How children move

Play is a very broad umbrella term that encompasses a large group of actions that we partake in primarily for the purpose of fun and almost always within a social context. The school playground is a breeding ground for children to develop key social skills such as communication and empathy, perhaps even more valuable than the harder skills gained in class.  To better define the scope of play in regards to children it would be necessary to look at what kinds of play there are and how they are important to the development of a child. To make is more comprehendible we have narrowed these down to five main groups of play, they are as follows

 

Active play: Movement for movement’s sake, just because it’s fun. Things like chasing, tagging, hide and seek and tree climbing fall into this category.  

 

Sensory play: Allows children to explore, try out new ideas and use their imagination. They can use lots of different items, altering something and making something new. 

 

Creative play: Allows children to explore, try out new ideas and use their imagination. They can use lots of different items, altering something and making something new. 

 

Social play: Any social or interactive situation where the expectation is that everyone will follow the set rules - like during a game, sports or while making something together.  

 

Reflective play: Time spent sitting quietly or doing nothing. Resting, thinking or just staring into space. Time apart from hectic environments to reflect and regroup.