Play is often seen as simple and straightforward, but in reality, it is a complex and essential part of a child's development. Understanding play schema—the repeated patterns of behavior that children naturally exhibit during play—gives us valuable insights into their cognitive, emotional, and physical growth. This training will explore the importance of recognizing and supporting these schemas in early childhood settings. As educators, we may expect play to look a certain way, such as building with blocks or playing pretend. However, children's play often takes forms that may seem unusual or even disruptive to adults, like repeatedly dropping objects, spinning, or transporting items from one place to another. These behaviors are not random; they are purposeful and are the ways children explore concepts like gravity, movement, or cause and effect. By understanding and supporting these play schemas, we can create richer, more engaging learning environments that meet children where they are developmentally. This training will provide practical strategies to recognize these patterns, tailor your environment to support them, and engage with children in ways that deepen their learning and enjoyment of play.
Children communicate their needs in many ways. One such way is through their behavior. The problem is, society has erroneously categorized MANY behaviors children display as “BAD” or “NOT APPROPRIATE” when truly, there is no harm in them what-so-ever. When “misbehaviors” happen, adults tend to look at the child and wonder what is wrong with THEM, instead of looking at what YOU, the adult, MISSED: What needs did you miss? What did you miss when setting the environment? What did you miss when setting your expectations? How can you better meet the needs of this child? You will leave this presentation with the ability to see the core needs shining through children’s behaviors, inspired to look at those behaviors in a totally different way as well as filled with inexpensive, simple ideas to set the environment in a way that meets the unique needs of children.
Many of us believe that child led, child centered programming is developmentally appropriate practice, but feel constraints from our regulations, program expectations and customer requests. How can we begin to move in a more appropriate, more fulfilling direction?
© 2017 North Dakota Early Childhood Advocates (NDECA)
