For Teachers
Play based learning, in the form of guided play, has been proven to be more effective for children’s learning than didactic teaching. A child’s ability in pretend play has been linked to self-regulation, social competence, narrative, language, and creativity. Children who come to school and who have not developed the ability in pretend play may struggle with academic tasks and classroom routines.
Pre-School Teachers
The Learn To Play program is listed on the Victorian Government’s School Readiness funding menu of evidence-informed programs and supports (“the Menu”), and is also a Supplier in the Queensland Government’s Kindy Uplift Program. Learn To Play Therapy is about increasing a child’s ability to self-initiate their own pretend play. Evidence to date has shown that the Learn To Play program results in increases in children’s social awareness, language, narrative language, and increases in time spent playing and concentrating. The principles can be applied to all children. For children who have difficulty playing or have come to kindergarten and are not ready to learn, the Learn To Play approach can be applied to groups of children to support their learning, playing and socialising with friends.
Our workshop for pre-school & kindergarten teachers, which is on “the Menu“, includes training on the Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers. The workshop is a two day workshop with three follow up lunchtime Q&A session.
If you have many children at your kindergarten who are not ready to learn and who have difficulties playing, then the 2 day Learn To Play Introduction workshop (Learn To Play Therapy – Part 1) may meet your needs to a greater degree. The 2 day workshop goes into more depth on why pretend play is important for child development and how to engage children who cannot play. It also includes play assessments.
Relevant Workshops
The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators
The Learn To Play Approach for Early Educators is designed to support early childhood educators in developing a deeper understanding of pretend play, how it develops, and why pretend play is important for literacy, narrative understanding, social competence, and self-regulation.
The Pretend Play Checklist for Teachers (PPC-T) Manual and Pack of Assessment Scoring Forms are included in the cost of the workshop and will be posted to all registrants prior to the workshop. The Manual provides in depth information on the development of pretend play, how to score and how to interpret. The Assessment Scoring Form is for the teacher to score each child’s play ability. For convenience it has a brief summary of the play skills by level and space for scoring the play skills. There is also space for comments.
Learn To Play Therapy -
Part 1
This 2-Day Workshop provides an introduction to Learn To Play Therapy which is a child-centred approach to working with children. The Part 1 workshop covers: understanding and recognising play ability and skills for play assessment, and how to meet the child in play and start Learn To Play Therapy with a child and their parent/carer. It would be valuable to therapists, social workers, psychologists, specialist school teachers and early intervention workers who work with families with children under 8 years who have concerns about their child’s abilities.
The Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist (PPE-DC) starter package is included in the cost of this workshop with free shipping, and will be posted out to registrants before the workshop.
Teachers in Schools
Children’s play ability is important for learning and socio-emotional development, particularly as they begin school. Play, within the classroom, can be controversial. For teachers and therapists who work in special and specialist school settings, the importance of children’s ability to play is clear. Children who attend special and specialist school often have difficulties in play ability, and Emeritus Professor Karen Stagnitti’s research work in special and specialist schools has shown that when children engage in a play based program, their language and social skills improve. Teachers report more cooperative behaviour in the playground and more settled behaviour when children are required to self-organise. Play levels are more commonly at the sensory-motor and exploratory stage of play in children who attend special and specialist schools. By targeting pretend play ability as well as consolidating sensory-motor and exploratory play behaviours, increases in social interaction and language have been found (for a list of relevant publications click here).
Teachers in mainstream schools are also finding the value of developing the pretend play ability of children in the early years of school. Teachers have observed a proportion of the children attending school for the first time are lacking in play ability and socio-emotional readiness for learning. Schools take different approaches to implementing play-based programs, depending on the children who attend their schools, the school culture and level of support from the principal and other colleagues. For example, some schools implement a play based philosophy throughout the school, other schools have introduced a play based program for 2 hours each morning, or 2 hours x three times a week, and have focussed on the first foundational year of school.
Emeritus Professor Karen Stagnitti has participated in research in mainstream schools for play-based programs and found increases in children’s social interaction, less social disruption during lunch breaks, increases in language, and children’s increased awareness of how to organise themselves.
Introducing a play based program successfully in a school takes a shift in thinking. The teacher’s role shifts from directing learning to being a facilitator of ability in children during the play program time. Knowledge of what is play, what it looks like, and what to look for also impact on the successful implementation of a play based program within a school. A framework for understanding play, and Learn To Play Therapy can be found on the About page of this website. The use of the word ‘play’ also shifts from school to school with some schools calling the time in a play based approach as ‘enquiry time’, ‘discovery time’ or ‘developmental curriculum’ and so on. The important questions to ask before implementing a play based program are: What is play? What is the skill level of the children entering our school? Why do the children in our school need a play based program? What outcomes do we want to see as a result of the play based program? What resources will we need, including space, play materials, staffing and time?
The ability to pretend in play is a reflection of a complex level of play ability. When children enter school, their play ability should incorporate the ability to think of ideas, create a play script or scenario, recognise the play materials and props needed for their play scene, create characters for the play scene, and negotiate with peers who are also engaging in the play. By school age, children should be able to carry out a play scene over 2 or 3 weeks, so the level of complexity in the play includes problems to solve, events to plan, and the ability to stay in a role over an extended period of time. The evidence for the link between pretend play and narrative language is growing, and the work of Emeritus Professor Karen Stagnitti has found that narrative language increases when pretend play ability becomes more complex within a child’s development.
If you are interested in learning more about the Learn To Play program in schools, then our 1-day workshop: Play in Schools for Teachers and Therapists can provide you with more information and relevant insights.
Relevant Workshops
