In Pre-Primary Red we love to learn and play.
Joseph Chilton Pearce, who wrote a lot about child development, once said, “Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.”
George Bernard Shaw, who was playwright, said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
While there is no one definition of play, there are a number of agreed characteristics that describe play. Play can be described as:
- symbolic play, which is often pretend. It has a “what if?” quality. The play has meaning to the player that is often not evident to the educator;
- active play, which requires action. Action can be either physical, verbal or mental engagement with materials, people, ideas or the environment;
- pleasurable play is an enjoyable and pleasurable activity. This type of play sometimes includes frustrations and challenges; however, enjoyment is a key feature;
- voluntary play is freely chosen. Players can, however, also be invited or prompted to play;
- process-oriented play is a means unto itself and players may not have an end or goal in sight;
- self-motivating play is considered its own reward to the player (Shipley, 2008)
“Whoever wants to understand much, must play much” – Gottfried Benn
