Children's Center Observations - Non-Structured

The final blog I have regards the non-structured aspect of play for children. I think the Children's Center on campus does an amazing job at allowing the children to participate in non-structured play on a daily basis. This combines the best of both worlds in the playground and the classroom.

Due to the ages of the children, I was not surprised at how they acted or which activities they gravitated towards when they were on their own. Non-structured play benefits not only the children, but also the teacher. The children are able to spread themselves out over the entire classroom and work at different stations throughout the entire time. They are able to move from one to another without being afraid of getting in trouble for not staying on task at one particular project. Also, the teacher is able to have order in the room as well as providing adequate areas for the children to play. I found it interesting that the boys and girls worked together nicely in dramatic play and the concept of gender was completely gone for them. It did not matter if a girl wore boy's clothes or if a boy wore girl's clothes, all that mattered is that they stayed in the same plot line that they had started with. There was hardly any negativity towards one another either. Resolving their problems by themselves also shows that by playing, the children are able to regulate themselves and come to terms with what is going on during that specific time and work it out. Also, the children did not stray from one another meaning there was always at least two children playing together with interactive play. The notion of parallel play was gone along with any independent play that was happening during the playground time I observed. The children seemed much happier with being given a lot of options for play.

In addition, I found it important that the children were given many options for play. They could expand their imaginations in dramatic play and blocks or work on some skills they enjoyed such as reading and writing. By giving the children options as to what they want to play and how they want to play it also allows them to take ownership of their play, which in turn allows them to take ownership of their learning. In my personal opinion, I think non-structured play benefits the children in a more well-rounded way than on the playground or in the classroom. However, it is important for them to be exposed to all types of play in order for them to realize when each type of play is appropriate and how to deal with the different issues that may arise in each type.