This book is dedicated to all my classmates, my professor and others who are fascinated about Early Childhood Education.

Index

Front cover.......................................................................................................

Acknowledgement.........................................................................................

Index...................................................................................................................2-3

Summery of story..........................................................................................4-11

Problem 1 (Explanation, Evidence) ........................................................12-16

Entry of Sunlife Education team.............................................................17-19

Introduction to Play Based Learning.....................................................20-26

Voyagtski Theory...........................................................................................27

Piaget's Theory ..............................................................................................28

Index

Benefits of play...............................................................................................29-33

Scenarios and examples of programs for play based learning......34-38

Integration of Play Based Learning into classroom...........................39-42

Conclusion.......................................................................................................43-46

References.......................................................................................................47-48

This is the Smith family. They live in a small town called Lindsay. John, the father, works full time as an accountant. Rina, the mother, works as  a Cardiac Nurse in Peterborough Regional Health Center. Alex and Rebecca spend lots of time with their grandmother. Alex is 12, Rebecca is 8 years old.

John and Rina work in the city. They leave the house at 7:00 in the morning and return at 6 each night. Sometimes they come home later because of traffic.

Alex and Rebecca go to school in the town . They leave their house at 8:00 and school ends at 3pm. Their grandma prepares lunch and walks them to school. Thanks Grandma!

Alex and Rebecca enjoy playing outside with friends. They often get bored in the classroom because they enjoy being outside and discovering new things. They lose their concentration during certain subjects. However, at home they like to watch YouTube videos and play Xbox when they are bored of playing outdoors.

John and Rina are concerned about their children's ability to concentrate during classes, because of the excessive time spent on digital devices like Xbox and YouTube. Their ability to keep their emotions balanced, stay calm and  focus needs to be developed.

It was time for midterm progress reports. Both reports indicated Alex and Rebeeca "needed improvement" in all their subjects.

Miss. Mason , the principle, had a meeting with Rina and John. She explained that "children need to be educated on technology self-regulation and how it shapes their brain architecture and minds". We should create a solution to improve their academic learning.

Rina and John reflected on the lesson. They did not know how technology shaped their children's brains. Rina stated " How do I improve my children's academic performance, while balancing their technology time and ensuring they learn positive digital citizenship and technology skills? "

Problem

How can we foster children's academic learning with integration of technology and play ?

Explanation

Excessive stimulation from technology can create toxic stress from Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)

Moreover , activation of sympathetic nervous system increase adrenaline , epinephrine, acetycholine, and Adrenal hormones

Exposure changes the cognitive shape of the brain and releases neurotransmitters that impact student and children's health. The indoor learning environment may not create the same level of stimulation as digital play. Children may use it to 'escape to a non-judgemental reality'. It can also create eating behaviours in the attempt to satisfy boredom and calm the brain.

Evidence of Problem

Activation of Sympathetic nervous system due to excessive technology usage creates a cascade production of other brain chemicals. These  neurotransmitters of dopamine, adrenaline and cortisol  disrupt the bodies natural sleep cycle. This must be balanced with the learning benefits of technology like coding and digital citizenship.

Evidence of problem

The amygdala and limbic system adapt to be “always active” from excessive technology usage

The limbic system supports emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction.

Hyperarousal of limbic system can move a person out of a state of calm. This shifts the individuals focus and academic performance if the ability to self-regulation has not been developed.

 In summary, technology can disrupt cognitive, relationships and social-emotional skill development in a child's early years.

Evidence of Problem

Children often shows following symptoms

• Attention to detail is delayed in place of self-gratification
• Sustained attention to task and activities are delayed with a  shorter attention span
• Delayed in impulse control and can be seen with impatient behaviors
• Withdrawal of emotional when in contact with others
• Desire to only use digital technology instead of natural imaginative play

Mrs, Mason went home but felt uneasy because of her misunderstanding of how to support Alex and Rebecca. An idea emerged in her mind.

She contacted the Sunlife Digital education team. A team member from Sunlife Digital arranged a meeting to demonstrate the program with Mrs. Mason.

Hello, I am Timothy. These are my team members, Rinku, Fahmeda and Matthew.

Hello Mrs. Mason, We are from Sunlife Institute . We work with schools across North America and introduce Evidenced Based Strategies to support the technology curriculum and engage students.

Our business plan promotes play-based learning  which includes the following ideas:

Connecting learning to real-life events

Learning takes place outdoors or is based on real environment

The integration of technology as an educational tool

Activities can spark interest a child's interest

Learning how to integrate play and technology safely

Activities can improve social and cognitive skills

This sounds very helpful being Evidence Based. I would be interested in your proposal Tim and Rinku. Would you mind explaining me in detail of how your virtual classroom creation can help enhance my children's learning ?

Unadultered, unstructured play is natural and the best way for children to learn. It allows themselves to investigate and observe others at play and work. It is also known as ‘free play’ or ‘spontaneous play'.

There are many different types of play

• Symbolic Play
• Self-Motivating play
• Active Play
• Voluntary Play
• Process Oriented Play

Play-based Learning

Play-based learning often involves real-life settings or experiences where children are given opportunity to explore and discover their own learning.

Children will explore and discover through natural environments.

Children develop and learn to regulate their own behaviour, foster emotional, social, physical, aesthetic, and cognitive development.

Child's play shapes the structural design of the brain.

Secure attachments and stimulation are significant aspects of brain development.

Young children’s play allows them to explore, identify, negotiate, take risks and create meaning.

Play balances neurotransmitters such as  epinephrine and nor-epinephrine during activities. This keeps the body in a balanced state of homeostasis.

In addition, play assists hormones such as cortisol, used in the regulation of blood sugar levels, which helps to manage hunger and can prevent the onset of juvenile diabetes in children.

Vygotosky Theory

• Believed that community is essential to create “meaningful play”
• Stressed the fundamentals of social interaction increases cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1978)
• Guided learning helps within the zones of proximal development
• Emphasized social contribution is important for the process of further cognitive development.

Piaget's Theory

-    Jean Piaget’s theory talks about how a child constructs a mental model and understanding of the world around the through the exploration process.

-  Piaget believed in 4 stages of development. These were 1. Sensorimotor (birth -2 years old) 2. Pre-operational (2-4 years old) 3. Concrete operational (7-10 years old) and 4. Formal operational (11-15 years old)

Dates to entering each stage were approximate based on developmental times and not concrete by any age.

Play and Physical Development

Children that play outdoors more often develop stronger immune systems and have the ability to create resilience, compared to children that do not engage in outdoor play.

Children that engage in regular physical and imaginative play, develop different neuro-cognitive pathways then those children that have structured, adult-involved or indoor play.

Play and Cognitive Development

Play can support Piaget's cognitive theory by

Expand children's expressive language proficiency

Develop number sense

Develop creativity through art activities

Develop coordination

Develop a strong body through fine and gross motor skills

Play and Social-Emotional Development

• Increase their awareness in activities
• Develop an understanding of the concepts of equality, fairness and tolerance
• Capacity to express themselves
• Develop a positive sense of themselves

Acquire self-confidence and become more receptive to relate to others

Become successful learners in life

• Create resiliency with growth-mindsets and self-regulate their emotions, feelings, thoughts.
• Better impulse control and behavior

These development characteristics in children can support Voyagatski's social learning theory