A Publication of the Environments Professional Group

The Environments Professional Group is a team of educators and designers who come together to make
the connection between the needs of early childhood programs and the developmentally-appropriate
products that meet these needs.
2003 Environments, Inc.
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846
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Guidelines for Using Environments
Parent Education Aids
Environments, Inc.
A Publication of the Environments Professional Group
www.environments.com
Play is the work of children. For the young child, play and work involve the
same actions: interacting with people, manipulating objects, and making discoveries
that help make sense of the world. Learning happens naturally through play. For
school success, children must develop physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and
creatively. Play is a crucial part of this development of the whole child.
Play is an important part of language development. Children express
themselves through play, and they communicate in many ways during play. Play brings
together adults with children, or children with each other a perfect environment for
conversations to develop. Play helps children have fun with language!
Play is an ideal way for children to express feelings. Sociodramatic play
helps children act out relationships and work through negative feelings. Play is critical
for social development, helping children develop rules and understand the purpose of
rules. Through play, children learn to make choices and decisions and solve problems.
A childs social play begins with the first smile from an adult.
The adult serves as the play leader for young children, and through this play children
develop secure attachments with adults. Adults promote play and language develop-
ment by participating with children in play and by serving as models. Adults set the
stage for play and provide a supporting role as they encourage childrens play.
WhyIs Play So Important?