HOW TO FACILITATE PLAY WITH CHILDREN?

Facilitating Play with Children

In this topic we will learn about how to facilitate play. Let us first answer the question, “What does it mean to facilitate learning or facilitate play?” 

To facilitate learning or play means that we will only guide the children towards learning but not make them learn by telling. Meaning, as an educator or a parent, we have to ensure to only help children discover their learning rather than explaining everything to them which may not help them. Hence as teachers, parents or care-givers it is our responsibility to make learning easier and reachable for children. This happens when we facilitate learning and not force learning in children. 

In this chapter, we will try and understand more about facilitating play with children. Let us think and answer a few questions.

  • Do we let children play as they wish to? 
  • Do we tell them how to play, what to play and when to play? 

Well, it is a skillful and careful combination of providing opportunities for children to play as they wish, to tell them sometimes how to play, what to play and when to play.

To facilitate play such that it is balanced we should understand the following:

  1. Unstructured play: This refers to the play that happens without any adult supervision. For example, a child exploring a new space, room, or onlooker play, where the child simply observes the others playing.  
  2. Child initiated play/Free play: This refers to a play that happens in an adult-supported environment. For example, a child painting something without the help of an adult or parallel play, where two children are reading a book by themselves.
  3. Adult-led play/ Guided play: This refers to activities or play that are adult-guided and playful activities. For example, children and an adult together playing hide and seek or cooperative play where the adult and children play football.  
  4. Structured/ Direct instruction: This refers to activities or play that have direct instructions and may or may not have elements of play in it. For example, when a science concept is taught there are direct instructions of what they are learning. 

To provide learning opportunities in children we need to mix the above four different guidelines of play. These four guidelines of progression can be seen in a child’s learning. The below picture shows the approach of these guidelines

Look at the below examples to understand better:

  1. Unstructured play:  Child playing with spoons and utensils by them-self
  1. Free play: Children frog jumping under adult supervision
  1. Guided play: Child reading a book with an adult
  1. Structured play: Circle time activity done by the teacher/ facilitator

To optimize a child’s learning a facilitator should give more focus to Child initiated play and Adult initiated play.

Child Initiated Play:  Child-initiated activity is a powerful opportunity for learning, as it is more inquiry-based and is led by the child. When conducting such activities keep the following in mind.

  • Keep the focus on what the child needs to learn and on the task at hand
  • Give them the support and assistance they need when doing the activity
  • Let the child try by trial and error method and problem-solving methods
  • Encourage them by asking questions and prompting them to use the language of the activity.

For example, let us consider a few children role playing a scene from a hospital. In this scene, children are expected to roleplay doctors, nurses and patients. As teachers or parents we will only facilitate role playing by guiding the children to focus on their role and through discussions with adults, they will be able to come up with a scenario or a situation that they play out. We will encourage them to use language and vocabulary that pertains to patients in the hospital, such as Doctor, Patient, Nurse, bandage, pain, hurt etc.,.  Here as a facilitator your role is to observe the children and see if they are playing out their roles and guide them.

Adult Initiated Play: Adult-led activities can be built on what children already know and can do. As adults, we have to design activities by drawing out interests and use materials or themes observed in the child-initiated activities. When conducting such activities keep the following in mind.

  • The activities may not be exactly “play” but the experience must be playful.
  • Activities that are introduced must be imaginative and in creative ways.
  • Keeping the tasks open ended helps children ask questions and inquire about the activities.
  • We must design more hands-on activities for practice.

For example: To introduce a mathematical concept we can start with a storyline. Here we could use various materials to demonstrate the story, keep the story going by asking children to  guess the plot line and then do an activity that helps them learn the concept. 

Also, keeping them engaged with different hands-on activities and different materials, helps children learn this concept in easier ways than in a way we would have been taught. Adult led activities 

By carefully threading and facilitating play which is both child-initiated and adult-initiated, will provide the optimal environment needed for the development of a child.