Play is the work of the child

"Play Is The Work of the Child” Maria Montessori

Early years brain development is so important

Research shows that 75% of brain development occurs after birth, most of it in the early years.

Early experiences and relationships are vital as they both stimulate and influence the development of your child's brain.
These experiences influence the development of motor skills, language, socialisation, emotional well-being, creativity, problem solving and learning ability.

Play, both structured and unstructured, has a vital role in this.

Children get the most enjoyment out of an activity (or toy) when it matches their developmental needs and interests.

If you’re considering showing your child a new activity or teaching them a new skill or buying a toy a handy way of evaluating its suitability is to use the Goldilocks Principle ‘not to hard, not too easy, just right’.

When an activity is too hard or too easy the child becomes either bored or frustrated and neither is ideal for the child.

Hold back the praise

Tasks that are just right result in the child experiencing great pleasure and satisfaction with their efforts.

The joy comes from within and they don’t need praise, sometimes praise can take away some of the joy of achievement from the child.
I know it’s hard to hold back as praise is entrenched in our culture (that’s an article for another day), wherever possible in place of praise remark on the effort, the involvement, the joy.

We all make mistakes

Of course as adults it’s impossible to get it right every time and sometimes we introduce an activity that we soon see is too hard.
When that happens, do what you can to salvage the situation, put it away and make a mental note to reintroduce it again later.
It’s important to remove things the child can’t do as if they just fiddle around with it when the time is right the task will have lost its appeal.

The child may be attracted by the colours or textures so you can introduce these in a different, developmentally appropriate, form.

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It's helpful to go through your child's toys on a regular basis to check that they are still appropriate. 
Also, you don’t need to put everything out at once.

If they’re not using something put it away for a while and bring it out again in a couple of weeks.

Take your lead from the child by stepping back and observing their skills and interests, especially those things they’re desperate to 'help' with or to do by themselves.

Tailor the job

A word of caution here, it’s important to tailor the job to your child’s developmental skills so your little one is likely, with a little practise and effort, to experience success and build a sense of competence.
It’s important to look at tasks with the knowledge of an adult and not be too swayed by enthusiasm.

Some tasks or toys may be way to complex for your little one even when they are very keen.
They may however be ready for part of the task.
Think carefully about the steps involved and make a judgement based on your knowledge of both the child and the task.

Look objectively and observe

By looking objectively and observing which toys are used and which ones are not, at which activities they most enjoy and which they don't, you will begin to get a deeper understand their interests, skills and developmental stages. If you have a good understanding of the Sensitive Periods that too will help.

This valuable knowledge will help you to plan positive, meaningful activities and life will be more fun for everyone!

Enjoy these wonderful early years where each day the miracle of developing life unfolds before you. 

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Toddler activity of the week- spooning beans

Transferring objects from one place to another is a favourite activity of most young children. 

Why

It seems like they're just moving things about but, like much of what children do, it is so much more than it appears.

The child is:

• perfecting their grip

• exploring textures

• gaining an understanding of weight and distance

• developing their fine motor skills and their hand eye coordination

• adding strength and flexibility to their wrist and arm movements

• while at the same time learning a skill useful in their quest for independence.

Learn more

Setting up a spooning activity

Setting up a spooning activity, is is easy and practical as you probably already have everything you need in your cupboards.

To start you need:

• A tray

• two bowls of equal size

• beans or similar objects to be transferred

• a child's height place to work

Setting up the activity on a tray makes it more practical as any objects which are spilt fall onto the tray and are more easily retrieved.

When introducing any new activity to your toddler first show it to them while sitting beside them so they can clearly see the actions required and then, if practical, store the tray on a shelf where it is possible for the child to choose and use independently.

If your child is not yet ready for using a spoon the activity can be set up in the same way with things like pom poms or shells which the child transfers from bowl to bowl by hand.

There are many ways this activity can be developed and refined as your child develops

For children, real beats pretend every time.

Our homes are awash with toys for children which pretend to replicate the activities of daily life.

What the child really desires is the real activity.

Pretend play will satisfy the child to some extent but never to the level they really desire.

The Montessori approach aims to create the possibility for the child to  participate wherever possible in the world around them. So instead of a wooden 'sink' where the child pretends to wash dishes how can you enable  your little one what they really want to do, which is to wash real dishes, which need washing.

Involving your child in kitchen-based work is relatively easy if a suitable piece of furniture such as a  learning tower is made or purchased.

Washing the dishes is a great example of a simple everyday activity which provides within that one task so much the young child both wants and needs.

In addition to the satisfaction of mastering the task washing the dishes is an activity which provides a mechanism for:

• refining of motor skills

• hand-eye co-ordination

• understanding of cause and effect (e.g. you need to place the dish in the water and rub it with a brush to clean it)

• understanding consequences (if you don't hold the dish tightly it may fall from your grasp and may even break)

Perhaps most importantly your child will experience a sense of satisfaction as they meet their inner drive to participate in real 'work' and are involved in contributing to the family well-being.

Here are just a few examples of other easily available daily household activities loved by small children: 

• Sorting

  • cutlery

  • socks

  • washing

• Cutting (easy examples to start)

  • bananas

  • pears

  • mushrooms

  • zucchini

  • eggs

  • berries

• Spooning (the amount required for a family meal into a pot or bowl)

  • pasta

  • rice

  • beans

  • oats

Children understand that the tasks they see everyday are vital to the well being of the family and allowing your small child to participate in as many of those real tasks as possible will, along with the development of the skills discussed above, provide the child with a strong positive message about their capabilities and their importance within the family unit.