The Importance of Structured Play: Learning While Playing

What could be more fun for infants and toddlers than playing? As such, it makes sense for infant and toddler nursery schools to use structured play as a learning tool.

Structured play is not a scheduled type of fun. It’s a deliberate and focused form of play designed to foster children’s learning and development. It uses what the children enjoy doing (play) to help them accomplish what they must (learn), bridging the gap between fun and education and allowing children to seamlessly acquire essential skills.

This article delves into the science and significance of structured play, showcasing why it’s pivotal for your child’s growth.

What Is Structured Play?

Structured play, also known as guided play, is play with a purpose or goal-oriented play. It refers to any structured play activity executed with a clear learning objective.

It isn’t random but led, usually involving specific instructions and steps for hands-on tasks. It can manifest as a mental or physical challenge to introduce or hone a skill.

Structured play activities can include board games, puzzles, and organized games like hopscotch, hide and seek, or red-light-green light. It can be dramatic role-playing, where children are given roles to act out, an imagined or simulated situation, a script to read or memorize, and predetermined actions to perform.

The core attribute of structured play is its rule-based nature, which demands adherence to specific guidelines while striving toward an objective. Through this, children learn to discern patterns, solve problems, follow instructions, and achieve set goals.

Additionally, because of its facilitated nature, structured play sharpens essential life skills such as communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution.

Structured play is an ideal learning tool. Its structure gives a clear path toward the activity’s objectives, but its play-based nature ensures children find it engaging and enjoyable.

The Benefits of Structured Play

A study by Adams (2005) found that structured play, in the form of playing rhyming games with pictures, improved young learners’ literacy, particularly their rhyming skills. There are a multitude of studies like this one that underscore the many benefits of structured play on children’s cognitive development, emotional and social growth, physical well-being, skill development, and personal growth.

Cognitive Development Benefits

The following are some of the cognitive development benefits of structured play:

• Goal Setting and Achievement: Structured activities enable children to set clear objectives and work towards achieving them. Strategizing to win a board game or
  complete a pattern cultivates focus and determination.
• Problem-Solving Skills: Structured play activities are naturally set up to have obstacles. Engaging in guided activities, therefore, teaches children how to identify problems and devise strategies to overcome them. This enhances their analytical skills.
• Listening Skills: Instructions are a core and vital component of structured play activities. Thus, they improve children’s comprehension capacity and their ability to pay attention.

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Emotional Growth

Structured play can help children become well-adjusted emotionally.

• Stress Management: Unlike open-ended tasks, structured activities provide clarity. Children are less likely to feel overwhelmed. This is especially beneficial for children on the autism spectrum.
• Bonding: Structured play activities require the guidance of an adult (e.g., teacher or parent). As such, they help reinforce the children’s trust in adults and teach them they can rely on adults for help.
• Self-Esteem: Structured group play allows children to showcase their skills and abilities in a group setting. This instills pride and boosts confidence.
• Emotional Skills: Guided play activities can be designed to provide children with opportunities to identify, express, and manage their emotions.

Physical Well-being

Structured play activities can help children develop physically.

• Exercise and Physical Health: Structured movement activities expose children to exercise, emphasizing its importance and enjoyment. Research suggests a direct
  correlation between active play and benefits like cardiovascular health and academic success.
• Motor Skills Development: Through movement-focused structured play, children refine coordination and muscle function, which is crucial for daily tasks.

Skill Development

Like the example cited earlier, structured play activities help children develop valuable skills.

• Athletic Skills: Structured play prepares children for sports by familiarizing them with the basics of gameplay and helping them become less distracted during actual games.
• Imagination and Creativity: Despite having set rules, many structured activities require imaginative and creative thinking. For instance, children engaged in pretend play must visualize and imagine the situation their characters are in.
• Teamwork: Activities like board games or group tasks teach children to respect the ideas of their classmates and friends and to collaborate with them toward a common goal.

Personal Growth

Structured activities encourage personal growth.

• Adaptability: Structured play exposes children to unfamiliar activities and peers, teaching them the ability to adapt.
• Social Skills: Children learn to communicate, make new friends, and grasp social dynamics by playing in groups.

How About Free Play?

Free play refers to spontaneous and self-directed play without predefined objectives. Examples include imaginative play, sandbox creations, or unorganized outdoor games. It differs from structured play in the following ways:

Guidance and Direction

In free play, the children have complete autonomy about what form play will take. Free play allows children to navigate on their own. Children make the rules and decide the direction of gameplay without external input.

In structured play, there are clear objectives and rules. A teacher, the parent, or some other adult is in charge of how the children will play and the way the activity will unfold. The adult provides the tools, sets the rules, formulates and relays the instructions, and determines objectives and goals.

Learning Objectives

Free play prioritizes exploration, creativity, and self-expression without a set outcome. In contrast, structured play has specific learning outcomes, such as problem-solving, following instructions, or skill acquisition.

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Benefits

Free play bolsters creativity, independence, and adaptability, providing children with the opportunity to understand themselves and their environment without constraints. Meanwhile, structured play enhances specific cognitive, emotional, and physical skills. It develops children’s problem-solving skills, providing clear challenges and pathways they must overcome.

Both structured and free play are vital to a child’s development. While structured play hones specific skills and introduces children to new concepts, free play allows them to explore, imagine, and create without boundaries. A well-rounded education incorporates both.

Structured Play: Vital to Early Education

Structured play provides a spectrum of benefits that equip children for academic, social, and personal challenges. Consider this before you decide on an early years foundation stage or EYFS nursery in Dubai for your infant, toddler, or preschooler.

References:

https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5762&context=etd
https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/play-based-literacy-instruction/61680
https://www.mygoodbrain.org/blog/the-science-of-play
https://www.bricks4kidz.com/blog/structured-play-vs-free-play/
https://blog.aaastateofplay.com/2016/11/7-benefits-of-structured-play.html
https://teamsoftomorrow.com/seven-ways-your-preschooler-benefits-from-structured-play-3/