Reflective Questions About Children's Play

The two reflective questions I have chosen to write my essay on is reflective questions two and three. Reflective question two asks what ‘play’ is, and what it is not; and reflective question three asks what it means to think analytically about children’s interests as a source of curriculum. I believe that play is a way for children to explore, experience and learn about the world they live in and I think that thinking analytically about children’s interests is very important as it involves thinking deeper than the surface of what a teacher may think a child’s interest is from their own play. Analytically thinking about their interest explores more ideas and meaning for what a child’s interest could be instead. For example, if a child is always playing with a digger in the sand pit, their interest might not be that they are just interested in diggers, …show more content…
What is play not? Critically discuss your understandings of the complex notion of play in relation to Te Whāriki, diverse learners, and the role of the teacher. How does Hedges’ (2008) ideas contribute to your understandings?” I think that learning comes naturally from every experience, and is dependent on teacher knowledge and responsiveness, and the quality of social relationships in everyday play and learning opportunities. Children’s play is very child centered, Te Whariki is very holistic in children’s development, “the early childhood curriculum reflects the holistic way children learn and grow”(Ministry Of Education, 1996, p.14), its what the child/children are interested in, play is interacting with external resources and the environment, influenced by culture social relationships and resources and knowledge teachers provide. I do not believe that there is “not play”. I think that play can be a positive and a negative experience for children as not play could be deliberate negative misbehavior, but from play comes experience good and