WEBVTT Kind: captions; Language: en

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[♫ rhythmic theme music plays ♫] 

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Playing is fun.

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In addition to being a
producer of overall well-being

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and enjoyment, play enables learning.

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Play gives children the
chance to be spontaneous,

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giving them choices, as well as space.

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Children's free and imaginative play is
something adults don't have access to.

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It is owned by children.

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This is why Finnish early education sees
the child's right to play as irreplaceable.

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The implementation of education always
starts with the identification of values.

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Values lay the foundation for defining
quality and show what early education

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aims for, and why something
is considered important.

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In this video, we illustrate
why play is important

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and valuable for the child and society.

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High-quality early education has
plenty of time for play, every day.

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Play is an essential medium for
children to learn who they are

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as individuals and how
to interact with others.

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Through group play, children
build their own culture and become

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active participants in their community.

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Play and playfulness increase the
neural connectivity we need to manage

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constant changes in our environment
and in creative problem solving,

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skills which are 
essential in the 21st century.

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Play is the cradle of
imagination and artistic expression.

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Because of the close connection between
learning and play, play-based activities

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and free play are valuable parts
of Finnish early education pedagogy.

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Even though children do not play in order
to learn, they learn while they play.

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However, looking from a pedagogical perspective,
play offers a stage for various intrinsic

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learning experiences and
opportunities to practise new skills.

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Play allows children to use their
creativity and develop their imagination.

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When learning to play both by themselves
and with others, children get to practise

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physical movement, learn balance
and test their own limits.

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In daily life at the ECEC Centre, rules and
agreements negotiated together, clear expectations

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concerning behaviour, and for instance, making
use of transitions for pedagogical purposes

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support children's consistent
and goal-oriented action.

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Play is a child's right.

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It's important for a child's physical,
social and mental development.

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But it's also related to
broader societal goals.

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With play, we also learn the principles
of living together sustainably.

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-Play contributes to achieving
sustainable development goals.

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When we humans feel accepted and loved,
we learn compassion for others, as well.

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While playing, the child learns
to take care of oneself, others

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and the environment,
animals and plants alike.

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This creates a socially
sustainable culture of participation

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and sustainable learning.

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Promoting planetary well-being begins
with one's own immediate environment.

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Play is important in the
development of values and

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helps us to think about moral choices.

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What is right and what is wrong.

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Hence, our culture develops through play.

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Through play, children constantly
create their own culture.

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Culture is constantly evolving.

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And cultural change always
happens with new generations.

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In order for the creativity of
our society to flourish, children's

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own culture must be allowed and supported.

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Among other things, learning occurs
when children observe and examine their

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surroundings, and as they
imitate the actions of others.

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We learn by playing, moving, exploring,
working on different assignments, and

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expressing ourselves as well as
through activities based on arts.

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Play is significant for the learning
of children of early education age.

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It motivates the children and brings
joy, while allowing the children

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to learn many skills
and acquire knowledge.

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In ECEC, it's necessary to understand
the intrinsic value of play for children.

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As well as the pedagogical
significance of play in learning

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and children's holistic
growth and well-being.

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Play has been shown to promote
the development of brain structure.

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And, hence, the influence of
play in a human life is permanent.

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For instance, the connection between the
role play, joy, engagement, and motivation

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builds a strong foundation for
learning social and emotional skills.

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Or playing board games and making puzzles,
strengthen children's problem solving and reasoning

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skills, along with self-regulation,
concentration, and mathematical skills.

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Physically active play allows
children to test and develop,

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especially, fundamental
motor skills and courage.

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Whereas, manipulating
pegboards and hammering enhances

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fine motor skills and perception.

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It is shown that play correlates positively,
for instance, with children's cognitive

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control, in terms of working
memory and higher self-regulation.

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Thus, the role of play in a child's
development and learning is unquestioned.

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-It is essential for ECEC and pre-primary
personnel to understand that the zone of

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proximal development emerges when children
play, act and negotiate because they use

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higher skill capacity in play
than in real-life situations.

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For instance, playing a fascinating game with
a good friend may help the child to achieve

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an advanced concentration level
compared to routine-like situations.

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Gradually children learn to
regulate their own concentration

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also during other situations.

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Quite often, learning new skills
requires a lot of patience and

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plenty of repetition
before mastering skills.

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Therefore, perseverance and the
ability to focus and not give up grow

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along with other skills, as children
are able to act in the zone of

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proximal development
while they play with peers.

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All children have the right to be
heard, seen, noticed and understood

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as themselves and as
members of their community.

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ECEC often offers the first large
peer community where the child

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forms different interactions
with several peers.

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At their best, children's friendships enrich
a child's life, strengthen self-perception

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and self esteem, and help the child
develop several important skills.

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The development of social skills, such as
kindness, compassion and problem solving

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abilities, need adult support to, for example, 
resolve conflicts, deal with feelings

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of disappointment, 
or various frenzying encounters.

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Children's peer relationships
are built around play.

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Friends play a significant role in
the world of children of all ages.

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Every child has the right
to belong to a group and have

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safe experiences of
interacting with peers.

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-Play serves as a primary context
to form social relationships.

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It offers opportunities to practise and
strengthen both social and language skills

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as children collectively teach
each other how to get along.

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Hence, it offers a stage for collective
and collaborative learning that is

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based on children's friendships
and feeling of togetherness.

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In the arena of play, children need planning,
interaction and communication skills.

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And they need to be able to
consider the perspectives of others,

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while negotiating play
themes, roles and so on.

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Social play support children's
learning as well as their linguistic,

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cognitive and
social-emotional development.

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In order to provide a quality
play environment for children, 

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we need to understand the
child's perception of play.

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The child-initiated approach,
based on socio-constructivism, means

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that the child is at the
centre of the activities.

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And the child's interests are accounted
for in goal-oriented activities.

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Whereas, the personnel also play an
active role, in guiding and enabling the

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child's or children's independent
activities and learning.

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Play is a significant factor
of quality in early education.

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Postdoctoral researcher Jenni
Salminen studies interaction situations

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in educational settings at
the University of Jyväskylä.

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She highlights how studies emphasise
that the quality of play increases

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when play is guided and
supported by the ECEC personnel.

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Research also indicates that, particularly
in groups of children under the age of three, 

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the role of adult-child
interaction is significant.

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-The role of play has traditionally
been strongly emphasised in Finnish ECEC.

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Personnel tend to report high
respect for play and intrinsic

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importance of play in children's lives.

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From the pedagogical perspective, play
is also an important setting in which the

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adult-child interaction creates
a fruitful context for learning.

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Which has made it central focus
of research and development

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work in teacher education.

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As part of the EU-funded care study, 
adult-child interaction was examined across a sample

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of ECEC settings and groups in seven
European countries, including Finland.

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Adult-child interaction was observed
during play, emerging academic activity, 

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creative activity, and mealtimes.

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In groups for children under three
years of age, play and emerging academic

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activities provided the best
opportunities for children to be engaged

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into higher quality
adult-child interaction.

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The quality of adult-child interaction
was high, both with regard to the warmth

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and emotional tone of the interaction,
and in terms of providing better support

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for children's language
and thinking skills.

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These findings also held true in the
groups for three-to-six-year-olds,

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but play situations now showed somewhat
lower quality in adult-child interaction

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than did emerging academic activities.

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The difference might stem from 
the different role of personnel in children's play.

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In the groups for children under three,
play was more often actively guided

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and facilitated by personnel, whereas
in the groups for three-to-six-year-olds,

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personnel tended to
take a monitoring role.

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Or, not to engage in play situations,
reflecting an increased reliance on children's

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play skills and putting more emphasis on
developing children's autonomy and peer

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relations through play
as children grow older.

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Children of all ages benefit from having
an engaged adult present in their play.

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But, the ways in which ECEC personnel
engage with children to facilitate

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play should be scaled according to
children's age and their stances toward

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the play situation, among other factors.

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For instance, the following characteristics of
adult-child interaction can aid ECEC personnel

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in providing well-timed and calibrated support
for children's play: showing high awareness

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and sensitivity to children evolving play
ideas, responding to them, and providing timely

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support through language
use, and expansion of ideas.

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Research on children under three
years of age has further shown that a

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sensitive, responsive adult that is
physically and emotionally present

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forms the basis for shared
imagination and joint play.

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Pedagogically, the personnel's
ability to observe what

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is going on in the group is vital.

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They must understand the meanings
of activities from the children's

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viewpoints and work, 
as well as play, according to them.

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Furthermore, ECEC personnel's emotional
involvement, playful role-taking, and delicately

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balancing participation - leading and following
- have been recognised as quintessential

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practises for facilitating
play through interaction.

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(Narrator:) Play has an intrinsic value 
in early education, which is reflected

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also in the level of national evaluation.

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The evaluation of early education
shows that play is monitored

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systematically by ECEC personnel.

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Children's opportunities to
participate in a large variety

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of different play and games are wide.

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And ECEC personnel
participate actively in play.

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Learning environments in Finnish early
education are diverse and promote learning.

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Play equipment, toys, learning
materials and books should

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be easily accessible for children.

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Yet, stored in proper shelves or cabinets
when not in use, so children are not distracted

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by the stimuli, as they should
be protected from visual overload.

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Spaces in early education
should help children to focus.

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Too bright colours and too much noise,
for example, can distract children.

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A home-like feeling and safe
spaces with natural lighting also

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emphasise the value
basis of early education.

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The environment has a
significant impact on what kind

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of actor we experience ourselves to be.

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Children's spaces should also attract
play and nurture the imagination.

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They should be adaptable
to the needs of play.

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The facilities of the ECEC Centre
are used very extensively and

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small groups can do different
things during the day.

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When one small group is outside, the other group
has more indoor space for an atmosphere which

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is suitable for the current activity,
either more peaceful or more active.

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In this way, it's possible to support
long-term play and get information about

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children's experiences, skills and
interests, both indoors and out.

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This means that collaboration,
modification, and coordination of space is

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done within the whole ECEC Centre,
together with the children.

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