EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT

Lesson 20: Play Activities in the ECE center

Purposes of different types of play activities

	Activity	Purposes/Information/Values
1	Outdoor play Ex: Group games, sand play with outdoor equipment.	Facilitates social interactions Promotes physical exercise Provides outlet for pent up emotions Develops leadership qualities Channelizes their energy in a creative way
2	Washing and toileting	Inculcates good habits Introduce the importance of personal hygiene Cleanliness of the surroundings
3	Prayer	Develops self discipline Inculcates moral and ethical values
4	Informal talk	Creates awareness Improves speech Develops vocabulary Provides opportunity for expressing thoughts fluently
5	Snacks	Inculcates good eating habits Improves the nutritional status of the child
6	Readiness activity	Prepares the child for future reading, writing and arithmetic activities
7	Rhymes and action songs	Develops appreciation of music Develops vocabulary Develops expressive abilities Provides an opportunity to express their ideas in a creative manner
8	Creative activity	Improves fine muscle coordination and basic skills in writing and drawing Develops the aesthetic sense and talents in the child Expresses his ideas, feelings in a creative manner
9	Stories	Improves memory skills and attention span Improves organization skills in narrating a situation in a sequence
10	Science experiences	Develops scientific approach. Provides opportunities to explore, manipulate and experiment. Creates an awareness in the child about the various things in the environment.
11	Field trips	Promotes firsthand experience Facilitates awareness and social interaction Improves thinking and reasoning skills
12	Indoor play	Improves concentration and attention power Improves group interaction and social behaviour by sharing the play equipment Improves fine muscle coordination Improves sensory perceptual skill