Heuristic Play Book.indd - Practical Pre-School Books

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choices and develop preferences and experience playopportunities that are both spontaneous and focussed.The guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage tells usthat ‘when children have opportunities to play with ideas indifferent situations with a variety of resources, they discoverconnections and come to new and better understandingsand ways of doing things’ (Principles Into Practice Card 4.3-Creativity and Critical Thinking). Heuristic play is one suchvery effective play opportunity if planned and resourcedappropriately.Some people also think that heuristic play and treasurebaskets are the same thing, when in fact treasure basketsare only one aspect of heuristic play. Treasure basketsamongst other aspects will be discussed in more detail inthe next chapter.Heuristic play is open-ended, items and objects can beused and played with in any imaginative way that thechild chooses and so there is no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ way toplay. Heuristic play can be totally individual as babies andyoung children react and respond in their own unique anddistinctive ways. Children with special needs can engagesuccessfully in heuristic play as it stimulates their sensesand is open-ended, rather than prescriptive. What it is not isan opportunity for the adult to sit back and let the childrenget on with it. As with any play opportunity it needs carefulplanning, consideration of health and safety issues andappropriate resources.Think about itIn a way heuristic play continues throughout our livesas we discover and make sense of new things in ourphysical world. What do you do when faced with avegetable or a fruit that you have not seen or eventasted before? You probably touch it with your fingers,turn it over in your hands and feel its texture, yousmell it, maybe shake it and listen if it rattles or makesanother noise, and you look at it carefully and perhapstaste it. Isn’t this heuristic play? It is learning about thefruit from your own first-hand experiences. In fact, anyform of scientific enquiry could be described simply asheuristic play.Heuristic Play 3
Heuristic play for mobile babies and toddlers(Approx.) 9 to 22 monthsWhat do they need?As soon as babies begin to make independent attemptsto move and crawl the world becomes a very differentplace. Crawling is not just a physical activity; the brainand therefore cognitive development, is also stimulated.New possibilities present themselves; the baby can notonly move themselves about, but can also move objectsfrom one place to another. They can see the world froma different perspective and can begin to develop spatialawareness. Their explorations and investigations willrequire more space, and this will have implications foradults’ planning and resourcing.Obviously the point at which a baby begins to move aboutdepends on their own individual rate of development. Notall babies go through a crawling on all fours stage, someshuffle, and some may have a very short period of crawlingbefore they attempt to walk. You will need to use your ownprofessional judgements based on observations as to whenyou need to offer more than a treasure basket.A treasure basket can still be offered to a toddler in this agegroup; perhaps when a child is feeling tired or not particularlywell they will often benefit from playing with somethingfamiliar. At times such as these, all children need thereassurance of a sensitive and caring adult and so the treasurebasket can be a source of comfort, especially if it is used on aone-to-one basis. In these circumstances you could talk to thetoddler about the objects and interact more than you wouldnormally do if the basket was being offered to a baby.Sometimes early years practitioners can find it a challengeto plan appropriate activities and experiences for this agegroup. Many toddlers have become disinterested in ‘babytoys’, but are not yet mature enough to be involved inactivities planned for older children. The second year of ababy’s life is one of extraordinary growth and development;but Elinor Goldschmied believed that sometimes theexperiences and activities offered at this time, especially ingroup care, can be limiting. This is where heuristic play canreally be very beneficial.Heuristic play for this age group requires collections ofrecycled and household objects, a variety of sizes, shapes,textures and materials. In this way the toddler will stillcontinue to explore and investigate through their sensoryexperiences but will also be able to extend their learning.This form of play is quite active compared to treasurebasket play, but with the same purpose and concentration.In the first instance you can offer the treasure baskettogether with some large tins, boxes or similar containers.You will find that the baby will independently discover thatthey can drop things into the containers. If you watch thebaby, they will probably tip them out again and so discoverthe concept of ‘in and out’ and ‘here and there’; schemas ofpositioning, enveloping and cause and effect.As with the treasure basket there is no place for plastic toys.Most plastic toys offer very limited sensory experiences andalso will frequently have a single or correct way of playingwith them. For example, a plastic shape sorter will onlyhave one place where each shape can be posted. Whatoften happens is that the toddler will transport the shapeto a different place and post it somewhere that an adultmay consider inappropriate or ‘wrong’ and then the wholetoy could become uninteresting to the child.With heuristic play there is no right or wrong; there is nosense of failure. The toddler is able to experiment andCase StudyLucy, aged 15 months, took a little while to beginto explore the heuristic play materials and returnedseveral times to the adult nearby for support. Shediscovered that she could pile several different objectson top of each other; she used different sized tins,plant pots and plastic bottles. She squealed in delightas the pile of objects fell over, but immediately startedrebuilding her pile.Heuristic Play 21
Page 1 and 2: BooksHeuristic PlayPlay in the EYFS
Page 3: What is Heuristic Play?Think about
Page 7: • During the second stage the bab

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