How to bring together animals and children for play: National Playday is taking place on 7 August

Jenny Phillips – animal therapist, early years practitioner, educator

National Playday highlights and celebrates every child’s right to play. Maria Montessori coined the phrase “play is the work of the child” to underpin her vision and view that learning needed to be combined with play to satisfy the child’s curiosity, their natural drive to learn and experience life while also having fun.

What do I mean by play?

• Play allows children to interact and engage with the world around them.
• Play is a universal language of childhood and understood all around the world by all children.
• Children come to understand each other and make sense of their world through play.
• Play is a self-motivating activity that is enjoyable and makes you want to repeat the process time and again.
• Play is an enjoyable activity and a state of mind.
• Play is characterised as means rather than an end, the journey of play being more important than the destination.
• Play is an open and free activity.

   

  Why is play important?

  At birth very few of the neurons in our upper brain (the cortex) are joined and connected. The brain requires interaction and stimulus from the environment to activate it and form the connections as we grow. Play has been identified as a way in which to establish these new connections, and it prepares the cortex for the development and creation of the neural pathways which makes our social-emotional, physical, and cognitive capabilities. This means that the more frequently children are in the play state, the more new brain connections they form which then enables them to build and develop their skills. This wires the brain for developing the skills and capabilities we need and use for our whole life including resilience skills. However, it must ne remembered that play is not for children but for adults as well, play is a lifetime requirement time spent in a play state in adulthood increases resilience and activities the neural pathways within the brain that reduces the effects of stress.
  
  Want to learn more about how children's brains develop?  Listen to this episode of POD-CACHE, where we interview Dr Elizabeth Rapa and Dr Louise Dalton from Oxford University's 'The Brain Story'
  
  Theorists and play

• Vygotsky stated that language and thoughts are both deeply intertwined, and each continuously influences and shapes the other. It is through imaginary play and these social interactions that children develop their oral language, social skills, and communication skills.
• Piaget’s theory of cognitive development identifies play as integral to a child’s development of intelligence. His play theory argues that, as children mature, their environment and play should encourage and support deeper and more extensive cognitive and language development.
• Froebel identified play as the highest expression of development in childhood, as this form of expression is free and evidences what is in the child’s soul. He stated that children have an innate curiosity and ability to investigate their world and through play find out things.
• Bruner identifies play as a means for acquiring and understanding information about experiences within the child’s environment.

Drawing on the research and works of many different theorists and child professionals a list of nine key characteristics of play have been identified:

1. Active— physically, mentally, or both
2. Meaningful
3. Symbolic
4. Voluntary or self-chosen
5. Pleasurable
6. Process oriented
7. Intrinsically motivated
8. Adventurous and risky; and
9. Self-directed

Animals in the realm of play and children

As anyone working with children of any age knows, children are often fascinated by animals – big and small, tall, and short, furry, scaled, feathered and even bald. The use of animals as a stimulating learning experience therefore makes sense and can be incorporated into daily practice relatively easily. Let us explore different types of play and the ways animals can be incorporated.

The animal world and animal kingdom have the power to influence the ways in which children develop. Through interactions with animals both living and representative, in person and virtual can teach children how to differentiate between different species, support their learning and understanding of how to care for others and allow them the experience and skill development of both observational and relational skills. Through the provision of animal-based play opportunities professionals offer children the opportunity to not only interact with animals, play at being animals and learn how to care for animals, they also allow the child to understand and develop a sense of self, caring for others, ethics, language skills, interpersonal skills, relational skills, and problem-solving skills. All these skills are transferable and last a life time.

Let us end with the words of Albert Einstein.

“Play is the highest form of research”

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As well as her extensive experience as a nurse, Jenny is a qualified Nursery Nurse with her NNEB, ADCE, CACHE Diploma level 3 and CACHE SEN cert and over 7 years of experience within a nursery setting. Jenny has spent time working as a lecturer in Child Health at Middlesex University and as a Qualified paediatric nurse and Neonatal intensive care nurse with over 13 years of experience in neonates. Her work as a disability youth worker led to Jenny gaining further qualifications, including two honours degrees and a MA in Inclusive Education, specifically focussing on therapeutic use of animals with children who have SEN to help education, development, growth, health and wellbeing. Jenny also has a PGCE. Currently, Jenny is also a forest school practitioner with 3 and 4 year olds, and is qualified in animal therapy and farm therapy.