Free Play - Part 2: What does Free Play look like?

On today's episode, we are talking about what Free Play looks like!

To download the infographic for today’s episode, please visit: http://kskits.org/kids-these-days-podcast-0

 Kids These Days is a co-production of the KCCTO-KITS Infant Toddler Specialist Network (ITSN) and KCCTO Workforce Development (WFD) programs.
The KCCTO-KITS Infant-Toddler Specialist Network is a program of the Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities, Inc. (KCCTO) and the university of Kansas Life Span Institute at Parsons. The Workforce Development Project is a program of KCCTO.  Each program is supported through a grant from the Kansas Department For Children And Families’ Child Care And Early Education Services. However, information or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the agency and no official endorsement should be inferred.

To learn more about the Infant Toddler Specialist Network, please visit: http://kskits.org/technical-assistance-0. 

To learn more about KCCTO and Workforce Development, please visit: https://kccto.org/ 

Contact us via email at – kidsthesedayspod@gmail.com 

Follow and tag us on Instagram & Facebook @kidsthesedayspod & Twitter @ktdpod

Music credit: Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3843-hackbeat
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 

Kids These Days is a co-production of the KCCTO-KITS Infant Toddler Specialist Network (ITSN) and KCCTO Workforce Development (WFD) programs.
The KCCTO-KITS Infant-Toddler Specialist Network is a program of the Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities, Inc. (KCCTO) and the university of Kansas Life Span Institute at Parsons. The Workforce Development Project is a program of KCCTO. Each program is supported through a grant from the Kansas Department For Children And Families’ Child Care And Early Education Services. However, information or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the agency and no official endorsement should be inferred.

To learn more about the Infant Toddler Specialist Network, please visit: http://kskits.org/technical-assistance-0.

To learn more about KCCTO and Workforce Development, please visit: https://kccto.org/

Contact us via email at – kidsthesedayspod@gmail.com

Follow and tag us on Instagram & Facebook @kidsthesedayspod & Twitter @ktdpod

Music credit: Hackbeat by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3843-hackbeat License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey, it's Sarah, and this is Kids These Days, a podcast brought to you by funding through the Kansas Department for Children and Families. So last week we talked about what free play is, what it is not, and why it's important. But before we jump into the specifics of what free play looks like, let's do a quick review. Free play is based on the adults' knowledge of the ages and developmental stages of the children currently enrolled or that belong to them. It's purposeful and engaging. It's when children are allowed to select what, where, and how long, and with whom they want to play. It requires adult interaction that's based on the needs and interests of the children. And it's an important vehicle for long-term learning in all areas of development. And remember that free play is not rigidly or strictly thematic, assigned, forced, or timed. I know you came back today to hear what free play actually looks like, and I won't keep you in suspense any longer. So let's jump in. So to start, I want to talk about Parton's social play stages of development. These stages were created in 1932 by Mildred Parton. I know that was a few minutes ago, but her work has continued to guide what we know to be true about how young children play for almost a hundred years. She was obviously a boss, so let's talk about it. And yes, all these stages will be listed in the weekly infographic, thanks, of course, to Rudy, who was also a boss. So to start, from birth to age two, children engage in solitary play. And this is where children play alone with their own toys, have little to no interaction with peers, and they're building the skills they need to work independently. So during this stage, non-mobile infants, you know, birth to six months, learn best through connection. And they're seeking security and a sense of trust. And this is done through early interactions with responsive adults that help those babies learn what connection looks and feels like. Like the baby may gaze at you, turn to look at you when you start to sing or become quiet at the sound of your voice. And babies also begin to show when they need a break from interactions by turning away, closing their eyes, arching their back, fussing, falling asleep, crying. And when you see those signals, take a break. You'll know they're ready to connect again when their expression is calm and clear-eyed. They meet your gaze, they move their arms and legs or turn toward you and make sounds, or wake up. So play at this stage of solitary play looks a lot less like play and more like mouthing. Right? So babies are curious about everything, and mouthing toys, well, mouthing anything, is an important way they explore their world. Your mouth is a highly developed nerve center, so mouthing toys tells babies a lot about an object, what texture it is, what it might do, how big it is, what it tastes like. Mouthing objects also can help with teething pain, which can begin as early as four months. And please remember, children will continue to mouth objects into their toddler years, and that's okay. Have a yucky bucket. I would rather that those toddl chewed on every toy in that classroom or that home than chewed on another person. Let them explore baby-safe rattles, teethers, board or fabric books, other toys with different textures and shapes. So solitary play for non-mobile infants also looks like grasping. Babies at this stage are now able to look at a toy and move their hand in that direction to grab it. This is how hand-eye coordination develops. So you might see them start to transfer that toy from one hand to the other, sometimes pausing to put it in their mouth for a bit. Let them explore your fingers, nose, hair, brightly colored rattles or other toys that are easy to grasp, toys that make gentle noises when they shake or swipe at them. And another piece of play during this time is tummy time. It might not look like anything's happening, but tummy time is helping your baby to develop important muscles in their neck and trunk. When starting tummy time, you will see the baby first lift their head up from the floor for a few seconds, and over time, they'll begin to push up on their forearms, then start to push up on their hands and be able to stay in that position for longer periods of time. And as they get stronger, they begin to kind of do that pivot circle thing where they're looking for toys all the way around them on their belly. And exploring in these new ways builds the baby's thinking skills. So let them explore you lying on your belly facing your baby so that they can gaze at and talk to you. And maybe put in some baby safe mirrors or rattles, books, you know, board, fabric, plastic. And I want to note here that tummy time should happen only when you as the adult, your only responsibility is to that child. You are in arm's reach of that child, and that babies should never be left alone, asleep or awake on their tummies, even for short periods of time. Now, if that baby can roll themselves over onto their tummy, that's cool. Leave them like that. But if you have to get up to get something, answer the phone, whatever, put that baby on their back before you walk away. So remember that solitary play stage happens from birth to two. So let's talk about infants that are 6 to 12 months. So they learn best through repetition and by engaging in multi-sensory exploration. Children at this age love repeating actions over and over again. Play at the stage continues to look less like play and more like moving. It's a whole new world for those babies and us adults that have to keep them safe. They're rolling, sitting up, crawling, pulling up, cruising, and sometimes beginning to walk. And these new physical skills, while again scary for us adults, are so exciting for those babies. They now have some freedom to try new ways of moving and playing, which takes up much of their waking hours. So during this time, don't be surprised if you see some changes in their sleeping or eating patterns. Let them explore toys that can be pushed and pulled, chunky cars or trucks, toy vacuums, etc. During the solitary play stage for infant 6 to 12 months, their play also happens during development of language and sounds. Before children say their first words, they connect with adults as babies in back and forth conversations. So when you talk with your baby, give her a turn to respond. Think of it like a tennis match. I hit it to you and wait for you to return it back to me. Give them the time to copy your sounds and expressions and babble. You can even make a little funny noise and then look at them and say, your turn, you do it. Let them explore board books, finger play songs, and rhymes. And just like with those younger babies, during solitary play, those six to twelve months are also working on grasping. And so during this stage of play and development, you'll see a lot of the pincer grasp. That's when children use their pointer finger and thumb to pick up small objects, like a piece of cereal. And I know you probably don't remember, but like this takes a lot of muscle coordination in the fingers and the brain. Babies also begin pointing, which is their way of asking questions or requesting items. So let them explore baby-safe blocks, simple puzzles with knobs, pull toys. And during this time of play, children are beginning to understand how the world around them operates. Right? So cause and effect is a defining characteristic during this and later stages of development and play. That play and exploration go together. So for example, when babies play with a shape sorter, they're learning about the relationship between objects of different sizes and shapes. They're learning which objects go together when they fill and dump. And they're solving problems through trial and error when they turn the crank on a jack and box and it pops up. So let them explore busy boxes, jack in the boxes, simple shape sorters, wooden or foam blocks, buckets for filling and dumping, and ring stacks or stacking cups. And that whole cause and effect learning thing, yeah, it doesn't stop at 12 months. So what does play and development during the solitary play stage for 12 to 24 month olds look like? Well, if you've ever met a toddler, you know that they love dumping and filling, be it water, sand, toys, laundry, whatever. I promise they aren't just making a mess. They're learning about how objects are used together, different sizes, textures, colors. Knowing all that, let them explore pot beads, interlocking plastic blocks, utensils, cups, scoops, buckets, shape sorters, busy boxes with buttons to push, mesh, switch, and turn. Let them help you fold the laundry. Just remember when they dump it out, say, uh-oh, let's put it back in. So play for 12 to 24 month olds is starting to develop in some of those social skills areas. So beginning at about 12 months, these kiddos are starting to enjoy playing near their peers, right? But we're still in that solitary play stage. This is a great time to model the words children should use when playing with others. Can I play? My turn, thank you. Todders at this age need to hear these words many, many times before they learn to use them. Remember, repetition, repetition, repetition. Because one-year-olds are communicating with you and their peers using a combination of sounds and gestures and facial expressions. That's that area of communication that's developing during play. They might not say much at first. Well, they say a lot, but not always in a language we understand. Just know that they understand almost everything you say. Encourage them to explore telephones. The old dial and push button ones from the Salvation Army are so much fun. Or child safe mirrors, dolls, stuffed animals, and puppets. And during this play stage of 12 to 24 months, movement is huge. Toddlers are learning to walk, run, climb, use stairs, throw a ball. They need a lot of active playtime to build strength, balance, and coordination. And because toddlers don't understand rules yet, they benefit from free play when they can explore their own way. They can begin this exploration with balls of different sizes to throw, roll, and chase, push and pull toys, tunnels, child-sized tools to climb onto and jump off of, with supervision, of course. And we'll jump right into the next stage of play right after this quick break.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

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SPEAKER_00 12:07

From two to three and a half-ish years, children begin to engage in parallel play, while some are still engaging in solitary play, and that's totally cool. During this stage, children play on their own, in addition to playing beside peers, and may use the same toys. Two and three-year-olds are defining their identity and sense of belonging. They are beginning to actively assert their sense of self by expressing strong opinions, preferences, desires, and needs. Developing a sense of belonging to their group in care and showing preferences for particular peers and becoming aware of their own family members are many of the wonderful and sometimes unnerving characteristics of kiddos this age. And if we think about that through the lens of play, it helps us to better understand that children don't always naturally know how to enter into play. And you will begin to see this more often, beginning in this parallel play stage. Do you have a kid that often interjects herself into others' play by like knocking things over? When that happens, ask her, did you want to play with them? I think her answer might surprise you. This has now become an intentional teaching moment. Say to her, if you want to play with them, you can ask them instead of knocking down their blocks. Can you ask them or would you like me to? What does play look like from 24 to 36 months in that parallel play stage? Well, pretend play and communication. Toddlers can now follow two-step requests such as please take a drink from your cup and put it on the table. Two-year-olds can also understand stories like when you read a book about nap time. And around this time, you will also see children begin using props like a doll in a toy bottle to act out the steps of a familiar routine or story, like feeding, rocking, or putting a doll to sleep. And in addition to most two-year-olds using two-word phrases, like my baby, and most three-year-olds using three-word phrases, I feed baby. As they learn to use symbols, you will see their imaginary play skills begin to grow more complex. A wooden block becomes a phone. A stick is a sword. And a cardboard box, well, the possibilities there are endless. Be sure that you have some of the following items around for them to explore as they play. Stuffed animals, dolls, blankets, and bottles for babies. Toy dishes, pots and pans, pretend food, toy vehicles with little people that fit inside. Blocks, board books, songs, finger plays, and child safe mirrors. And play at this parallel stage of development involves a lot of problem solving and fine motor development. Sorting toys, putting cars in one basket and balls in the other, trying one puzzle piece in different spaces, or turning it around to see if it fits, holding a crayon using their thumb and pointer finger instead of their fist, learning to control the strokes they make with crayons and markers. So you want to continue to encourage this learning through exploration of items like chunky puzzles, easy memory type games, stacking cups or ring stacks, shape sorters, bead mazes, foam or wooden blocks, bristle blocks, stringing beads, pop beads, and crayons and markers. So around the ages of three, three and a half, you will continue to see children engaging in that parallel play, observing and mimicking their peers. Kids playing with the same Lego set, but constructing different buildings. Or kids sharing brushes and paint, but painting completely different things on different canvases or paper. As their social skills continue to emerge, children during the parallel play stage still need your assistance entering into play without being destructive, especially as they enter into this next stage of associative play, which happens around three and a half to four, four and a half years of age. So during the associative play stage, children begin to acknowledge peers during play, working side by side, negotiating the sharing of materials, but not always working together or following the same story or theme of play. Children are asking one another questions about their play, what they're doing, how they're doing it, but the children are typically still working on different tasks. They're beginning to realize that there are limited resources in the play area, so negotiating with one another for which resources to use. So from ages four to five and a half, children are engaging in cooperative play. This is the highest level of social play. This is the play that we think of when we say play. Children playing in groups, cooperating to achieve a goal. It involves negotiating around roles, story or theme suggestions, materials used. This, folks, is fully integrated social group play. But remember, those emerging social skills, they're still developing. Children at this age still need adults to support and guide them as they take turns, compromise and interact. So some examples of cooperative play might be imaginative play, where children take on the roles of their favorite movie characters to act out a scene or create their own new scene. Outside they might build a fort or a snowman or plant a garden or putting a puzzle together or painting a classroom mural. So within cooperative play is a stage called games with rules. This stage of play is typically not seen until children are around the age of six. So think checkers, shoots and ladders, soccer, go fish. Now, I don't know how many of you are avid shoots and ladders players, but I've been up the ladder a time or two and it can be cutthroat, especially if you are playing with another person who has not had the positive adult-supported experience of working through all the aforementioned stages of play. Shoots and ladders, like other games with rules, requires turn-taking and cooperation. Who gets to be what game piece this time and who gets to go first? Following the rules of the game. You go up the stairs and down the slide. Self-regulation. Again, waiting your turn, not flipping the game board over if you lose. Fine motor. There's a little plastic arrow you have to spin for each turn you take. Are they a spinner or a flicker? Go ahead. I know you want to see which one you are. I'll wait. BT dubs, I'm a flicker. So the final, or first, depending on how you look at things, stage, as defined by Mildred Parton, is that of onlooker play. So this stage goes from birth to infinity and beyond. It's characterized by the child or person watching other children or people play, but making no attempts to join. I would imagine many of you know an adult in your life that's an onlooker. Or maybe you see them more as an observer. My husband is the definition of onlooker, observer. It may seem like he isn't involved, but at the end of a night out with friends, pre-COVID, of course, he will ask me all sorts of questions about people that were there. And generally I end up looking at him like he's crazy and I think he's just making things up. But I'm here to tell you folks, this man is a treasure chest of knowledge about the people around him and how things all work together. And I say that to say this. The kids that are onlookers in your program know that they are paying attention, but also know they like it when you ask questions at the end of the day or activity, once they've had a little time to process. These might be the same children that we talked about up in the parallel and associative stages of play that need a little more assistance entering into play with their peers. Let them know you see them. So, to kind of wrap things up, the different stages of play are that solitary play from birth to two years, parallel play from two to three and a half years, associative play from three, three and a half to four, four and a half, cooperative play, which is from four to five and a half, games with rules, which is six plus, and onlooker play, which is from birth to infinity and beyond. And so you'll notice that a lot of the ages within these stages tend to overlap. And we want to be sure to use that information to inform our practice and remember that children are individuals that are all working through these stages of play and development at their own rate, and that it's our job to team with them and help them through these stages of play by being in a positive, supportive adult partner. Go play. Sit down, have fun, engage with your kids, and we'll see you next week. Kids These Days is a co-production of the Casito Kids Infant Powder Specialist Network and Workforce Development Programs. These programs are supported through a grant from the Kansas Department for Children and Families, Child Care and Early Education Services. However, information or opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred. If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or want to share your practice related to this or previous episode, please email kidshesedayspod at gmail.com. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook at KidsThese Days Pod. Be sure to check out the infographic and other resources for this episode in the show notes. Don't forget to hit subscribe. This episode was written, recorded, and edited by Sarah Holmes. Infographics by Rudy Benavides. Music track Hackbeat by Kevin McLeod. See you next time on Kids These Days.