Why it's important to Play!

10 Reasons why play is important!

1. Play lays the foundation for literacy. This is an authoritative voice! When children play, the learn and practice making sounds, try out new words and exercise their storytelling ability with their friends and family! See what happens when you hand a child a puppet!
2. Play is learning. Play nurtures development. Watch the stages of play from shaking a rattle, to peek-a-boo to hide and seek. Play is something you can do by yourself, with other kids, or with adults.
3. Play encourages adults to communicate with the children in their lives. Grown Ups support play by giving children the opportunity to play, by knowing when not to intervene, and by knowing when to intervene.
4. Play gives children the chance to be spontaneous. You may think your child should be rolling the truck on the ground but that doesn’t mean that truck is not equally useful as a stacking toy. Or that the blocks can't float!
5. Play gives children choice.Deciding what to play with or deciding who to play with are big choices!
6. Play gives children space. To test a new move, to set their own limits!
7. Play gives adults the chance to learn how to play again. One of the most challenging parts of play is putting yourself in it!
8. Play allows adults to learn their child’s body language. Knowing when to step in to play is an important role for grown ups!
9. Play teaches social skills. Learning to communicate, learning to cooperate, learning strategies, and learning sportsmanship!
10. Play is fun. We're the Instigators of Fun and you can be too! Check this out! Instigators of Fun!