The adult works, the child plays.
Child’s play is what adult’s work is. Sometimes we forget and deprive our children of their right to play, perhaps because no one taught us how important and beneficial it is for their development!
Physically, it accelerates blood circulation, increases metabolism and strengthens the nervous system. The parts of the body are perfected while through the game the perception increases and the flexibility, balance, precision and grace of the movements are improved.
Emotionally, it is an important factor in the child’s mental health! It offers joy and laughter, pleasure and satisfaction, “tools” useful for dealing with stressful situations. Through the game, his inhibitions are overcome, self-confidence and respect are strengthened and his thinking and judgment are sharpened.
Socially, it helps him simulate the adult world painlessly and at his own pace. He becomes creative and active, learns to follow rules, to claim, to give in, to create relationships! He makes friends and enemies, finds a way to manage situations and emotions while cultivating his language skills. The game is the propylae of the emotional relationships and social contacts that he will make in his later life.
Play, together with contact with nature and engagement with the arts, contribute decisively to a complete and balanced child’s personality. That is why in 1989, the United Nations recognized play as the right of all children, underlining its fundamental role in childhood.
Play in the Montessori classroom
The importance of play is one of the cornerstones of the Montessori classroom. The child’s free time, which he uses playing, offers him the opportunity to assimilate all the (above) benefits of the game, experientially, through action and experience.
In the Montessori classroom, the child’s spontaneous and internally motivated need for play is constantly met, it takes shape every moment, it is his every occupation! The child through the Montessori material, plays and works, works and plays.
They help with this:
- The free choice of hardware (game)
- The mixing of ages
- The importance of the natural environment as the third teacher in the child’s life
- The uninterrupted three hours
- The Undirected Game
The absence of play from the child’s life is associated with poor motor skills, low levels of physical activity, reduced ability to manage stressful situations, reduced social skills that can lead to difficulties in managing social situations, difficulty in resolving conflicts, low self-confidence and passivity.