play features

0-1 Years(infant/baby)
♥ Discovery learning as children are learning through trial and error
♥ Repeated movements
Types of equipment:

♥ Rattles
♥ Baby gym
♥ Pop up toys


1-2years (infant)
♥ Discovery learning
♥ Repetitive play
♥ Developing coordination and mobility this is evident in their play eg talking when they are play and pushing a brick trolley
Types of equipment:

♥ Baby swing
♥ Push and pull toys
♥ Shape sorters
♥ Brick trolleys
♥ Toy telephones

Role of the adult:
♥ Interaction with baby
♥ Be alert of safety


2-3years (toddler)
♥ Take and intreast in other children
♥ Discovery learning
♥ Pretend play starts to appear
♥ Repetitive play
Types of equipment:

♥ Tricycle
♥ Paint
♥ Cuddly toys
♥ Tea sets and prams
♥ Simple jigsaw puzzles
♥ Dough

Role of adults:
♥ Awareness of safety
♥ Regular changes of activity
♥ Support during play


3-5 years (preschool)
♥ Children start to cooperate with each other
♥ Play become complex
♥ Children begin to use symbols e.g. drawings have meaning
♥ Gross and fine motor skills are more coordinated
Types of equipment:

♥ Dressing up clothes
♥ Sand, dough, water and paint
♥ Farm animals
♥ Building bricks
♥ Jigsaw puzzles
♥ Slides, swings and seesaws

Role of the adult:
♥ Awareness of safety
♥ Supervision
♥ Teaching children how to use large equipment safely
♥ Encouraging children how to solve their own difficulties


5-8years (school age)
♥ children play becomes more complex
♥ rules appear in games
♥ children plan play and negotiate with each other
♥ children show problem solving during play
Types of equipment:

♥ Musical instrument
♥ Den building
♥ Painting
♥ Drawing
♥ Junior sports: football, tennis
♥ Large equipment:
♥ Climbing frame
♥ Slides
♥ Wheeled toys such as bicycles, skateboards

Role of the adult:
♥ Give children independence and responsibility
♥ Supervision
♥ New opportunities for children