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Happy Friday y’all! Here’s Day 10 of #30DaysofThreads: 6 stages of play and how to support your child in each one.
Play begins at birth,when little ones begin to explore their personal space and environment. It continues to develop as children grow and hit different developmental milestones:
1. Unoccupied Play: Unoccupied play looks like a baby exploring materials in the environment and moving their body around in their space. This type of play is not structured. Skills developed in this stage include depth perception, tactile and motor skills.
You can support your little one in this stage by:
-providing skin-to-skin contact
-providing swaps of different materials to touch
-talking, reading, or singing songs
-doing tummy time
-providing rattles, mobiles or toys/books with mirrors
-providing skin-to-skin contact
-providing swaps of different materials to touch
-talking, reading, or singing songs
-doing tummy time
-providing rattles, mobiles or toys/books with mirrors
2. Solitary Play: Solitary play looks like a little one playing alone, with little to no interest in toys or people outside their immediate vicinity. This type of play is more focused on whatever toy or activity is present and isn’t super structured.
Skills developed in this stage include motor skills, concentration, persistence, and learning how to complete tasks independently. You can support your little one in this stage by:
-providing age appropriate books to flip through
-providing age appropriate toys/activities that promote problem solving
-providing age appropriate toys/activities that promote problem solving
3. Onlooker Play: Onlooker play looks like the adult equivalent of people watching. This type of play is focused on learning rules of play and the behaviors of other children during play.
Skills developed in this stage include observation and drawing conclusions about how other children play. Some parents worry during this stage because onlooker play can seem like it’s coming from a place of fear or being shy.
I would suggest talking with your little learners to see how they feel as they are observing and offer support from there if needed. You can support your child in this stage by:
-talking/listening to them about what other children are doing and answering questions
-talking/listening to them about what other children are doing and answering questions
4. Parallel Play: Parallel play looks like children playing near or alongside one another (sometimes with the same materials) but not interacting. This type of play is focused on individual goals while observing other children who are close by.
Skills developed in this stage include observation and sharing resources. You can support your child in this stage by:
-creating a safe space for children to play and explore
-allowing interactions to happen naturally
-creating a safe space for children to play and explore
-allowing interactions to happen naturally
5. Associative Play: Associative play looks like children working alongside one another with some acknowledgement of one another. This type of play is about children sharing information about their behavior. Although they are not collectively working toward the same goal
they may use and share the same materials and even mimic each other’s behavior. You can support your child in this stage by:
-praising children for communicating with one another
-encouraging communication by asking questions about materials and goals
-pointing out similarities in goals and materials
-encouraging communication by asking questions about materials and goals
-pointing out similarities in goals and materials
6. Cooperative Play: Cooperative play looks like children working together toward a shared goal. This type of play may include children establishing goals, making up rules, or breaking up into small groups.
Skills developed in this stage are more social and include sharing, compromise, taking turns, problem solving, and healthy emotional expression. You can support your child in this stage by:
-observing and offering support during conflicts
-modeling healthy expression of emotions
-modeling healthy conflict resolution
-modeling healthy expression of emotions
-modeling healthy conflict resolution
Have you noticed any of these play stages with your little learners? What age did you/do you see these stages?
Happy Learning!
Happy Learning!
