Early Childhood Development: Children's Play Needs By Age Children's Play Needs by Age: Early Childhood Development

Children's Play Needs by Age]

When designing your environment, it is important to keep in mind the skills that the children in your group are learning and have mastered. The way you arrange your classroom and the materials you fill it with can have a big impact on the kinds of play and learning opportunities you provide to your students. For your assignment, use the developmental milestone chart, the unit readings, and the four classroom models to complete the chart below.

Analysis of Environment Designs

Environment Designs

Developmentally Appropriate Materials or Activities

Physical Design Changes

Adaptive Materials or Areas for diverse learners

Analysis of the 0- to 1-year-old environment design

Briefly describe 2 developmentally appropriate materials or activities you would add to the environment to address skills for this age group.

1. Tummy time -- this would work for toddlers between 0 and 6 months, helping them exercise from the tummy position, thereby strengthening their upper body and neck muscles (Kuffner, 1999). The instructor will hold out brightly colored toys or make funny noises as the toddler lies on their tummy -- the toddler will be attracted to the same, and will stretch to track the same with their eyes (Kuffner, 1999).

2. Texture crawl -- this would be effective for older babies between 6 and 12 months. The instructor will help the children be acquainted with different textures by scattering articles with interesting textures such as stain, velvet, bubble wrap and silk scarves across the floor, feeling them with the face or feet, and then exploring them with the children using such words as 'bumpy', 'smooth', 'rough', or 'cool'.

Briefly describe 2 changes you would make to the physical design of the classroom to promote optimal learning through play?

1. Replacing tables with stuffed and stable boxes -- children at this age are beginning to walk, and will need stable platforms to hold on to as they stand or move as they play. I would have large, heavily stuffed carton boxes in the room to aid the children in movement. Tables and other pieces of furniture with sharp corners restrict movement and could cause physical injuries.

2. Soft carpets -- children at this age will most likely spend most of their play time creeping or crawling on the floor; covering the floor with soft carpets would facilitate movement and consequently, play.

Briefly describe 2 adaptive materials or areas you would include to meet the needs of a 1-year-old infant who is not yet crawling.

1. incorporating play experiences that engage and help to strengthen the leg muscle such as having the child engage in the Classic Socks with Jingle Bells Activity, which engages their leg muscles by requiring them to push and kick

2. Providing play surfaces of various slope and texture, for instance, pillows, mats, and ramps for the child to walk over. This helps to develop and strengthen the child's leg muscles by helping them to adjust to changing surfaces

Analysis of the 1- to 3-year-old environment design

Briefly describe 2 developmentally appropriate materials or activities you would add to the environment to address skills for this age group.

1. Let's Pretend for Toddlers -- this activity would be crucial in developing the children's imagination, and at the same time developing their muscles by giving them a workout. The instructor will give directions such 'Let's pretend you are a flower ... open up like a flower on a sunny day' (Kuffner, 1999).

2. Follow the Leader -- the instructor will direct the children to follow his/her lead in performing a series of activities, for instance passing a ball, touching toes, running, stretching and so on. This builds exercise and helps the children in muscle development (Kuffner, 1999).

Briefly describe 2 changes you would make to the physical design of the classroom to promote optimal learning through play?

1. Removal of infant movement and sitting equipment -- toddlers in this age bracket are full of energy, with a firmer grip and more steady movement. Equipment such as stationary play seats, high chairs, infant seats, and walkers could inhibit the children's play movements, making play less fun (Kuffner, 1999).

2. Incorporating more moveable play equipment such as balls and riding toys as opposed to having just fixed play equipment would help to increase movement and to make effective use of the children's energy

Briefly describe 2 adaptive materials or areas you would include to meet the needs of a 2-year-old toddler who has difficulty with hand-eye coordination.

1. Craft -- the instructor...

This helps to improve the child's ability to coordinate their eyes and hands
2. Jigsaw puzzle - the instructor could have the child repeatedly put up a jigsaw puzzle. he/she could jumble up the pieces of an image or picture, and then have the child reassemble the same. This would go a long way in encouraging hand-eye coordination.

Analysis of the 3- to 5-year-old environment design

Briefly describe 2 developmentally appropriate materials or activities you would add to the environment to address skills for this age group.

1. Name-Spelling Game -- at this stage, the children are able to speak in six-word sentences. Having them learn how to spell their name would, therefore, be crucial. The instructor could print the letters in the children's names on a flash card, lay the same out to spell the name, and then mix the letters up and let the child reassemble them (Kuffner, 1999)

2. The Number Match-up -- the instructor could make up two different sets of flash cards. On one set, he/she could number the cards individually, from 1 to 10 (Kuffner, 1999). On the second set, he/she could draw images corresponding to the first set, say two oranges, three eggs, and so on, and then have the children match the cards in the first set with the corresponding number in the second set (Kuffner, 1999).

Briefly describe 2 changes you would make to the physical design of the classroom to promote optimal learning through play?

1. I would widen the classroom pathways to allow full movement of children

2. Additionally, I would introduce climbing equipment as a way of facilitating play -- in his 2014 study, Trawick-Smith found preschoolers to participate better in play when the classroom spaces were more open, with climbing equipment present and accessible (Trawick-Smith, 2014).

Briefly describe 2 adaptive materials or areas you would include to meet the needs of a 4-year-old preschooler who needs sensory stimulation.

1. Adjusting play objects sizes' such as providing larger beanbags and balls, or offering materials with different textures could go a long way in enhancing the child's sense of touch (Trawick-Smith, 2014).

2. Additionally, music could be used to increase the play participation of a child requiring stimulation of the sense of hearing. Trawick-Smith, 2014), for instance, makes reference to a preschool instructor who helps children develop this sense by asking their colleagues to sing as they play, and then asking the affected child to identify the location of his/her colleagues.

Analysis of the 5- to 8-year-old environment design

Briefly describe 2 developmentally appropriate materials or activities you would add to the environment to address skills for this age group.

1. Hide-and-Seek -- the instructor could have the children take turns in counting by fives, tens, or twos as their colleagues hide behind furniture or other equipment in the room. This would significantly boost the children's cognitive development skills

2. Dominoes -- the instructor could engage the children in playing dominoes, which would essentially help in developing their recognition and basic math skills, as well as social skills.

Briefly describe 2 changes you would make to the physical design of the classroom to promote optimal learning through play?

1. Children at this age value social interactions more than their younger counterparts (Trawick-Smith, 2014). As such, the classroom needs to be structured in such a way that it maximizes positive contact between children in play (Trawick-Smith, 2014). Towards this end, I would introduce equipment that can be used by several children at a go, for instance, a tube through which children can crawl at the same time, a tire swing or a rocking boat top increase interaction during play (Trawick-Smith, 2014).

2. Children at this age are more concerned about self-esteem, and how their colleagues perceive them, more than their younger counterparts (Trawick-Smith, 2014). As a result, I would have a large space on the classroom wall for displaying work done by the children -- this way, the children will feel that their work is valued by the instructor as well as their classmates and this would make the classroom environment more comfortable (Trawick-Smith, 2014).

Briefly describe 2 adaptive materials or areas you would include to meet the needs of a 6-year-old child who is an ESL learner (English as Second Language).

1. Having the children play card games, bingo or picture lotto in English would go a long way in helping them learn the language from their colleagues

2. Having the class learn counting games and skipping in English, and then…