EAS409-Play in Early Childhood Education: Reflection

  12th March, 2026    Play and Development-Why Play Matter? The session on play and development deeply changed the way I view children’s learning and the role of teachers in early childhood education. Through the World Café method, our class explored how play supports different developmental domains, and my group focused on creative development. Being one of the hosts gave me a valuable opportunity to actively participate in the discussion process rather than simply listening to others. I was responsible for staying at the table, explaining our group’s ideas to visitors, answering questions and collecting feedback from each round of discussion. This role challenged me to think critically, communicate clearly and reflect on the importance of collaboration in learning. One of the most meaningful ideas I gained from the lesson was that play is not separate from education but is actually the foundation of children’s overall development. Before this session, I understood play...

10th March, 2026       Play Development from 5-8 Years Learning about play development for children aged 5–8 years helped me critically understand that play is not simply an activity for entertainment, but a meaningful process that supports children’s physical, social, emotional and intellectual development. From the lesson, I learned that children in this age group become more independent, cooperative, curious and expressive. The discussion on play-based learning changed my perspective because I realized that children learn best when they are actively engaged in experiences that allow them to explore, create, communicate, and solve problems naturally. One important idea that stood out to me was the role of sensory play in child development. During our group activity, my group selected sensory play and created an activity using objects found on our table. We placed the objects inside a bag, blindfolded ourselves, and tried to identify the items only by touching and f...