Social/Emotional |
Open-ended materials promote interactive, collaborative experiences that promote sense of self, conflict-resolution, and cooperation. |
Independent free play promotes the development of self-esteem, independence, moral development, and the understanding of the viewpoints of others. |
Responsibility for personal and social behaviors and opportunities for self-expression and understanding promote character development and friendships. |
Physical |
Moving, exploring, and acting on objects develop building, climbing, jumping, and running skills. |
Lifting, moving through, and building promote motor planning, visual-motor coordination, and balancing skills. |
Strength, stability, and whole-body awareness are developed through sustained higher levels of physical activity and complex movements. |
Sensory |
Sensory-rich experiences develop understanding of the distinctive features of objects, graphic symbols/patterns, and other stimuli. |
Vestibular and proprioceptive movement opportunities develop understanding of how bodies move through space, body position, and how much force is needed for an activity. |
Multisensory, hands-on opportunities provide ways to extend learning, promote understanding of academic concepts, and develop long-term memory skills. |
Cognitive |
Interactions that promote the understanding of cause-and-effect and encourage make-believe and imagination result in purposeful, goal-oriented play. |
Manipulation of objects increases spatial reasoning, logic, classification, problem solving, and develops concept acquisition and the ability to symbolically represent concrete objects. |
Opportunities to expand abstract thinking and apply academic concepts and knowledge occur during free, guided, and structured play. |
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