Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Besides cognitive thinking, play helps the child learn social and psychomotor skills. Play is an important part of the childhood development.

Through play children learn about shapes, colors, cause and effect, and themselves. The term commonly refers to preschool or infant/child care programs. This topic will help you understand the benefits of play and why it should be an integral part of young children’s education.

MORE. Outdoor Play . As children become adults, they no longer "play" but seek amusement from their occupation.

Play is a legitimate right of childhood, representing a crucial aspect of children’s physical, intellectual and social development.
We all know it and the research supports it – children are happiest and at their most vital and energetic when they play. Play in Aistear and Síolta, the national curriculum and quality frameworks The research is so clear about the benefits of play that in Ireland we have established play as central to the early childhood curriculum. The term commonly refers to preschool or infant/child care programs. OUR WORK > QUALITY IN PRACTICE > PLAY. Play in early childhood education (ECE) is a very broad topic that continues to generate much discussion and debate. Why Play? The research is so clear about the benefits of play that in Ireland we have established play as central to the early childhood curriculum. Play as Sensory Learning. Maria Montessori, an Italian educationist during the early 1900s, postulated that "play is the child's work." Early childhood education often focuses on guiding children to learn through play.

It is a way of communicating joy, fear , sorrow, and anxiety .

This childhood activity of play prepares them to become healthy working adults.

definition of play in early childhood education