Friedrich Froebels Theory and Ideas on Play

Friedrich Froebels Theory and Ideas on PlayDiscuss Froebels ideas or so Play, and the Environments and Resources which livelihood tikerens ripening. Reflect on the Value of Froebels ideas today. Illustrate your answer with examples from your puerility and any observations you switch of children at home or in an first years settings.IntroductionFriedrich Froebel (1782-1852) was a German educator most kn bear for his insight into the immensity of the advance(prenominal) years of a childs sprightliness to their teaching and later life. Furthermore he also considered that the effect of early life extended beyond the educational achievement into health and society at large. Froebel make believed kindergartens (childrens gardens) as he perceived a childs growth to be interchangeable a plant growing and thriving where the right conditions exist.Within the kindergartens he utilised his principles and practices, including experience of out of doors activities, as an classical par t of the educational practice. He developed a series of gifts which are designed to be a gift in two horse senses firstly in the sense of being given to the child as a gift and second as a gift of development.The gifts, which are teaching tools, were planned to be age relevant and to encourage development and self-actualisation in the child (Provenzo, 2009) p88-89). The kindergarten and Froebels come catch had a massive push on early learning and lighten has relevance today.Froebels influence in the present dayThe early years of life are vital to the all overall development of a child. During this time the emotional parameters are learned together with ways to move with others and learning through experiences (Sroufe, 1997 p.1-8). In order to maximise the benefit of this time correct stimulation and readying of tools/toys that pass on enable the child to search and learn about themselves and the world around them are necessary. Froebel specifically devised his principl es for ages 1-7.The Froebel start out involves the principles, pedagogy and purlieu. The principles take a holistic view of the individual childs upgrade and recognises their uniqueness, capacity and potential. In addition melt is seen to be fundamental and important in the childs development. Part of the learning includes understanding, and movementing with, the place of humankind in the natural world. Finally the principles recognise the integrity of childhood and of the child as part of a family and of the confederacy (Hermann, 1926 p.201-205).The pedagogy involves having knowledgeable and appropriately sufficient professionals to provide skilled in dusted observation of the children and provide appropriate instruction and teaching. Key to the process of teaching is that is must reach the imaginative, creative, symbolic, linguistic, mathematical, musical, aesthetic, scientific, physical, social, moral, cultural and eldritch aspects of the child. This clearly shows how wi de a get d suffer of stimulation is required.The childs development is not just the responsibility of the teachers and it is important that the parents/guardians of the child and their educators work harmoniously together to maintain a consistent approach. Play is central to the process and at that place unavoidably to be a sense of purpose for the child in that contribute together with an understanding that the child must be viewed holistically as a thought process, feeling person.Encouragement is used rather than punishment to inspection and repair the child to expand their self-confidence and autonomy. Play can also be used to help the child learn to be able work al cardinal and also with others (Willinsky, 1990 p154-5) .The surroundings in which the child is placed will also stick out an important piece in their development.Whilst the environment needs to be safe it must also encourage curiosity, stimulation and challenge. interior and outdoor activities widen the poss ible field of battles of learning and vary the environment providing post and revolution. Froebal also saw working in an environment that is integral to the community to be important in helping the child to be two independent and interdependent and to understand individuality and community and responsibility and set-apartdom.These radical ideals were set out originally by Froebel in his 1826 book The culture of Man. He viewed his own childhood with limited parental attention and remembered his nakedness and using this as his starting point he developed his ideals. He also drew on the knowledge of previous educators when developing his own system of education (Polito, 1996)(p. 161-173). This point whitethorn well need to be revisited now with the advent of computers and television programmes specifically aimed at young children. search needs to be aimed at determining the effects of drop of verbal expression to face attention from parents and other adults at home and learni ng being handed over to mechanical means. There would appear to be correlations surrounded by Froebals situation and that of many children today. Lack of interaction with other children and a range of adults limits the possible range of learning situations and may create problems with social interaction later in life although research into this area needs to be conducted to fully understand the effects. Having only the TV or computer for enjoyment will also serious limit the childs imagination through lack of personal interaction and physically being involved in the play. This may affect motor skills too through lack of use and a reduced range of movement. In my own childhood I was constantly encouraged to use inventive play and would create theatre sets with my friends and we would complete little puppet shows for our parents. This type of play involved a variety of concepts craft work to create the sets, linguistic skills to write the plays, integrated play by playing with ot hers and dexterity to use puppets.Froebels methods are unruffled validated today and can provide children with a wide range of experiences and transfuse in them curiosity and interest that can be built upon end-to-end life. Despite how long ago these principles were first developed they are still fully appropriate today perhaps because they relate to the core aspects of development leaving room for the method to be varied as necessary.The gifts much(prenominal) as gift 2 (a set of 3 blocks one square, one sphere and one cylinder) can be moved together with rods and string to provide multiple possibilities for interactions. These forms introduce the child to geometry and also allow for free expression within individual play. Gift 2 was a form that so embodied Froebals insights that it was used to create a granite construction over his grave (Froebal webn.d.) online.There are many toys accessible today that capture similar possibilities and it is important that children are bot h allowed to play alone with these items precisely also that parents share play with them too to help with integrated play. unrivalled of the key elements within Froebels thinking was the interaction with nature and the natural world. I remember when I was young that at school we had a ill-considered garden at the rear of the playground and we had classes sitting in that area learning about plants and how they grew taking inspiration from what was growing around us. In current settings some schools are able to encourage children in their own school gardens.Whilst this is not appropriate for very small children their interest and fanaticism about the outside world can be begun by allowing them to play outside and introducing them to flora and fauna much(prenominal) as watching cringe bulbs coming up.Many parents may also need assistance in this area as they have not had these experiences themselves and thus have hindrance in helping their children to develop in this way (Taylor , 2004 p.163-178) . It is, therefore, important that children have access to a variety of environments in order to have the fortune to understand and learn about different settings. Froebal identified that children will have their own individual thoughts and understanding of the things around them and by interaction and role play develop their knowledge further. (Puckett, 2004 p. 45-6) . He described play as the work of children (Miller, 2009)(p.46-50).The current economic situation may have an impact on the money available to parents. However, children are able to benefit from less more appropriate ready-made toys and the freedom to become inventive and create their own entertainment. Children will, for instance, often be more interested in the shock something comes in and convert the box into a car or tank or dolls house. Such creative play will expand the childs abilities in many different areas (Robson, 2006 p. 39-55) f.The Government scheme Every Child Matters recognises th e importance of the early years of life and sets out a range of proposals to support children, parents and all those involved in the care and education of children (H.M. Government, 2003). Through this provision there is a wide range of information and guidance available that can assist in providing good, safe environments and appropriate resources to facilitate learning.This includes such resources as Early historic period Learning and Development Literature reexamination (available as a free download) produced by the Government which contains a wealth of evidence based information to assist in all areas of child development (Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Family, 2009)ConclusionFroebels vision was clear and detailed and still is equally valid today. The way in which it is expressed may have developed further from the original but the basic principles still switch true. The early years are vital to the overall development of a child so it is very important to provi de the best environment and resources to facilitate learning.Most children will need to be able to stretch out with life-long learning to deal with the challenges presented in adult life so touch on them early on to enjoy learning and creativity prepares them for their futures. Parents, carers and educators need to be working together in order to provide the best environment and resources for children and give them the very best start in life possible.BibliographyFroebel web. (n.d.). bet on Gift. Retrieved March 13th, 2012, from Froebel Web an online resource http//www.froebelweb.org/gifts/second.htmlH.M. Government. (2003). Every Child Matters. London Government.Hermann, M. (1926, April). Froebels Kindergarten and What It Means. The Irish Monthly, 54(634), 201-209.Puckett, M. B. (2004). Teaching Young Children An introduction to the early childhood profession. Canada Delmar Learning.Robson, S. (2006). Developing thinking and understanding in young children. Oxford Routledge.Secr etary of State for Children, Schools and Family. (2009). Early Years Learning and Development Literature Review. London H.M. Government.Sroufe, L. A. (1997). Emotional Development The scheme of Emotional Life in the Early Years. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.Taylor, L. C. (2004). Academic Socialization understanding Parental Influences on Childrens School-Related Development in the Early Years. Review of global Psychology, 8(3), 163178.Willinsky, J. R. (1990). The Educational Legacy of Romanticism. Ontario Wilfred Laurier University Press.