Play

PLAY Now there’s a word! And yet is is so easy to trivialise what play is and what a child’s early years are about.

What does play mean to you? Try searching for a definition on the internet, there are lots of different variations of what people consider play means. We think that play is an essential part of every child’s life. It is vital for the enjoyment of childhood as well as for each child’s social, emotional, intellectual and physical development. When children are playing they are following their own ideas and interests, in their own way, and for their own reasons. But most of all they are learning about the world.

The importance of play is central to what we do at JITBX. We plan our days to ensure that the children have the maximum opportunity to play, this could be self chosen or with an adult. No matter how the opportunity is presented, it is just that. And play=fun.

We understand how children play and learn. This means that through careful thought, through our environment, and through planning in the moment as it happens, the children at JITBX are learning vital skills for life. But best of all this learning happens through having fun and playing.

Few people know that all children up to the age of 18 years old have the right to play. This simple childhood pleasure is enshrined in Article 31 of the UN convention on the Rights of the Child. We have a duty to protect and promote play opportunities for children and yet, so often, play is seen as unimportant. At JITBX we know that it is the key to all that follows developmentally for the child.

There is nothing trivial about that.