Topic

Early
Curriculum
Basics (Play,
Discovery and
Creativity)

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1.

Explain the importance of play in children learning development;

2.

Describe the integration of play into the Early Years Curriculum;

3.

Demonstrate the ability to scaffold, support and spark curiosity in

children; and

4.

Demonstrate the ability to include play, discovery and creativity in

daily classroom activities.

INTRODUCTION
A play-centred curriculum is not laissez faire curriculum in which anything
goes. It is a curriculum that uses the power of play to foster childrens
development. It is an emergent curriculum in which teachers take an active
role in balancing spontaneous play, guided play and teacher-directed
activities.
(Van Hoon, Nourot, Scales & Alward, 2007)

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In this topic, you will be studying about play, discovery and creativity; the three
main elements which underpin the basis of early years curriculum. As you study
this topic you will understand the significance of play as a natural tendency for
children learning development. Play, discovery and creativity are some of the
key areas that needs to be integrated into every early years curriculum. You will
also understand how to support and promote play, discovery and creativity by
applying the three areas into daily actionable classroom activities followed by
identifying an active questioning method to spark childrens curiosity and make
new discoveries.

3.1

PLAY

Play is one of the diverse range of behaviours that exists, which has multiple
purposes to children and adults. It can be purposeful and serious, trivial and
purposeful, purposeless and serious, trivial and purposeless and highly
motivating and creative. Meckley (2002) attempts to define the characteristic of
play by linking it to what it does to a child and how it can link a childs inner and
outer world. Here are some of the characteristics of play (Meckley, 2002):
(a)

Play is Child-chosen
Children are given the liberty to decide the various activities or ideas they
want to participate in. When child begins to play, he or she will choose the
materials they want to play with. Although children are in control and are
able to decide everything about play, they need to cooperate and negotiate
with others to play together. Since the child chooses her own activity and
playmates, they are more likely to succeed and in turn it gives them an
immediate boost to their self- confidence. There is no right or wrong in a
childs play; he or she makes their own rules following a school or home
framework. Learning occurs mostly through play if a child can connect
with it.

(b)

Play is Child-invented
Play is not only decided by children but also invented by them. Children
are always trying new ideas although it might not seem new to an adult but
to a child it is new because they tried and completed something new which
they never tried before. In play, children are the inventors and
experimenters; they are able to develop their creativity and thinking skills
as they try out new things.
Children learn a great deal in pretending with activities and ideas that like
real events but are not real. They learn about concepts and develop
perspectives about people, events, relationship and rules through playing.
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(c)

Play is Like Work for Children

The process of play is where learning occurs. Communication is an
essential tool for play. Children use more complex language during play
than when conversing with adults. They also tend to do their first attempt
in reading and writing during play.

(d)

Play is Done by the Players (Children) not the Adults (Teachers or Parents)
Children plan their own play and they often need time, material and space.
The adults role is to help children plan and support childrens own plan.
This can be done by providing them with a proper environment, support,
rules and safety so that they can obtain maximum learning.

(e)

Play Requires Active Involvement

In any play activity, a childs mind and body are active and their learnings
are maximised when they interact with the environment, materials and
others.

(f)

Play is Fun
Play is typically a fun activity for children as they are able to choose their
activity and playmates.

ACTIVITY 3.1
Discuss in groups, how you would determine whether an activity is
considered as play.

3.2

INTEGRATING PLAY INTO THE

CURRICULUM

All curriculum models are beliefs and values that are considered to be
educational and developmentally appropriate concerning a childs immediate
and future needs. The curriculum content is translated into adult and childinitiated activities specifically for children. Teachers must also be aware how
children receive and interpret the curriculums content. Although play is not the
main part of the curriculum, but remains an essential part of the curriculum as it
provides the way to strengthen a childs learning and development needs.

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3.2.1

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Pedagogical Framing and Strategies

Pedagogical framing and strategies helps practitioners to support child and

adult-initiated play. Pedagogical framing involves making informed decisions
about the structure and content of the curriculum (refer to Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1: Co-constructing early curriculum

Source: Wood and Attfield (2005)

Within the overall structure of the framework, teachers have used a variety of
techniques to support learning which includes playing along with children,
observing, introducing new ideas and demonstrating skills. However, this does
not mean teachers are in full control of the curriculum as they often need to
respond to childrens intentions, needs and interest which is why unplanned
lessons serves as a better method to ensure a childs needs is taken care of. At the
organisation stage, teachers plan out activities, resources and the environment
but this is combined with childrens choices and decisions based on a
combination of materials and activities. There is no other stage apart from the
implementation stage which allows teachers to decide when and where activities
will be done combined with the opportunities to follow a childs learning
journey. For example, Cook (2003) describes a science activity on electrical circuit
where the children learned how to make an electric circuit using batteries, bulbs
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and crocodile clips. The teacher focused on scientific processes and developing
their understanding while the children proposed to role play using an
illuminated magic wand. The teacher responded to this idea by giving them the
opportunity and support to apply their new skills in a play-based situation using
problem-solving skills. This is actually a continuum between adult and a childinitiated activity.

SELF-CHECK 3.1
Explain what unplanned lessons are.

3.2.2

Common Elements of Play-based Curriculum

Models

Playbased classrooms have some common elements such as the organised space
resources and time schedule.
Most play-based programmes have defined play-centres which are specially
designed to promote play. The eight designed features normally found in playcentres are shown in Figure 3.2:

Figure 3.2: The eight features in play-centres

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Let us now discuss the eight features one by one.

(a)

Logical Arrangement of Space and Materials

Through appropriate and logical arrangement of space, an increase in
frequency and quality of play is likely to happen, which can promote
greater learning outcomes. The arrangement will focus on suitable
materials that are closely related and another, far away from unsuitable
materials. Managing noisy play materials such as blocks, dramatic play and
motor play will be arranged at a quiet area such as the reading or computer
room. Messy areas such as art or water area will be placed over washable
surfaces and near a water source. Curtis and Carter (2003) research and
anecdotal evidence show that classroom with logical and systematic
material arrangement will acquire greater cognitive skills. For example, in
the block area, most blocks are kept according to shape or size which is
easier for a child to keep the place tidy.

(b)

Modified Open-plan Design

Play-centres can be divided effectively using visual partition such as
bookshelves and small dividers where the area is enclosed on all three sides
and leaving an opening for easy access (see example in Figure 3.3). This
type of play area is said to be superior in encouraging play persistence and
quality in play.

Figure 3.3: Open-plan design classroom

Source: http://vongirl.blogspot.com/2013/01/interior-design-schools.html

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(c)

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Stimulus Shelters
Stimulus shelter (refer to Figure 3.4) is a private space for children to
convene when they are isolated and kept away from the busy life that most
of them experience in a classroom setting. This private place is said to assist
children in finding comfort and security (Evans, 2006).

Figure 3.4: Stimulus shelter

Source: http://www.two-daloo.com/preschool-classroom-design-cozy-corner/

(d)

Balance of Play Materials

Most schools with play-based programmes have quite similar play
materials however there should be a good balance between complex and
simple materials and open-ended and closed-ended materials. Complex
materials are materials with multiple uses and simple materials are
materials with a few uses. Open-ended materials on the other hand give
children the ability to express themselves freely and creatively (for example
Lego and hardwood blocks) and closed-ended materials are those with a
single use (such as games with seriation according to size). According to
Prescott (2008) a good balance of play materials is critical to the quality of a
childs play. A good balance between open-ended, closed-ended, simple
and complex materials were associated to greater child play involvement
and a smoother day in a child at a care centre. According to Prescott (2008)
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this could be achieved with a single play centre. Wang and Hoot (2006) said
that todays teachers should consider a new kind of balance; a balance
between virtual and physical play objects. Research has found that physical
play objects and computer-based materials provide very distinct challenges
and play opportunities to children. For example, a physical building block
would give children social interaction, collaboration, physical and spatial
experience and electronic block building would give children the
opportunity to experience unique, complex operation in shapes involving
rotating, flipping, enlarging and shrinking shapes.
(e)

Divergent Activities and Creative Expression

When we talk about play-based curriculum we are actually focusing on the
creative process and not the end-result. Divergent thinking are activities
with many possibilities such as imaginative expression of ideas or openended experimentation.
In a typical play-based curriculum, mathematics problems are more likely
to have multiple solutions and answers for instance, finding the right
answer to solve a triangle. Research has found open-ended activities to be
closely related to ideational fluency, an ability to generate varied ideas in
the form of writing, language interaction and art (Lloyd & Howe, 2003).
Play is also known to help build effective problem solving skills because
when a child plays he or she is able to solve more complex problems (Wills,
John & Sandholtz, 2009).

(f)

Schedule of the Day

Play-based programme normally follows a daily schedule that allows for
adequate playtime between quiet and active experiences. Bedekamp and
Copple (2009) and Johnson et al. (2005) recommends a minimum of 45
minutes of uninterrupted play. Several authors have commented that this is
still insufficient as children spend at least 45 minutes to plan their play
from designing play sets to negotiating roles (Enz & Christie, 1997).
In a High Scope programme, a child begins his or her day with a reflective
teacher-directed group time in which he or she are required to plan their
play activities followed by their active playing period. In the next step,
there will be another quiet time where children will review the activities
that they have accomplished.

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(g)

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Observation and Assessment of Play

A play-based programme includes frequent observation and assessment of
a childs play. The teachers role is to take a step back from interacting and
to instead observe and record a childs daily activity. Teachers from high
quality centres would spend 50 per cent of their time during childrens free
play time to intentionally observe their interactions (Trawick-Smith, 2010).
Observation is an important aspect in identifying a childs behaviour when
he or she is playing in a functional manner or to learn about his or her
overall development.
There are many methods in observing and assessing play. The two most
common methods used in assessing play is anecdotal and observation
checklist. Anecdotal records are brief but contains detailed descriptions of
childrens behaviour observed during the daily classroom activities.
Observation checklist, on the other hand, is a list of behaviour that teachers
can monitor when observing children at play. A marking is made on the
checklist to indicate how their behaviour was conducted.

(h)

Adult Interaction in Childrens Play

Most play-oriented programmes encourage adult- child interaction during
play. In some programmes, the interaction could be brief such as providing
new materials, scaffolding a childs learning process with questions or
simply observing which other teachers might have certain learning goals to
meet. Teachers need to keep in mind that any interaction with a child is to
support what they are currently doing, to not take over, control or even to
take over the play. In relation to this, teachers should carefully observe a
childs play in order to learn what children are playing, the need for play
support and understand what learning intervention is needed. Once the
teacher has decided, she will provide enough support for the child to
continue playing independently nothing more or less.

SELF-CHECK 3.2
What are the features of play-based curriculum?

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3.3

EARLY CURRICULUM BASICS (PLAY, DISCOVERY AND CREATIVITY)

VARIATION IN PLAY-BASED CURRICULUM

MODEL

Within the literature of play and curriculum many have tried to relate early
childhood education goals with play. The three models that have been
implemented are discussed in Table 3.1:
Table 3.1: Three Models in Play and Curriculum
Model

Description

Segregation
Model

To not use educational play but only use recreational play during
break time.

Juxtaposition
Model

Pairing playtime with instructional time. Thematic is often used here.

Integration
Model

Uses teachable moments with child-initiated play to guide learning

and exploration; it represents a blend of play and learn.

There are two different types of play-based curriculum, which are important for
teachers to understand the difference between a play-generated curriculum and
curriculum-generated play curriculum.
In a curriculum-generated play curriculum, the teacher provides opportunities
for play in accordance with curriculum goals. The curriculum and its educational
goals will lead and suitable play activities will follow. For example, a teacher
may equip a classroom with numeracy enriched store centre to reinforce
mathematics concepts taught more formally to children while the same concepts
are formally taught at another time. In this type of model, play centres are
normally set up in the classrooms.
In play-generated curriculum model, play leads and the curriculum follows (Van
Hoorn et. al., 2011). While playing, children can learn academic content from
different subjects such as science by engaging in a series of events that are not set
up rigidly in advance but are, rather, allowed to flow out from their playing and
learning experience. Play-generated curriculum could be risky if the teacher is
held responsible to implement a particular curriculum. There is a stronger
likelihood that a significant part of the curriculum will be achieved in the
curriculum-generated play than in the play-generated curriculum.

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There are three major variations in the play-based curriculum as explained in

Table 3.2:
Table 3.2: Three Variations in the Play-based Curriculum
Variations

Description

The trust-in plays

approach

In this approach, play is the curriculum and the teacher grants

unrestricted, open-ended and self-directed play. The teachers
rationale is trust where they believe that children in free play
will cope with anxiety and make progress in developmental
task.

The facilitate-play
approach

In this approach the teacher will deliberately intervene to

improve childrens play or to point in new directions that can
assist learning.

The learn and teach

through play
approach

This provides many opportunities for play in the curriculum.

Here the teacher considers play as an ideal context for
promoting various important non-play concepts and skills.

ACTIVITY 3.2
What are the different approaches in play and what are their strengths?
Discuss.

Play can be purposeful, purposeless, serious or trivial depending on the

context play occurs.

Although play has certain characteristics it can be integrated into the

curriculum as a way for children to learn.

Teachers can use pedagogical frame to make an informed decision about the
structure and content of the curriculum.

Although there is variation in the play-based curriculum, there is still some

common elements which form the basis of play-based curriculum.

Teachers need to be aware of the difference between curriculum-generatedplay and play-generated-curriculum.

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Curriculum-generated-play

Play-generated-curriculum

Facilitate play approach

Trust-in play approach

Learn and teach through play approach

Unplanned lesson

Bredekamp. S., & Copple, C. (Eds). (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice

in early childhood programs serving children from birth through 8 (3rd ed.).
Washington, D.C.: NAEYC.
Curtis, D., & Carter, M. (2003). Designs for living and learning: Transforming
early childhood environments. St. Paul: Redleaf Press.
Cook, J. S. (2003). Progression and continuity in role play in the foundation stage,
unpublished M.Ed. thesis, University of Exeter.
Enz, B., & Christie, J. (1997). Teacher play interaction styles: Effects on play
behaviour & relationships with teacher training and experience.
International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 2, 55-69.
Evans, G. W. (2006). Child development and the physical environment. Annual
review of Psychology, 57, 423-451.
Johnson, J. (2005). Inclusion matters. In birth to three matters, (Eds.). Abbott, L.,
& Langston, A. 89-104. London: Open University Press.
Lloyd B., Howe, N. (2003). Solitary play and convergent and divergent thinking
skills in preschool children. Early Childhood Research Quaterly 03/200,
18(1), 22-41.
Meckley, A. (2002). Observing childrens play: Mindful methods. Paper
presented to the international Toy research association, London.

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Prescott. E. (2008). The physical environment: A powerful regulator of experience.

Retrieved from https://childcareexchange.com/library/ 5018034.pdf
Trawick-Smith, J. (2010). Early childhood development: A multicultural
perspective (5th ed.). Amazon.
Van Hoorn, J., Scales, B., Nourat, P., & Alward, K. (2007). Play at the centre of the
curriculum. Upper Saddle River.
Wang, X., & Hoot, J. (2006). Information & communication technology in early
childhood education. Early Education & Development 17, 317-2.
Wills, J. S., & Haymore-Sandhotz, J. (2009). Constrained professionalism:
Dilemmas of teaching in the face of test-based accountability. Teachers
College Record, 111(40), 1065-1114.

SELF CHECK 1.2

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