Hi, if you've a
copy of this level 3 handbook pages 164+ help
Child-initiated play
In child initiated play, children make a lot of the decisions. They decide what to play with and how to play. Children also choose where to play and who, if anyone, they wish to play with.
Adult-led play
In adult-led play, the adult decides what skills, concepts or knowledge children might need and organises and activity for the children.
Physical play with balls & rules
goal kicking, hoop shooting, foot dribbling, circle games - bouncing, throwing, rolling. What ball games do you see happen in your setting and how are the adults involved?
Rules might be: speed, direction, if waiting's involved, turn taking or sharing the ball. What rules do you see being applied for games in your setting and how much instruction do you see adults giving? lots/none - children manage the play using rules they've learnt before or make up their own.
One adult-led could be foam ball toss and plastic pins (skittles) where instructions and guidance are given throughout the activity.
Child-initiated would be where the foam balls are left freely available to children and used when children want to.
Rules might be not to aim at others, play happens in one area only to make sure everyone knows where the balls are, balls are tidied up when no longer played with.
Creative play and the exploration of materials eg. a basket of leaves, paper and paint left by an easel for children to initiate play.
A basket of leaves, fir cones, paint & paper on a table top with an adult asking open questions about what the materials are, how they feel, the four seasons and seasonal colours.
Imaginative play and fantasy stories eg.
Child-initiated - role play, spontaneous nursery rhymes, songs & actions eg. children begin their own initiated bear searches after having listened to an adult-led & read Bear Hunt story by Micheal Rosen
Ofsted inspired? you'll need to contact your tutor to confirm what information you need to use to answer this.
How
Best play describes these play types:
Fantasy play
Play, which rearranges the world in the child's way, a way which is unlikely to occur. For example playing at being a pilot flying around the world or the owner of an expensive car
Imaginative play
Play where the conventional rules, which govern the physical world, do not apply. For example imagining you are, or pretending to be, a tree or ship, or patting a dog which isn't there.
Sensory play -the keyword is 'themselves'
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote
from page 258 of the Childcare and Education level 3 handbook
Child-initiated play, encouraging freely chosen activities and free-flow (Tina Bruce page 242) opportunities
Child-initiated play occurs when children make their own decisions, without suggestion or guidance from adults about the way in which they use the equipment and resources provided for them. For example, although an adult may have chosen which construction materials to set out (eg. wooden blocks), two children may decide to work together to build ac castle for 'small world' figures or play people. This, then, is a child-initiated activity. If children choose to move between equipment and resources this is referred to as 'free flow' in other words this movement is also initiated by the child.
Adult-led play
These activities are planned, prepared and often initiated by adults. For example, a water activity might be planned that focuses particularly on 'force' or 'pressure'. The adult might of selected the equipment that lends itself to using water under pressure - squeezy bottles, thin plastic tubing, a water pump - and allowed children to use it in their own way, or might play alongside the children, talking about what was happening and questioning them so that they express their ideas.
Even when an activity is adult-led it should always involve active participation by the children. Activities that have an 'end product' (eg. a model or a special occasion card) must allow for children's experimentation and creativity so that each one is different and original. You should not aim to have all the children's work looking the same or 'perfect' (ie. your idea of what the finished article should look like). Ownership is very important: children need to feel that their work is their own. What children learn from doing the activity - practical skills, understanding of materials, textures, sounds, and so on - is far more important than the finished article.
Page 259 - The need for a balance between child initiated play and adult-led play
Adult-led activities are based on our own professional understanding of what we should teach young children and what experiences they should have.
Through adult-led activities, practitioners ensure that children are introduced to new ideas and have opportunities to develop their skills.
Although this means that practitioners are in control of the teaching they are providing, what they cannot have any control over is what young children are learning from from these experiences.
Through child-initiated activities, children are able to explore their own ideas, play with resources and use their imagination and creativity.
This is why it is so important to balance adult-led learning with child-initiated activities.
Playing to Learn - sustained shared thinking from ATL and Di Chilvers
Hope this helps a little xx