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What games do you find are most beneficial to this age range?

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What games do you find are most beneficial to this age range?

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What is a good way to incorporate creativity into a classroom or even in your own home?

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What is a good way to incorporate creativity into a classroom or even in your own home?

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What do you think is essential about play and creativity?

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What do you think is essential about play and creativity?

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This will go into more detail about the key points and adaptions that were listed.  

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This will go into more detail about the key points and adaptions that were listed.  

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1. Transition times
2. Blocks
3. Table toys
4. Housekeeping corner
5. Art
6. Sand and water
7. Library

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1. Planning for inclusion
2. Only as special as needed
3. You're not in it alone
4. Individualization
5. Developmentally appropriate practice
5. Partial participation

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Adaptions for Students with Disabilities.

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Adaptions for Students with Disabilities.

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This link only describes stages 2, 4, 5 and 6 but can help anyone understand what to notice and tips.

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This link only describes stages 2, 4, 5 and 6 but can help anyone understand what to notice and tips.

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"Play is the highest form of research." -Albert Einstein

Play presents a multitude of evolving opportunities for parents to encourage the social and emotional development of children. Here are a few practical tips to help children get the most out of play, at every stage in their development:

Solitary Play

Notice what is being explored. As your child plays intently on their own, for example taking a ball and watching it go down a chute, watch for how they are exploring, creating and learning about how things work. The child is "making meaning" of their world. During this exploration, adults can join in and celebrate the importance of what they are exploring. This recognition increases your child's self confidence, creates trust, and strengthens the connection between caregiver and child.

Sit back and applaud solo time. One of the joys of solitary play is that this time on their own can still benefit social and emotional growth! There is no requirement to jump in and join in at every opportunity! Give your child the space to imagine and explore on their own as this fosters concentration, creativity and focus.

Parallel or Side-by-Side Play

Associative Play - Playing together but not yet cooperatively

It's all about the drama. Around the age of three or four, children begin to play with others in ways that include pretend, dramatic and fantasy play in which they share in the same emerging "story" together. In playing out the components of a "story", they are adding to each other's play experience, experimenting with defining social roles and piquing each other's imagination. Celebrate the imaginative play and what they are learning about each other and their world through this play.

Cooperative Play

Support perspective sharing. Empathy and perspective development is based on feeling what it might be like to "walk in another person's shoes". So literally provide an assortment of dramatic play clothing, props and shoes. Encourage your child to embody a new character to deepen his or her understanding of social roles.

Promote collaborative goals. Working together on a goal might look like a group of children raking leaves and jumping in the piles together, taking part in a community garden, embarking on a family scavenger hunt, or engaging in the daily household routines and chores. These types of activities require cooperation.

Point out conflicts. Along with teamwork and cooperative play there will, undoubtedly, be obstacles that arise. When this happens, embrace the opportunity to introduce and , support negotiation and guide the children towards empathy and understanding.

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"Play is the highest form of research." -Albert Einstein Play presents a multitude of evolving opportunities for parents to encourage the social and emotional development of children. Here are a few practical tips to help children get the most out of play, at every stage in their development: Notice what is being explored.

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Play is all about having fun! Any activity, organized or unstructured, your child finds fun and enjoyable is considered play. But play is much more than just a fun activity for your child! As a child grows they go through different stages of play development.

While playing, children learn and develop important skills they will continue to use throughout their lifetime.

Problem solving, creativity, and willingness to take risks are just a few of the skills developed through play.
Is your child under 2 years old? Enter your baby's birthday to get weekly activities to help meet developmental milestones.
Children who use their imagination and 'play pretend' in safe environments are able to learn about their emotions, what interests them, and how to adapt to situations. When children play with each other, they are given the opportunity to learn how to interact with others and behave in various social situations. Learn more about your child's social-emotional development.

Be sure to give your child plenty of time and space to play. There are 6 stages of play during early childhood, all of which are important for your child's development. All of the stages of play involve exploring, being creative, and having fun. This list explains how children's play changes by age as they grow and develop social skills.

At this stage baby is just making a lot of movements with their arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. They are learning about and discovering how their body moves.

Solitary Play (Birth-2 Years)

This is the stage when a child plays alone. They are not interested in playing with others quite yet.

Spectator/Onlooker Behavior (2 Years)

During this stage a child begins to watch other children playing but does not play with them.

Parallel Play (2+ Years)

When a child plays alongside or near others but does not play with them this stage is referred to as parallel play.

When a child starts to interact with others during play, but there is not a large amount of interaction at this stage. A child might be doing an activity related to the kids around him, but might not actually be interacting with another child. For example, kids might all be playing on the same piece of playground equipment but all doing different things like climbing, swinging, etc.

When a child plays together with others and has interest in both the activity and other children involved in playing they are participating in cooperative play.

Watch to see what the six stages of play can look like:

As your child starts playing with family members and friends, make sure to teach them about sharing and winning and losing.

Play starts when we are babies, but it does not stop there! Including play in your child's daily routine and giving them time to play is important for their development at every age. These stages are general guidelines for what to expect of your child's play skills, but remember every child is different and if you have concerns bring them up with your healthcare provider.

Your child makes a lot of changes as they grow. Learn more about how play can change as your little one does.

Check out what else to expect from your baby. Follow their milestones here!

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The 6 Stages of How Kids Learn to Play | Play Development

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Playtime is More Than a Fun Activity, It's a Learning Experience! Learn About the 6 Stages in Play Development That Build Your Child's Social Skills!

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Here is a link that explains these example games for more information.

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Here is a link that explains these example games for more information.

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United Way of Central Florida invests in quality early childhood education programs in our community. We provide tools and resources that teach parents and caregivers facts and best practices for different ages and stages of a young child's life. From engagement ideas and using everyday moments as learning activities to ways to spark language and learning skills, we provide information that helps ensure all kids get a strong start.

Many parents have their kids at home right now and might be searching for ways to keep them engaged and entertained. We put our knowledge of childhood development to work and created a list of easy activities to do with kids age three to five. Additionally, you can follow our Success By 6 team on Facebook for daily activities and fun videos Monday-Friday.
Age 3

1. Shape Jumper: Use scissors to cut out different shapes from construction paper. Tell the child to "jump on the circle" and "hop on a blue shape."

2. Where I Live: Begin teaching your child your home address and phone number. Talk with your child about how each house has a number, and how their house or apartment is one of a series, each with its own number.

3. Flip the Question: Children are especially curious at age three and ask "why" - a lot. Instead of giving the answer, try hesitating and then flipping the question to ask your child what they think.

4. What Goes Where: Use everyday chores to teach kids to sort and organize. Make a pile of all the socks while folding laundry, have your child set the table or ask them to put toys of different types on different shelves when they are picking up (e.g., trucks go on this shelf and dolls go on this one).

5. Find the Feeling: Mute a show you are viewing and watch with your child. Try to guess how the characters you see are feeling and explain what clues made you think people were happy, sad or mad.

Age 4

1. Weather Watch: Create a chart to track the weather. Draw a grid for the month and ask your child to keep track of the weather with a symbol. The sun for sunny days, a raindrop for rainy days, a cloud for cloudy days and so on (you can use stickers too). At the end of a week, you can look back and see what type of weather happened most often, and count how many to be sure.

2. Big/Little, High/Low: Look around the room, then point to an object. Ask the child if it is big or little or high or low. Take turns pointing at new objects.

3. Tell Me a Story: Reverse storytime with your child. Instead of you telling them a story or reading a book, ask them to tell you a story. It could be a made up story or a story about their day.

4. I Spy: Take turns with your child picking an object in the room and giving each other a hint. Start by saying "I spy with my little eye something..." and then give a hint about the object's color, shape, size or other simple detail. To help kids with phonics, try a variation where the hint is the first letter the object's name.

5. Mirror, Mirror: Stand face to face with your child, about a foot apart, and have them attempt to copy all your movements. Reach up and stretch to the sky. Do 10 jumping jacks. Act like a monkey. Take turns so your child has a chance to be the leader.

Age 5

1. Color Scavenger Hunt: This can be a great indoor or backyard activity. Make a list of colors and have your child find an object that matches each hue on the list.

2. Simon Says: One person is "Simon." They stand in front of the family and tell the players what they must do. The players must only follow the directions when they begin with "Simon says." Take turns being Simon.

3. Freeze Dance: Play music and dance with your child, then hit pause in the middle of the song. Encourage your child to freeze in a fun pose or with a funny face. Try different styles and tempos of music.

4. Play "Store": Set up a store with things around your house. Take turns with your child being the customer and store owner.

5. Beat & Repeat: Create a beat with two claps, and repeat. Then have your child repeat it. Take turns creating beats and repeating it. Anytime someone misses, try again. Over time increase the beats to three, four, five and more.

Help Local Parents
Some parents in our community are facing financial hardships and need more support right now. They may have been laid off, furloughed or may have lost child care due to recent events. UWCF is working with community partners to make sure parents get the support they need. When you give to UWCF you make it possible for more parents to get help. Please consider donating today.

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15 Games to Play at Home with Kids, Ages 3-5 - United Way of Central Florida

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United Way of Central Florida invests in quality early childhood education programs in our community. We provide tools and resources that teach parents and caregivers facts and best practices for different ages and stages of a young child's life.

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Since these games are only some examples, what are your favorite games to play with children from ages 3-5?

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Since these games are only some examples, what are your favorite games to play with children from ages 3-5?

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Color Scavenger Hunt
Simon Says
Freeze Dance
Play "Store"
Beat and Repeat

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Weather Watcher
Big/Little, High/Low
Tell my a Story
I Spy
Mirror, Mirror

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Shape Jumper
Where I Live
Flip the Question
What Goes Where
Find the Feeling

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This is a small example of the types of play children can engage in. 

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This is a small example of the types of play children can engage in. 

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Here is an example photo of associate play.

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Here is an example photo of associate play.

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Why is creativity and play essential for young children?

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Why is creativity and play essential for young children?

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Creativity is the freest form of self-expression. There is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling for children than to be able to express themselves openly and without judgment. The ability to be creative, to create something from personal feelings and experiences, can reflect and nurture children's emotional health. The experiences children have during their first years of life can significantly enhance the development of their creativity.

Importance of the Creative Process
All children need to be truly creative is the freedom to commit themselves completely to the effort and make whatever activity they are doing their own. What's important in any creative act is the process of self-expression. Creative experiences can help children express and cope with their feelings. A child's creative activity can help teachers to learn more about what the child may be thinking or feeling. Creativity also fosters mental growth in children by providing opportunities for trying out new ideas, and new ways of thinking and problem-solving. Creative activities help acknowledge and celebrate children's uniqueness and diversity as well as offer excellent opportunities to personalize our teaching and focus on each child.

Opportunities for Creativity
Children need plenty of opportunities for creative play and creative thinking. Start by providing activities that are based on the children's interests and ideas. This means learning how to listen intently to what children are saying. It is very helpful to tape record and transcribe children's conversations as well as take notes and review them with your co-teachers.
Be sure to offer children a wide range of creative materials and experiences. Being creative is more than drawing or painting. There's also photography, music, field trips, working with wire, clay, paper, wood, water or shadows. The possibilities are endless. It's important to provide children lots of time to explore materials and pursue their ideas. This includes time to think about how to plan, design, construct, experiment and revise project ideas. Don't forget to build in time to talk these ideas over with other people - both teachers and children.

Varieties of Experience
Look for ways to provide multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and other community experiences for children. Activities such as field trips, celebrating holidays and activities with other ethnic groups, and encouraging children to bring visitors to school enhances the creative process. The more varied experiences children have in their lives, the wider the range of creative expression. The more personal experiences children have with people and situations outside of their own environment, the more material they can draw on to incorporate in their play. Our challenge is to try not to be intimidated by the variety and diversity of artistic expression in our classroom.

Fostering the Creative Process
Encouraging children to make their own choices is important. Children should be permitted frequent opportunities - and lots of time - to experience and explore expressive materials. Put your emphasis on the process of creativity and not on the finished product. What children learn and discover about themselves is vital to their development. Show your support for the creative process by appreciating and offering support for children's efforts. Independence and control are important components in the creative process. This is especially true when working with children with disabilities.

Creative Play
One of the most important types of creative activity for young children is creative play. Creative play is expressed when children use familiar materials in a new or unusual way, and when children engage in role-playing and imaginative play. Nothing reinforces the creative spirit and nourishes a child's soul more than providing large blocks of time to engage in spontaneous, self-directed play throughout the day. Play is the serious business of young children and the opportunity to play freely is vital to their healthy development.
Even as early as infancy, play fosters physical development by promoting the development of sensory exploration and motor skills. Through play and the repetition of basic physical skills, children perfect their abilities and become competent at increasingly difficult physical tasks. Play fosters mental development and new ways of thinking and problem solving. Through block play, children are confronted with many mental challenges having to do with measurement, equality, balance, shape, spatial relationships and physical properties.
One of the strongest benefits of play is the way it enhances social development. Playful social interactions begin from the moment of birth. Dramatic play helps children experiment with and understand social roles. It can also give them countless opportunities for acquiring social skills as they play with others. Through dramatic play, children gradually learn to take each other's needs into account, and appreciate different values and perspectives.
Through play, children are able to express and cope with their feelings. Play also helps relieve stress and pressure for children. They can just be themselves. There's no need to live up to adult standards during play. Play offers children an opportunity to achieve mastery of their environment. They control the experience through their imaginations, and they exercise their powers of choice and decision-making as the play progresses.
Play helps develop each child's unique perspective and individual style of creative expression. Play expresses the child's personal, unique responses to the environment. Play is a self-expressive activity that draws on the child's powers of imagination. Play is open-ended, free-form and children have the freedom to try out new ideas as well as build on and experiment with the old.
Play provides an excellent opportunity for integrating and including children with disabilities in your program. The opportunities play provides for control and independence are important issues for any child but are especially important for these youngsters.
What are some of the ways we can encourage play in our classrooms? As caregivers, we must be careful to avoid dominating the play ourselves. Play should be the result of the children's ideas and not directed by the adult. Through play, we should try to foster children's abilities to express themselves. We should also try to help children base play on their own inspirations - not ours. Our goal is to stimulate play - not control it - and to encourage children's satisfaction in playing with each other.
Pay attention to play, plan for it, encourage it. Learn how to extend children's play through comments and questions. Stimulate creative ideas by encouraging children to come up with new and unusual uses of equipment. Try to remain open to new and original ideas, and encourage children to come up with more than one solution or answer. Be careful about over-restricting equipment and make sure to have play materials quickly available when children want them. Buy and use equipment in ways that encourage the use of imagination. Avoid toys and activities that spell everything out for the child and leave nothing to the imagination. Provide children with a good range and balance of equipment, and keep equipment exciting by changing it frequently or changing its location.

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The Whole Child - For Early Care Providers - Creativity and Play

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Creativity is the freest form of self-expression. There is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling for children than to be able to express themselves openly and without judgment. The ability to be creative, to create something from personal feelings and experiences, can reflect and nurture children's emotional health.

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What types of games do you think children play between the ages 3 to 5?

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What types of games do you think children play between the ages 3 to 5?

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This is ages 4+ years. When a child plays together with others and have interest in both the activity and other children involved.

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This is 3-4 years. It is when a child starts to interact with others during play but there might not be a large amount of interaction. It can also be when a child is doing an activity related to others around, but might not be interacting with another.

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This type of play is 2+ years. It is when a child plays besides or near others but again, does not play with them.

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This happens at 2 years old. A child begins to watch other children play but does not play with them.

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This type of play is from birth to 2 years. This is when a child plays alone and is not interested in playing with others.

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This type of play is from birth to 3 months. It is when a baby is making a lot of movement with their arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. They discover how their bodies work.

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1. Unoccupied play
2. Solitary play
3. Spectator/onlooker behavior
4. Parallel play
5. Associate place
6. Cooperative play