Page 12 - LESSION 9.pmd

Stages of Child Development Three to Six years and Six to Eight Years

Physical and Motor Development

Play is significant to physical development and without it the body would not
mature it normally would. In this age of obesity and processed foods, getting Notes
out and running or participating in a sport is essential to the health and liveliness
of children. Play contributes to children’s fine and gross motor development
and body awareness as they actively use their bodies. Learning to use a writing
tool, such as a marker, is an example of fine motor development through play.
The natural progression in small motor development is from scribbles to shapes
and forms to representational pictures. Playing with writing tools helps children
refine their fine motor skills. Gross motor development, such as hopping and
skipping, develops in a similar fashion. When children first learn to hop, they
practice hopping on different feet or just for the pure joy of hopping. Using their
bodies during play also enables them to feel physically confident, secure and self-
assured. Play provides an outlet for all of the energy that children have. Here, it
strengthens their smaller and larger motor skills and can build stamina and
strength.

Socio-emotional Development

Play is vital to children’s social development. During play, children also increase
their social competence and emotional maturity. Psychologists contend that school
success largely depends on children’s ability to interact positively with their peers
and adults. While at play, children are in control of the environment around them.
This fosters self-esteem. They take part in different activities that might make
them feel new emotions. Since play allows children to explore their feelings,
they learn how to cope with feelings such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear,
excitement, frustration, and stress. Play also helps increase children’s
concentration and cooperation with others. Through play, children learn how to
relate to one another and form ideas about how to negotiate roles, follow rules
and observe group dynamics. Allowing them to create their own roles helps
cultivate friendships and this is one of the most rewarding outcomes of play.

Cognitive Development

Children learn essential concepts such as counting, colours, and problem-
solving through play. Their thinking and reasoning skills improve by engaging
and participating in play-based activities. Since, in early childhood, ‘play’ is
equivalent to ‘work,’ hence, it is important to allow them to engage in play in
order to gain these new skills.

Language Development
Play helps children internalise the many rule systems associated with the language

EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION 131