The Importance of Play
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Whatever their needs, we know that all young children learn through all their senses, and that a good curriculum will provide activities that encourage looking, listening, tasting, smelling, and touching. Early childhood educators and researchers agree that young children are primarily active learners. They should not spend long periods of time in whole-group or drill-and-skill activities; that is, hands-on experiences with objects and materials and time to move and use their bodies are the best match for this developmental period. The primary focus of a curriculum for young children should be the integration of experiences across all of a child’s developmental domains and learning through play.
The child’s right to play was expressed as a global concern in 1989 in the form of a U.N. General Assembly resolution at the Convention on the Rights of the Child. (International Play Association, 2009) Article 31 states the following:
That every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
That member governments shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.