The Power of Playful Learning: Promoting Preschool Play Development with Abigail Long

As a passionate advocate for early childhood development, the interview with Abigail Long, M.S. Ed., CCC-SLP resonated deeply with me. Her insights into promoting play in preschools are truly enlightening. We delved into how we can empower our little ones through play-based learning in a preschool setting.

Understanding Play Development in Preschoolers

Abigail emphasizes the importance of observing and assessing children’s play to understand their strengths and areas needing improvement. She highlights the following key developmental stages:

*For 3-year-olds*

– Ability to reenact past events in play

– Transformation into different roles

– Use of future and past tense verbs

*3.5 to 4-year-olds*

– Engagement in pretend play activities with specific objects

– Creatively using imaginative play items

*5-year-olds*

– Participation in cooperative play

– Planning and organizing sequences of pretend events

– Taking charge in setting up play scenarios

Incorporating Guided Play into Preschool Curriculum

Abigail’s approach of incorporating guided play into a clothing unit is refreshing and effective. By utilizing photos of clothing items and props, preschoolers are prompted during dress-up play to choose clothing items based on weather conditions or role-playing scenarios. The unit integrates gameplay, instructional play, and engages children in a craft activity of dressing a picture of themselves with specific clothing items.

The Four Types of Play: Free, Guided, Gameplay, Instructional

Abigail eloquently compares play to decorating a cake (!) emphasizing the importance of each type of play for children’s holistic development. These types include:

• Free Play: Encourages executive function skills, self-regulation, social skills, and problem-solving.
• Guided Play: Involves adults offering prompts based on the child’s learning needs, adjusting initiations according to individual children.
• Gameplay: Engages children in structured play with rules, promoting respect and rule-following in classroom settings.
• Instructional Play: Provides step-by-step instructions to present new or complex concepts with high-quality direct instruction.

Customizing Play-Based Therapy

Throughout our discussion, Abigail emphasized the significance of customizing play-based therapy to focus on individual student goals and interests. By incorporating clothing-themed books and toys, she effectively guides children in expanding sentence length, integrating specific speech sounds with clothing items, and using toys to work on WH questions.

Embracing Child Interests in Learning

Abigail encourages educators and therapists to embrace children’s interests in the learning environment, emphasizing how she uses a child’s love for monster trucks to enhance speech therapy.

Building a Child-Centric Play Environment

Abigail advocates for promoting play by identifying a child’s interests and expressions creatively, then building a world that allows them to play and learn based on those interests. She also emphasizes the importance of engaging with parents to contribute to better play-based learning opportunities.

The Value of Child-Centered Play and Play Therapy

Abigail discusses the significance of play therapy and the child-centered nature of play-based learning. She mentions that “The child’s play is the child’s work, and that’s why it’s so important to meet them where they are.”

In conclusion, Abigail’s insights have shed light on the dynamic and enriching potential of play-based learning in preschool settings. Her emphasis on individualized, child-centered, and inclusive play experiences is inspiring and serves as a valuable guide for educators and therapists.