How to teach through play?

How to teach through play?

Just a decade or so ago, a simple stick found in the backyard served as a rifle and a child's imagination was virtually unlimited. Today, children have everything handed to them on a tray and are increasingly swapping their peers for the computer. 

It has been known for a long time that the best way for a child to learn is through play. Through games and play, a toddler can be taught practically anything. Educational games with your child can be carried out from as early as the age of three months. Often, the seemingly simplest games with your child can be extremely important for your child.

Frolicking baby - the game consists of taking the baby in your arms and gently lifting him up and lowering him down. Through this game the child learns to keep his balance, control the position of his head and body. The game also develops children's visual perception.

Road, stones, ditch - In this game, sit on the corner of a sofa, or chair, bring the knees together, sit the child on your lap holding them under your arms. The game consists of tossing the child on your lap, first weakly, then strongly, and finally bending the knees and the child (all the time held) falls as if into a ditch to the rhythm of the poem: road, road, road, stones, stones, stones.... ditch! With this game, the child exercises balance, head and neck control, develops a sense of rhythm and coordination of movement. And laughs out loud.

Where's the toy - In this game, roll up a sheet of paper into a roll and rest it diagonally at a 45 degree angle on the child's lap. Then show the toddler the toy and then drop it into the roll. When the toy lands in the child's lap, he will be very surprised! Through this game, the child learns to anticipate events and connect cause and effect.

A one-year-old child can already start to be taught how the world around him functions. Again, play is one of the best ways to learn. A child's curiosity about the world can be satisfied in various ways:

Feed the birds - When going for a walk with your child, take a roll or piece of bread with you. Give it to the child and instruct them to divide it into small pieces and throw it in front of them. Feeding the birds gives the toddler a sense of independence and responsibility, and this is very important in the development of a child's personality. The toddler learns caring and, in the process, exercises finger dexterity.

How does he do...? - A very simple game. It involves telling the child as much as possible about different animals and objects, while showing illustrations and pretending the voices associated with it. Later ask questions like what does a horse do? And answer cheerfully iiihhhaaa In this game, the child, by simultaneously looking at the pictures and listening to the animal voices, learns about the world with his or her senses of sight and hearing at the same time, and has fun doing it.

The older the child, the more forms of play can be provided. Education through play is a great opportunity to deepen the child's emotional connection with his parents. Remember that games should be chosen according to the age of the child. 

For a three year old, it is important to organise motor and educational games in which he or she must, for example, arrange items according to colours, match the size of toys to the size of containers or imitate a sequence of simple body movements. For an older child, dexterity, movement or social games are good, among others, which develop manual and motor skills as well as sensitivity in dealing with other people and knowledge of the rules of life in society.

The computer is undoubtedly a blessing and a convenience. However, it should be kept in moderation, as sitting in front of a screen for too long can have a negative effect on a child's health. Today's technology is so well developed that a child can seemingly develop his or her skills without leaving home. 

However, even the best computer and the latest games can never replace a child's contact with parents and peers. 

Playing with peers is an irreplaceable opportunity for a child's proper development. It is in contact with peers that the child learns ingenuity, problem-solving skills or how to deal with emotions independently. 

Playing with friends can make a child's imagination turn the simplest found object into an absolutely essential item for play. A simple stick found on the ground is often used to write on the sand or as a rifle when playing war, and leaves as lettuce in a vegetable patch made in the sandpit. 

Nowadays, parents are increasingly concerned about letting their children go outdoors, and the isolation from their peers, can have unpleasant consequences when the child goes to school, for example. Before letting your child go outdoors, it is important to teach him at home what to do in the event of conflicts or danger from strangers and to establish where he is to play with his friends and for how long. And once he is out of the house you should monitor what happens to him.

In the course of education, it is useful to give the child the opportunity to play with simple objects, e.g. give a piece of string and ask him or her to do a task with it, rewarding the results with a kind word. Such play teaches the child to use particular objects in different ways and has the effect of making the child more creative and, in difficult situations, quicker to solve the problem.