Playing Around: Strategies for Engaging Children and Families in Everyday Play
About this session
Play serves as a means of learning for all children, helping them to make sense of the world, and is essential to all aspects of their development. It helps promote mastery as children practice skills and furthers cognitive, language, social, physical, emotional, and creative development (Essa & Burnham, 2020). This session will describe the different types and stages of play, developmentally appropriate play, as well as play environments. Participants will explore practical strategies for providing play opportunities and tips for helping caregivers and families nurture children’s imagination through play experiences.
Intended Audience: Early childhood teachers, family members, caseworkers, school personnel and representatives, service providers, school administrators
Learning objectives
- Recognize different types of play and stages of play.
- Discuss and explore strategies for guiding children with play.
- Learn practical tips for nurturing children's imagination and play experiences.