Many research conducted has proven that play can help develop children’s fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are the collection of skills, using the small muscles in the hands and fingers, therefore allowing children to perform crucial tasks such as reaching, grasping, moving objects and tools and using their hand-eye coordination (Ammundson and Weil 2001; Case-Smith and Shortridge, 1996). For instance, role play such as dressing up clothes with several types of fasteners can help develop children’s hand-eye coordination, grasping and release of objects and perception because the children need to understand different shapes and buttons. Also, there are normally a range of activities in a classroom that encourage fine motor skill development.
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Unstructured play, is commonly referred to as ‘free play’, it tends to be child-lead and it is when a child is unrestricted and can engage in whichever activity they desire. Playground time is often the main opportunity for free play, this is because the child can play in any way they wish, explore and interact with a wide range of age groups. Also, outdoor spaces encourage movement because there is more space, as well as this slides and swings can help promote balance and coordination, thus improving gross motor skills. Other benefits of unstructured play are because it is often child-lead it can help children to work collaboratively with one another, to share, to negotiate, to lead, to resolve conflicts, move at their own pace and engage in an activity they are interested in (Blasi & Hurwitz, 2003; Erickson, 1985; Pellegrini & Smith, 1998; McElwain & Volling, 2005; Vygotsky, 1980). In addition, children can make their own decisions, for instance, they can decide their own rules and develop their own imagination whereas in an adult-led play they would be restricted on these aspects. Hodgkin (1985), believed that children want to try out activities/skills that they cannot yet master and Bruner (1986) alleged that a child’s preferred activity may result in more learning than structured learning. As a result, I do think it is of importance for children to develop those skills themselves and attain their own knowledge because sometimes children’s activity relating to their own experience, their own interest and in their own way, can have a bigger impact on their learning and development than structured activities. This links in with the EYFS framework, because it states that: ‘children learn by leading their own play’, however in the curriculum free play is still not valued as much as structured play. This is because play has now become more
Unstructured play, is commonly referred to as ‘free play’, it tends to be child-lead and it is when a child is unrestricted and can engage in whichever activity they desire. Playground time is often the main opportunity for free play, this is because the child can play in any way they wish, explore and interact with a wide range of age groups. Also, outdoor spaces encourage movement because there is more space, as well as this slides and swings can help promote balance and coordination, thus improving gross motor skills. Other benefits of unstructured play are because it is often child-lead it can help children to work collaboratively with one another, to share, to negotiate, to lead, to resolve conflicts, move at their own pace and engage in an activity they are interested in (Blasi & Hurwitz, 2003; Erickson, 1985; Pellegrini & Smith, 1998; McElwain & Volling, 2005; Vygotsky, 1980). In addition, children can make their own decisions, for instance, they can decide their own rules and develop their own imagination whereas in an adult-led play they would be restricted on these aspects. Hodgkin (1985), believed that children want to try out activities/skills that they cannot yet master and Bruner (1986) alleged that a child’s preferred activity may result in more learning than structured learning. As a result, I do think it is of importance for children to develop those skills themselves and attain their own knowledge because sometimes children’s activity relating to their own experience, their own interest and in their own way, can have a bigger impact on their learning and development than structured activities. This links in with the EYFS framework, because it states that: ‘children learn by leading their own play’, however in the curriculum free play is still not valued as much as structured play. This is because play has now become more