Play

The first thing that we do as children is play, on our own or with others; we don’t go a day without participating in some sort of play activity. As children themselves choose to play they create their own rules and see it as control over themselves.
The Oxford dictionary states that play is
                                               ‘engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose’  

From a young age children explore the environment they are within. Children use skills they have already acquired to develop their knowledge and understanding and the main way they do this is through play.
By participating in play, children are exploring different possibilities and beginning to think for themselves, developing their cognitive processes as well as their physical capabilities.    

Bennett and Henderson (2013) write that
                                                                            ‘Children learn best when they feel secure and motivated, particularly when they play’.
                                                                                                                            (p.168)

Young children learn through repeating actions during play. The more a child does something the more likely they are to remember. The skills which are learnt during one activity can then be used during another, meaning their learning will progress.

As children grow older they begin to play in different ways, in nursery it may be playing shops then in secondary school it may be through a science experiment. Although this isn’t necessarily seen as play, the secondary school children are still exploring through actions how something works, ‘doing’ what their learning.          

Whilst children are playing it is important that the adult plays a role, through asking the child questions. By observing what the child is doing the adult can then ask the child questions to further extend the child’s knowledge. Vygotsky (1978) suggests that ‘Children learn best when they are able to use language to clarify their thoughts’.
From my own personal experience I saw it of high importance that whilst the children were playing I still engaged them in some learning. Children love to be asked questions and enjoy playing make believe,  and with an adults aid and speech learning is advancing.