Children follow their own journey through a voyage of discovery.
Constructive Play opportunities give children the freedom to choose their own creative path of play. A play environment with a range of buildable items offers levels of complexity with no specific set purpose or limitations, which invites a child to use all their imagination. Guiding children to think creatively supports their brain to look beyond a one-directional thought pattern, into a variety of solutions. This kind of creative thinking is a valuable life skill that provides our children with endless opportunities.
When children engage in this way of playing, they will start to ask themselves the question 'what if?' - an indication they are challenging themselves. Children discover what will and won’t work, and challenge the process through trial and error, modifying and adjusting how they construct and build. They gain a sense of pride, joy, and accomplishment as they overcome problems to build structures.
Constructive Play is proven to make a difference to the way children think and complete tasks:
- While building, children problem-solve, connect socially, understand, and are inquisitive. They discover the characteristics of different materials as they engage their curiosity and imagination, experiment with applying concepts, and explore new ways to use physical materials.
- Children discover the concept of structures - man-made and natural - both the ‘how’ (engineering and constructing) and the ‘why’ (the purpose of structures).
- Children can manipulate the environment in any way they want, as they use materials to create a bigger model from smaller ones.
- It offers whole-body development for young children as they move, crawl, stretch, walk, and develop gross motor skills, as well as refine fine motor skills as they move and connect smaller pieces. Hand-eye coordination and visual and spatial awareness are also enhanced.
- As a child builds, their eyes send visual information to the brain to tell it where the hand is placed and if it is legible. Using this information, the brain generates instructions for how the hand must move in order to create appropriate shapes. These skills are essential in early years development and form the foundations for things like writing and mathematical understanding.
- Children gain immense satisfaction and feelings of achievement as they build, developing their confidence and sense of independence.
Children are encouraged to collaborate and work as a team.
Building and constructing is a great opportunity for young children to work together, develop how they socialise, make effective contributions, and gain confidence. Through a child's active participation and involvement, they’re given the chance to test and challenge their ideas, improve their language and literacy skills, as well as mathematical, social, and emotional skills.
