How to Engage in Productive Play

Play Series Post #1

Pre-K, well all of early childhood, is and should be all about play. Play with kids is FUN! There is no doubt about it. Most teachers and parents truly enjoy watching a child play. The joy, creativity, excitement, and even the drama! Play-based learning is something you will hear touted across pre-k programs and child care centers. They will sell you on play based learning as their main teaching approach. I am afraid it has become somewhat of a buzzword. While it is a very real thing, it is more than just letting kids loose and playing. Over this series of posts on play we will uncover this. There is a way to execute productive play so that deeper inquiry based learning occurs. There is also a way to integrate academic student learning in without kids even knowing it. Play should always have a purpose and should be driven forward whether supported or alone. Today I offer you 6 tips for how to engage in productive play with early childhood aged children. 

#1 Sit back – Observe and Listen

I’ve mentioned before in a previous post, that my goal every year is to be a facilitator and not a pre-k teacher. It is not the adult’s job to take over and try to control a child’s play. Our job is to enhance and add to it. By listening and observing we can see the direction the child is going, what questions the child has, and where learning needs to take place. You can learn so much by stepping back. 

#2 Wait to be Invited Into Play

After sitting back and watching, wait to be invited into play. Wait until the child brings you in in some way. This can be very hard to do for many people. This is where you need to let go of control. Even if the child is struggling, there is something to be gained from productive struggle. Teh child will learn to advocate for himself. This is the child’s play, not yours. By sitting back and watching, you offer the opportunity to be invited in by the child and the child gets to be in control. Which leads to tip #3…  

#3 Follow the Child’s Lead

You become the role the child wants you to. This is where you can begin to be more actively involved and start to put into place what you saw and heard while sitting back. Follow what the child does and ask questions like, “Do you want this to go here?” Or “What should I do next?” This keeps the child in control and let’s her know you are there for her.

#4 Ask Questions

Once the child knows you are here to support his play you can then start to drop nuggets of inquiry based learning, drive it forward, and turn it into productive play. For example: “Oh I see a lot of cars on the rug, how many do you see?” “My car is going to drive over here to the next town.” “I heard you say there was a rainbow, what colors are in the rainbow?” You want to aim for open-ended questions to help the child think more to drive the play to a different place or level, but sometimes you have a different goal. “Tell me more about what your were thinking?” “What else can the cars do?” “Where are you going now?” “Tell me about your tower.”

#5 Comment on the Process, Not the Product

When engaging in activities with pre-k kids be sure to focus on their journey and their process. You want a child to understand that their work is important and not their products. Avoid superlatives like, “Great job” and aim for “You used 10 blocks to build that strong bridge” or “I see you your tower is taller than you.” “You helped your friend find that toy, that is so helpful.” Children just need acknowledgement and this can often act as all the praise a child needs to move forward and grow. The aim is not to please you, but to understand that he can do hard work on his own. 

#6 Model What You Want to Teach

This is as simple as if you want the child to say please and thank you, you have to say please and thank you. If you want to teach a child to build a tower, you build a tower with the child or parallel to the child. If you want to teach flexibility you can model and praise flexibility through play. If a child is insistent on you playing a different role in a play scenario, you can say, “Ok I will be flexible and do your idea.” Children are great mirrors and they pick up on everything, especially your actions. 

Of course we could go on for days about just these tips alone, play in early childhood with the goal of teaching can get deep and intricate, but I hope these tips point you in the right direction. Look out for the rest of the series posts coming soon! We will discuss the types of play, the stages of play, play activities and ideas, and important play skills a pre-k child needs to master.

Quick reflection: Think about how you engage in play with children – what can you do differently based on what you learned here? Share a comment below.