Journal 1

In the center where I am currently working, I see functional play, dramatic play, and constructive play taking place, and I will be giving examples of each.

Functional play:

With the child with whom I am currently working, we work on many gross motor skills improvements when we go to PT, which is physical therapy.

We practice walking up and down stairs, picking up objects and setting them down on a table, and throwing and catching objects with her physical therapy teacher. 

Additionally, I see children in class playing with a manipulative called shape sorting, which helps children learn about shapes, colors, and numbers and improves their cognitive skills as well as problem-solving abilities. 

Dramatic play:

I saw a dramatic play in a Pre-K class across from the classroom I'm currently in, and I observed that children pretend to play kitchen with pretend dishes and food, clean with a pretend cleaning set, run a store with a cashier, and take turns as a doctor or nurse. 

Constructive play:

She enjoys drawing, so sometimes we draw together or build puzzles together, and recently we made pumpkins for our poster board outside the classroom using tissue paper and pumpkin shapes. Additionally, she enjoys playing with clay, so we sometimes make shapes, letters, and numbers together. Afterward, she has free time to create anything she likes with clay.

The social stage of play, according to my text, involves learning to be patient, using words to ask for your turn, sharing by taking turns, and being cooperative to develop a sense of empathy and understanding.