Early Childhood Australia. Therefore, by providing a physical environment that caters to the needs, interest and ability of children help to improve children learning and literacy skill development (Fenech 2013).

Quality Area 5 is the relationship with children that is aimed at promoting relationships with children that is respectful, responsive and promotes their sense of belonging and security.

• This quality area helps children to explore their surrounding environment freely while engaging in learning and play.
• This area explains that through meaningful and responsive interactions, one can build trust with children and at the same time, support and engage in making children feel confident, secure and included.
• This quality area broadly explains that through collaborative relationships children learn to regulate their own behaviour while responding to others behaviour. For example, music and push and pull toys that are adored by infants also help in relationship building as explained in quality area 5.
• Through play, they are engaged and interact with their peers and adults and learn to form healthy relationships by controlling their behaviour and responding to others behaviour as well (acecqa.gov.au 2018).
• During reading and sharing stories, parents or educators are able to spend time with children promoting literacy and building trustworthy relationships.
• Through storytelling, children learn to understand, express new words also making them experience new emotions that they share with peers and others building secured relationships.
• Reading stories with infants imparts special time where it promotes bonding and help them to build their relationships. Storytelling have long-lasting benefits as it imparts security by providing an ideal environment where they do not feel abandoned and feel secured in their relationships with peers or educators.
• Storytelling with music has its own benefits as it help infants to catch the language they are comfortable. This makes communication easier and help to build string bonded relationships between child and adult.
• According to attachment theory, storytelling is a key element that is powerful in strengthening attachments and build relationships in many effective ways.

References

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