Infra Par Excellence
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Toys for Cognitive Development
Cognitive
development is the ability to process information, reason and remember. It is
reflected in the child’s ability to understand and solve problems.
Preschool children love to play. They build towers, solve puzzles, sort
things and participate in make believe play. These games help build their
understanding of concepts and master skills. Providing children with an environment
that is stimulating is essential for cognitive development. Results of research
studies have indicated that there is a direct relationship between children's
environment and their developmental status. Availability of stimulating play
materials is more strongly related to child developmental status than other
factor. It is therefore important that preschools provide a rich environment to
their students stocked with toys and materials to encourage exploration and
active participation.
A stimulating environment that supports cognitive development is made up
of age appropriate toys that encourage children to manipulate, explore, count,
quantify and match tangible objects. Below is a list of toys that can help
teachers create a stimulating environment in their classrooms.
- Toys for sorting and matching to help children categorize and form groups based on one or multiple criteria.
- Puzzles to help children understand part-whole relationships
- Beads for stringing to help children identify, extend and create patterns; and for enhancing fine motor co-ordination
- Blocks for building and developing a conceptual understanding of shapes, size and stability
- Sand and water play toys to help children understand concepts like half, full and empty and to explore the properties of materials
- Puppets to support language development
A stimulating environment equipped with developmentally appropriate toys
mediated by a teacher who encourages, supports and guides children’s play can
ensure accelerated cognitive development.
Monday, 12 August 2013
Pretending to Play

As parents and teachers we have seen children participate in
make believe play. They use a block to pretend that it is a car or act like a
teacher. Pretend
play is defined as a type of play where children adopt roles from real life
situations and then act them out.
While a lay person
may consider this kind of play as frivolous, research has proved that pretend
play builds many skills supports
development. It increases their understanding of the world they live in
and helps them acquire social skills.
Dramatic play enhances development in the
following domains:
Cognitive –Make-believe play
supports abstract and symbolic thinking. They recall real life situations to
recreate experiences. They also learn to use objects to represent other
objects.
Language –To participate in
pretend play children use language to interact with others and enact their
roles. This expands their vocabulary and their ability to carry out meaningful
conversations
Social –Emotional – When children
engage in group pretend play they decide on what situation they will recreate
from their everyday life, which role each child will play and
cooperate to act it out together. By recreating real life experiences they
learn about norms of social interactions and group dynamics.
Physical – As children act out
different adult roles they develop both gross and fine motor skills
Teachers and school owners can support pretend play
by providing a proper environment for it. A dedicated area should be set aside
either in a corner of the classroom or in as a separate room for pretend
play. Any pretend play area
should:
- Be aesthetically appealing and inviting.
- Inspire creative and imaginative play.
- Be equipped with furniture, materials and props that stimulate role play
- Help children recreate real life situations by acting as a stage setting to act these out
- Be changed periodically by adding or replacing furniture and props to provide variety and keep alive children’s interests
- Kitchen and living room
- Restaurant
- Grocery/vegetable/fruit shop
- Doctor’s clinic
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Music for Intellectual Development

Given the
importance of music for our personal social and emotional well being, it is vital
that children should be introduced to music through fun filled, engaging
activities from early years. Experts in developmental psychology and learning vouch
for the fact that musical activities help children develop different skills that
will continue to be useful throughout their lives. Many studies conducted on influence of music
in early years have concluded that it has a engaging children in musical
activities has a positive impact on brain growth and memory. Integrating musical activities in preschool curriculum can also
enhance:
- Motor coordination and balance
- Ability to concentrate and respond
- Cognitive skills such as recognising and extending patterns
- Language skills such as listening, learning of new words et cetera
- Aesthetic awareness
- Their willingness to recognize that different people have different preferences -different likes and dislikes.
Howard Gardner in his
theory of Multiple Intelligences suggests that musical intelligence is a unique
intelligence that can be enhanced through age appropriate instruction and
experience.
Therefore, music should be an essential
component of preschool curriculum. In early years music should be included in
the daily time table through a variety of activities such as singing, dancing,
creating music and playing with different musical toys.
Teachers and preschool owners must make
sure that apart from puzzles, beads, soft toys and lacing boards preschool
classes are stocked with different musical toys such as tambourines, shakers,
xylophones et cetera. Children should be encouraged to explore these musical
toys and teachers should reinforce this experience by talking about quality of
sound (loud-soft; fast-slow et cetera). Teachers should also try to associate
emotions with music and talk about the feelings that different sounds elicit.
Such planned experiences, supported by the right
environment, equipped with age appropriate musical toys, will help children
develop their musical intelligence.
Monday, 22 July 2013
Play - An Innovative Approach To Learning
Work is what you are obliged to do, play is what
you're not obliged to do.
–Mark Twain
Ruhi is playing with blocks. She is stacking the
blocks one on top of the other. ‘I am making a Qutub Minar,’ she says,
recalling the recent visit to the monument.
As she stacks the fifth block the tower wobbles. She
quickly removes all the blocks and replaces the lowest block with a larger one.
As she stacks five more blocks on this bigger base block, the tower appears
steady. “Look Ma’am! Look at my Qutub Minar,” she says excitedly.
By playing with blocks Ruhi recalled her visit to
the monument. She remembered its name and physical structure. She learnt that
by putting a bigger block at the bottom she can build a stable tower. She
developed self confidence and learnt that if things do not work out the first
time she needs to try again.
This brings us to the importance of play. Most
teachers and parents realize that play is important to keep children happy and
engaged. However research has proved that play with the right kind of toys and
teaching learning material can enhance development and learning in children. Smart
educators know that toys can be used to make children work in guise of play.
WHY IS
PLAY IMPORTANT?
Play helps children develop balance, co-ordination
and dexterity: Physical play that involves running, jumping, kicking, throwing improves
strength, stamina, muscle co-ordination and balance. Playing with blocks puzzles and beads can help improve eye hand
co-ordination.
Play helps language and cognitive development: Play helps
children learn new words and practice them in the right context. They learn
names of play materials (hoopla, slide trampoline), action words (throw, give), descriptive words (full, empty) as they participate in play
activities.
Play also
helps in concept formation. For example, while playing with sand children learn
what "full" or "empty" means. They learn that sand is
coarse, dry sand can be poured but cannot be moulded whereas wet sand can be
moulded into different shapes.
Play helps children acquire skills Children
at play learn to pay attention and concentrate on a task. They learn to solve problems by trying out
alternatives. Children develop their imagination when they play. They learn to
follow directions. All these skills will be important when children turn into grown-ups.
Play
helps children learn about rules of social behavior: While
playing, children learn to take turns and share. They express emotions in
socially acceptable modes, listen and talk to playmates, and follow rules.
Play
supports creativity and self expression: Play activities that involve music, construction drawing et cetera encourage
self-expression. Children learn to enjoy the beauty of colours, the rhythm of a
melody, or the action of games. Children act out their hopes and fears in
creative play. When children are encouraged to tell their own stories, paint
their own picture, act out their own feelings, or build their own pretend
world, they learn to be creative.
Play helps children develop a positive self concept.
Children
enjoy play and they learn new skills and concepts that they can use in other
situations. Like adults children learn better when they are relaxed. Even when play is hard,
children are excited when they discover that they can control their bodies and
actions. The sense of achievement that follows —"I did it!" is
translated into positive self concept.
HOW TEACHERS AND PARENTS HELP
CHILDREN PLAY?
Create a welcoming play environment
where children can make choices. There should be a variety of play material in
sufficient quantity so that children do not have to tolerate long waits.
Provide the right toys and
activities at the right stage of development.
Participate in the
play activity with enthusiasm. Play time for children is not time for you to
plan for the next activity or just take it easy.
Ensure safety. Check
toys and creative materials for safety and control angry, destructive
behaviour.
Ensure
variety. Provide chances for indoor and outdoor play. Provide material
for active and quiet play; group and individual players.
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