Linda L. Jahneke is the executive director of Mariners Church Preschool in Irvine, California. She is also the founder of Hilltop Christian School in Wildomar, California. Her 40 years of experience in early childhood has offered many opportunities to serve her community, but the one she enjoys the most is being able to share her experiences with teachers and administrators as a seminar leader or an in-service teacher. Linda earned her bachelor’s degree in human development from the University of California at Fullerton.
My cuddly teddy bear and worn, old dolly were my best friends into my elementary school years. I would take great adventures with one or both of them. Sometimes we would dress for the trip. Making the costumes was as important as the imaginary trip. During these adventures, unbeknownst to me, many of my inner fears were addressed. I had a fear of snakes. Often our crusades involved battling and usually conquering the monster snake. Today I remember how real those excursions were for me and how important my trusted “friends” were on those trips. Dolly and Ted didn’t talk, sing, or dance unless my imagination required them to do so.
Recently I gave my two-year-old granddaughter, Kaitlyn, a teddy bear. She began pinching each of its limbs and poking its tummy. Then with a look of disgust, she handed it back, saying only, “Needs batteries!” Many of our children expect toys to entertain them or do something for them.
A Tool to Teach or a Toy?
When a toy or game is designed with the purpose of educating children, a child interacting with that toy or game is no longer playing in the truest sense. Play by its very nature must be initiated and constructed by the child with no other aim than the pleasure of the activity. This idea does not take away from the fact that great learning takes place during such times of play. Play involves the transformation of reality, but in a way that has meaning for the child individually.
Many child development and brain research experts agree that imaginative play is the young child’s most powerful learning tool. Yet teachers and preschool directors face the ongoing challenge of helping parents understand what a powerful learning mechanism play is for children.
The Importance of Play
Fred McFeely Rogers is best known as Mister Rogers, of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which made its debut on public television in 1968. What isn’t as well known is that Mister Rogers was also a Presbyterian minister with the unique charge of serving children and families through the media. Mr. Rogers dedicated his life to making children feel safe, cared for, and valued. His technique was through the use of make-believe. Mr. Rogers (2005) knew the importance of imaginary play for young children: “Play is the expression of our creativity, and creativity, I believe, is at the very root of our ability to learn, to cope, and to become whatever we may be.”
The Mister Rogers Parenting Resource Book says the following (Roger s 2005, 132):
“Child’s play” is one of the most misleading phrases in our language. People often use it to suggest something trivial, but a child’s play is not trivial—not by any means. When children play, they’re working. They’re working on learning about themselves, about other people, and about the world around them. Playtime is one of the most important times for children to learn and grow.
There are many important foundational aspects that are inherent in the play of children. These support learning that will take place in the future. While this is only a very partial list, it is noteworthy in reference for later school success:
- Problem solving
- Self-control
- Empathy
- Cooperation
- Taking turns (deferred gratification)
Not All Play Is Equal
Not all play is beneficial to children’s learning. When children spend a lot of time arguing about roles, play doesn’t progress; if children perform the same routines day after day without changes, the play is not productive. By contrast, pretend play that fosters social and cognitive development finds children pretending and doing the following:
- Trying different roles
- Using new vocabulary words
- Being creative in the use of props
- Creating diverse scenarios
- Solving problems
- Negotiating with peers
Guidance and Support
As the oldest in a family with six children, I understood early in life the weight of leadership. There was little time for play; there were babies to care for, clothing to wash, and food to prepare. In my young world, there was struggle and work, until my grandmother, Fern, came into my life. Grandma Fern had taught grades one through eight at a country school throughout her adult life. She understood that work was important, but she knew that imagination and play were needed as well.
“I’m the big sister,” I would say to my playmates. One day Grandma asked, “Wouldn’t you like to see what it’s like to be the little sister for a while?” I did try it, but I didn’t like it much. Next, grandma suggested that I might like to be the cat. Now that was a role I embraced wholeheartedly.
When we were doing the dishes, grandma could make bubbles float into the air, to my amazement and delight. She would ask, “If you could float away like a bubble, where would you go, and what would you see?” I remember hanging clothes on the line, and she would ask, “If you were this old pair of pants, what stories could you tell?” She was a master at using imagination to turn the drudgery of everyday chores to a faraway place filled with wonder and laughter.
Careful planning and guidance can significantly facilitate a positive play experience for children. An environment that includes a few of the right props is the only stage most children will need to get their imagination going into high gear. Pay attention as the play develops so that you’ll know when to help. When your assistance is needed, you can enter the play as a bit player, long enough to lend support, and then exit. Be careful to avoid the role of the director. Teachers also facilitate children’s play by developing rules for safety and guidance toward social and spiritual maturity. “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child” (1 Corinthians 13:11, NIV).
In his book Grace-Based Parenting, Tim Kimmel (2004, 107) writes, “Childhood is a time when we should move our children from a position of dependence on us to a position of independence from us and toward dependence on God.” We can do this in a very deliberate way as we gently guide them through their play, or by using what we hear during their play, into a lesson taught later by a story or puppets. Avoid having the children figure out that their play was your source for a lesson. Otherwise, they will be guarded in their play in the future when you’re around, or they will “play” into the fact that they can influence your teaching topics.
Play Builds Happy Memories That Last
To this day, one of my greatest values is to find the laughter and joy in some sort of “play,” even some 50 years after my childhood. It’s no wonder that I am a champion of preschool-age children and their need for time to play! It’s a part of my life story—an integral part.
My thoughts of those early joy-filled experiences, which ended in triumph in my young imagination, set the stage for the adult I have become, a woman who says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). Therefore, it is true—no batteries are needed!
The following are some teaching tips:
Pose questions that help clarify or extend the children’s play.
A child is holding a naked doll. You could ask, “Is your baby cold?” or “How would Jesus show your baby love?”
Strengthen the children’s play or interests.
The children are racing around in pretend cars. You could ask, “Is there an emergency? You seem to be in a hurry!” or “Have you asked God to help you be safe when you are driving in your car?”
Help them solve problems.
The group is playing store, and the children are stumped about how to add another player when a new child wants to join them and play too. You could say, “It looks as if you have a new customer!” or “God sends us more helpers to do our work just when we need it most. Here’s a worker who can ______.”
Use mediation when necessary.
The children continue to argue in the home center. You knock on the door and wait for one of the children to answer the door. While petting an imaginary head, you could say, “Does this kitten belong to you?” The play resumes on a new track, squabbles forgotten.
Offer open-ended materials as props.
There is only one telephone, and several children want to make calls. Offering wooden blocks, you could say, “These are brand-new phones we just got in.” The children grab them without question and start dialing.
References
Kimmel, Tim. 2004. Grace-Based Parenting. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group.
Rogers, Fred. 2005. The Mister Rogers Parenting Resource Book. Philadelphia, PA: Courage Books.
No Batteries Needed: The Importance of Play 8.1