Play and Cognitive Development

Intrinsically motivated

PLAY AND ITS RELATION TO LEARNING: Play: (means are more valued than ends) unlike in adulthood, the process is given bigger importance than the goal or outcome

* Self-chosen and self-directed

PLAY AND ITS RELATION TO LEARNING: Play:

* no one forced you to engage in a specific activity, you freely chose what to play

Guided by rules

PLAY AND ITS RELATION TO LEARNING: Play: but the rules leave room for creativity. The rules must not be too rigid!; Imaginative

Conducted in an alert, active, but relatively non-stressed frame of mind

PLAY AND ITS RELATION TO LEARNING: Play: we play to destress

and bring more joy to our lives.

Emotional

Through play, children develop \______ : develop self-regulation, practice, reciprocity, know when to lead and when to follow, enhance frustration tolerance, and managing anticipatory anxiety

Social

Through play, children develop \______ : notice social cues, practice empathy, learn to balance self-advocacy and expression, and learn how to compromise

Cognitive

Through play, children develop \______ : develop creative thinking, executive function skills, problem solving skills

Physical

Through play, children develop \______ : learn appropriate risk-taking, develop greater attunement to physical sensations in one’s own body, and increase proprioception (awareness of where the body parts are in physical space at any point in time without having to look at them).

5

The first \___ years of children are crucial to their development! A large part of the brain development is anchored on their first \__ years and will immensely affect their future

Connection, community

\____ and \____ is important for a child’s development especially in the first 5 years of life

development, trust

We (adults) should play with children early and often since it helps with their \_____. How a parent plays with their child creates lifelong impacts on the child’s ability to \___

Unoccupied

SOCIAL STAGES OF PLAY BY MILDRED PARTEN: 0-3 mos: Makes a lot of movement with their arms, legs, hands, feet, etc.

Solitary

0-2 yrs : Content to play alone

Onlooker

2 yrs: Watches other children playing, but doesn’t play with them yet

Parallel

2+ yrs: Plays alongside or near others

Associative

3-4 yrs: Starts to interact with others during play

Cooperative

4+ yrs: Plays with others

progressive or cumulative

Piaget viewed these forms of play as

Functional Play

Dr. Smilansky's: Stage of Play: Stage 1: 1-2 yrs: exploring their surroundings

Constructive Play

Dr. Smilansky's: Stage of Play: Stage 2: 2-3 yrs: assemble or create objects

Dramatic Play

Dr. Smilansky's: Stage of Play: Stage 3: 3 yrs: role play

Games with Rules

Dr. Smilansky's: Stage of Play: Stage 4: 5+ yrs

WESTBY SYMBOLIC PLAY SCALE

Shows what play skills children should have at certain ages as well as the language skills that should parallel them (Carol Westby), 10 play stages relevant to children ages 8 months - 5 years

Phase 1: Pre-symbolic, Phase 2: Symbolic

WESTBY SYMBOLIC PLAY SCALE: Divided into two parts/phases:

1

Westby Notes: Summary: Slight (~ \__ month) delay or advancement in these stages is normal

**8-12 mos**

**Age: PRE-SYMBOLIC LEVEL I**

* Aware that objects exist when not seen

*Pre-Symbolic Level 1: For Play: Basic object permanence*

* Attains toy by pulling cloth on which toy is resting, by pulling string


* Crawls/walks to get what he wants
* Touches adult to continue activity

Pre-Symbolic Level 1: For Play: Means-end & Causality

* Explores moveable parts of toys
* Does not mouth all toys – uses several different schemes (patting, banging, turning, throwing, etc.)
* Uses some familiar objects used appropriately

Pre-Symbolic Level 1: For Play: Object Use

* Joint attention on toy and person


* Imitation : o true language; may have performative words (learned through imitation) that are associated with action or the total situation
* Making Reference & Regulation : Shows and gives objects

Pre-Symbolic Level 1: For Language

* Request (instrumental)
* Command (regulatory)

Pre-Symbolic Level 1: For Language: Communicative intents

1:1-1:5

**Age: PRE-SYMBOLIC LEVEL II**

cognitive and content, use and form

**PRE-SYMBOLIC LEVEL I (8-12 mos)**

* Play is more related to ________
* Language is more related to ____

* Aware that objects **exist separate from location**; finds objects hidden in first one place and then in a second or third location
* They start to wander around different location just to find the object they’re looking for

Pre-Symbolic Level 2: For Play: Basic object permanence

* Understands “in-ness;” dumps objects out of bottle
* Hands toy to adult if unable to operate; to get attention
* __**Making Reference & Regulation**__
* Uses index finger to point to desired object
* __**Self-other Relations**__
* They begin to include others in their problem solving

Pre-Symbolic Level 2: For Play: Means-end & Causality

* Cause & effect - fine motors leveled up = able to

manipulate more objects with their hands
* Recognizes **operating parts** of toys (attends to

knobs, levers, buttons); cause and effect
* Discovers operations of toys thru
* Object-object Relations & Organization
* Construction of toy relationships (e.g, puts one toy in another such as figure in car; nests boxes)
* Uses more familiar objects appropriately (both toy objects & actual objects)

Pre-Symbolic Level 2: For Play: Object Use

* Request
* Command
* Response
* Greeting
* Protest
* Label
* Interactional

* Pre-Symbolic Level 2: For Language: Communicative Intent

* Use of **context dependent single words**
* e.g. child may use the word “car” when riding in a car, but not when he sees a car
* Words tend to come and go in child’s vocabulary

Pre-Symbolic Level 2: For Language:

**Theory of Mind**

Phase 2: Symbolic: Columns: pertains to self-other relations, what roles do children give to other toys or children around them?

**Content Themes**

Phase 2: Symbolic: Columns: what are the schemas or scripts (situations) exhibited when playing? What themes are given to these scripts?

**Organization**

Phase 2: Symbolic: Columns: How logical, coherent or how long are the scripts shown in their play?

**Decontextualization/Props**

Phase 2: Symbolic: Columns: What props are used in the play? How far from the actual objects were the props used (Were they realistic? Did they use object substitution? Or do they just use pure language to set the scene?)

1:5 - 1:7 yrs old

Age: Symbolic Stage 1

* Props used still resemble that of the object.
* internal mental representation
* tool-use (stick to reach toy)
* finds toy invisibly hidden
* pretends using life-like propos
* does not stack solid ring
* children use only **one realistic object** at a time.

Symbolic Stage 1: For Play: Decontextualization

* familiar everyday activities, in which they are active participants of (ex. eating, sleeping)

Symbolic Stage 1: For Play: Thematic Content

* schemas are short and isolated (**single pretend action**)

Symbolic Stage 1: For Play: Organization

* self as agent, actions are done on themselves (**autosymbolic pretend**)
* e.g child pretend to go to sleep, eat from spoon, drink from an empty cup

Symbolic Stage 1: For Play: Self/Other Relations

* Directing (requesting, commanding, interactional)
* Self-maintaining (protesting, protecting self & self-interests


* Commenting (labeling object & action, show feelings ) )

Symbolic Stage 1: For Language: Function

* Beginning of true verbal communication
* recurrence, existence, nonexistence, rejection, denial, agent, object, action or state, object or person associated with object or person

Symbolic Stage 1: For Language: Form and Content

Symbolic Stage 1

* *Before this stage, only gestures were used to express the aforementioned functions.*
* *Mostly use language to relate to others so that they get what they want. (Me, Myself and I Stage)*
* *Language form is parallel to play skills*
* *single word utterances and use of only one realistic object at a time,*
* *use of language for regulating and schemas being related to the self only*

1:7 - 1:10

Age: Symbolic Stage 2

* **two** realistic objects at a time

Symbolic Stage 2: For Play: Decontextualization

* familiar everyday activities of other (caregivers)
* ex: cooking, reading, cleaning, shaving)

Symbolic Stage 2: For Play: Thematic Content

* short, isolated actions combination
* combines two related toys or actions
* or performs actions on two people
* ex: pouring from picther to cup

Symbolic Stage 2: For Play: Organization

* acts on doll and others
* passive recipient of action
* performs pretend actions on more than one object or person

Symbolic Stage 2: For Play: Self/Other Relations

* Refers to objects and persons not present
* Requests information

Symbolic Stage 2: For Language: Function

* Uses word combinations to comment on toy or action
* Agent-Action, Action-object, Agent-object, Attributive, Dative, Action-locative, Possessive

Symbolic Stage 2: For Language: Form and Content

Symbolic Stage 2

* Play at this stage signifies the baby from being self-centered/autosymbolic to incorporating the environment around them
* Becomes more aware of their feelings and uses words to express it. Starts commenting more instead of simply requesting.

2 yo

Age: Symbolic Stage 3

* uses several realistic objects

Symbolic Stage 3: For Play: Decontextualization

* elaborated single schemas (daily experiences with details)
* multischeme combinations
* put doll in tub, apply soap, take doll out and dry

Symbolic Stage 3: For Play: Organization

* reverse roles

Symbolic Stage 3: For Play: Self/Other Relations

* Comments on activity of self (Ex. get apple)
* Comments on the doll (Ex. baby sleep)

Symbolic Stage 3: For Language: Function

* uses phrases and short sentences
* morphological markers
* present progressive -ing
* plurals
* possessives

Symbolic Stage 3: For Language: Form and Content

Symbolic Stage 3

* At this stage, babies learn how to put labels on their actions using word combinations. Their morphemes also mature. Tense markers, plurals, and possessives are incorporated compared to just root words.

2 1/2 yo

Age: Symbolic Stage 4

* Represents less frequently personally experienced events, or memorable (pleasurable or traumatic)
* Store shopping, Doctor-nurse-sick child

Symbolic Stage 4: For Play: Thematic Content

* Talks to do
* Emerging limited doll actions (Ex. doll cries)
* Gives the doll itself action


* Reverses dyadic/ complementary roles (“I’ll play x and you play y.”), e.g. doctor/ patient; shopper/cashier

Symbolic Stage 4: For Play: Self/Other Relations

* Talking to doll and commenting on doll’s actions **increase in frequency and uses**
* Responds appropriately to the following WH questions in context: What, Who, Whose, Where, What...do
* Asks WH question (generally puts WH at beginning of sentence)
* Responses to why questions inappropriate except for well-known routines
* Asks why, but often inappropriate and does not attend to answer

Symbolic Stage 4: For Language: Form and Content

3 yo

Age: Symbolic Stage 5

* **Compensatory play -** re-enacts experienced events but modifies the original outcomes.
* Napapanood and binabago based sa gusto nila
* themes are **observed but not personally experienced activities.** (Ex. police, firefighter)
* Activities go beyond what is experienced - **dramatic play**

Symbolic Stage 5: For Play: Thematic Content

* **Temporal sequences** AKA chronological order of multischeme events (Ex. prepare food, set table, eat food, clear table, wash dishes)
* Chronological action
* (sequence not planned)

Symbolic Stage 5: For Play: Organization

* Child talks to the doll in response to the doll's actions.


* Transforms self into role
* Engages in associative play, i.e., children do similar activities, may share same role, but no organized goal
* **Brief complementary roleplay with peers.** (Ex. mother and child, doctor and patient, associative play
* Dramatic play

Symbolic Stage 5: For Play: Self/Other Relations

dramatic play

By 3 yo, mostly _ is done by children

* Reporting
* Predicting
* Emerging storytelling

Symbolic Stage 5: For Language: Functions

* complete sentences with past tense, and future aspect
* For Tagalog, this also includes saying nag- (past tense) and mag- (future tense)
* Children may comment on what they have just completed or what they will do next
* (e.g., "Dolly ate the cake." "I'm gonna wash dishes.")

Symbolic Stage 5: For Language: Form and Content

3:0 - 3:6

Age: Symbolic Stage 6

* Pretend activities with **replica toys**
* (Fisher Price/ Playmobil dollhouse, barn, garage, village, airport)
* Miniature props
* Object substitution: Uses one object to represent another (Stick can be a comb, chair can be a car)
* Uses blocks and sandbox for imaginative play.
* Blocks used as enclosures (fences, houses) for animals and dolls

Symbolic Stage 6: For Play: Decontextualization

* O**bserved, but not personally experienced activities** (e.g., police, firefighter, tv shows)
* not an active participant

Symbolic Stage 6: For Play: Thematic Content

* Assigns roles to other children; negotiates play


* Multiple reversible roles
* Uses doll or puppet as **participant in play**
* **use Attributes emotions and desires to dolls;**
* **reciprocal role taking with** dolls (child treats doll as partner--talks FOR doll AND as caregiver)
* child talks for doll
* reciprocal role taking

Symbolic Stage 6: For Play: Self/Other Relations

* Projecting - giving desires thoughts and feelings to the doll
* Uses indirect requests - ex. “Mom, it’s hot and I’m hungry” can indirectly mean that the child wants/requests for ice cream


* Changes speech depending on listener


* Reasoning (integrates reporting, predicting, and

projecting info)

Symbolic Stage 6: For Play: Function

* Use **dialogue for dolls** and metalinguistic markers (e.g. "he said")
* Metalinguistic - the child is the one who is going to think of what the doll will say and will also verbalize it.
* Descriptive vocabulary expands as child becomes more aware of perceptual attributes; uses terms for following concepts ( not always correctly):
* shapes, sizes, colors, textures, spatial relations

Symbolic Stage 6: For Play: Form and Content

3:6 - 4:0

Age: Symbolic Stage 7

* use language to invent props and set scene: **imaginary props** (language and gesture to help set the scene)


* builds **3-dimensional structures** w/ blocks

Symbolic Stage 7: For Play: Decontextualization

* **improvisations on themes; familiar fantasy themes**;
* violent themes common (e.g. batman, wonder woman)

Symbolic Stage 7: For Play: Thematic Content

* **planned play events** with **cause-effect sequences**
* (e.g., child decides to play a birthday party and gathers necessary props and assigns roles)
* Planning what happens next or in the future
* Hypothesizes **“what would happen if..?”**

Symbolic Stage 7: For Play: Organization

* Child can handle **two or more dolls in complementary roles** (dolls are doctor and patient)
* attributes thoughts and plans to doll
* Child or doll has multiple roles (mother, wife, doctor, firefighter, husband, father)
* In play, they have a matured imagination and they can already think of the scenes in their head

Symbolic Stage 7: For Play: Self/Other Relations

* use language to **plan and narrate the story line**
* **Uses language to take roles of character in the play, stage manager for the props, or as author of the play story**

Symbolic Stage 7: For Language: Function

Connecting words

* Uses modals (can, could, may, might, would)
* Uses conjunctions (and, but, so, because, if)

NOTE: Full competence for modals and conjunctions does not develop until 10-12 years of age.

Symbolic Stage 7: For Language: Form and Content

5 - 6 yo

Age: Symbolic Stage 8

* Can use language to set the scene, actions, and roles in play


* Language and gesture CAN carry the play WITHOUT props

Symbolic Stage 8: For Play: Decontextualization

* **create novel fantasy** characters and plots
* Children here are highly imaginative; Even though they haven’t experienced something themselves, they are able to execute it and play.

Symbolic Stage 8: For Play: Thematic Roles

* Plans several sequences of pretend events.
* Organizes what is needed
* both objects and other children.
* Coordinates several scripts occurring simultaneously

Symbolic Stage 8: For Play: Organization

* engages in **collaborative play** (i.e. play roles coordinated & themes are goal oriented)
* more than one role per doll (doll is mother, wife, doctor)

Symbolic Stage 8: For Play: Self/Others Relation

* elaboration of planning and narrative storyline
* Some appropriate responses to why and how questions requiring reasoning


* uses sentences with **temporal markers (relational terms)(e.g. then, when, while, before, first, next)**


* Because they plan sequences and script ahead even before playing, they often use temporal markers

Symbolic Stage 8: For Language: Form and Content

Baby

TOYS & PLAY ACTIVITIES: THROUGH OUR LIFESPAN: they like to be entertained; play more purposefully with toys

Toddler

ETOYS & PLAY ACTIVITIES: THROUGH OUR LIFESPAN: njoys playing independently with toys that include body movement or noise

Pre-School

TOYS & PLAY ACTIVITIES: THROUGH OUR LIFESPAN: enjoys watching his/her peers and imitating others with only some interaction

Older Pre-School

TOYS & PLAY ACTIVITIES: THROUGH OUR LIFESPAN: begin to borrow and lend toys; initiates make-believe play