Play with Materials Stimulates the Development of Young Children and Calls for Renewed Attention in Childcare
Educational and pedagogical scientist Elizabeth Wynberg shows in her research that material-oriented play develops in various ways and that this topic deserves careful attention in theory, research, and in pedagogical and educational practice. Material-oriented play is not only influenced by motor and language development, but also contributes to these, thereby supporting children’s overall development.
For young children, every object or material they encounter offers an opportunity to explore, as they can investigate and manipulate it. By examining objects and materials and interacting with them, children discover their properties and what can be done with them. They begin to understand not only what an object or material is, but also what it can do and what they themselves can do with it. Material-oriented play forms an essential part of how young children learn to understand the physical world around them. Wynberg’s research contributes to the field surrounding material-oriented play and its role in early and preschool education and childcare. She shows what material-oriented play looks like and how it develops in early childhood, how it relates to broader developmental domains, and how pedagogical professionals can recognise and support this in practice.
Valuing material-oriented play as ‘development in action’ invites researchers and professionals to make space for this natural and engaging form of play, and in doing so to actively contribute to children’s development. This requires professionals to observe young children’s material-oriented play attentively, interpret it carefully, and know when and how they can enrich this form of play.
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