I wish childhood was only about play, happiness, laughter, and carefree life. The reality is that we are all living in a time of increased stress and unfortunately children are not immune to the impact. Also, incidents such as bullying, illness, or a change may cause stress.

As Sandra Mills, a pediatric psychologist states, children are remarkable “noticers.” Children might be parroting back something you may have said, thinking they didn’t catch it? Sometimes they mention a topic you thought they didn’t know anything about? Children pick up on new words and phrases quickly. Even more so, they absorb feelings going on around them. And today, there are a whole lot of feelings going on. Children notice when their educators, parents, or friends are stressed and may react to others' emotional states.

However, children do not always have the emotional intelligence or vocabulary to express themselves. They also lack an understanding of what is truly happening. To them, it just feels different, uncomfortable, unpredictable, and downright scary. The best we can do is to support, listen and observe children closely.

What are the signs of stress in children?

Stress in children can show as changes in their typical behavior. Common changes can include:

• The child shows regression with some skills
• Child is moody
• The child withdraws from activities he/she liked before
• Child expresses worry
• Child complains often
• Child cries
• The child is fearful, scared
• The child wants a lot of hugs and wants to stay close
• The child eats less or a lot more than usually
• Child's sleeping habits change or falling asleep is difficult

Finding ways to get stress out of their systems will help children feel better. Everyone has their own individual ways to reduce stress. Here are some ideas, try and see which ones work for your child:

10 ways to reduce stress and relax with children

• Exercise. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress. Try for example walking, cycling, kick boarding, playing outdoors, dancing, trampoline jumping, hiking in the forest, football or other group sports, swimming, skating, or climbing.

• Follow the basic daily routine. It helps children to feel safe and sound if the everyday routines and schedules stay the same. If children get enough time to rest and sleep, have possibilities to free play, spend time outdoors and eat regularly - the basics are in order!

According to a very recent study guided play has three fundamental characteristics that provide an optimal learning experience for children in ECE.

There has been a long-time debate in Early Childhood Education (ECE) whether free play or direct instruction has more benefits for children's learning and development.

In recent years there has been a shift toward a compromise called “play-based learning”. It is an approach that combines the benefits of play and traditional teaching, particularly in an Early Childhood Education setting. "Play-based learning" is like an umbrella that holds together all similar educational approaches, as guided play.

According to a very recent study (Can guidance during play enhance children’s learning and development in educational contexts?) guided play has three fundamental characteristics that provide an optimal learning experience for children in ECE.

Top3 elements of an optimal learning experience during Guided Play

1. The educator providing guidance should have a clear learning goal in mind when setting up a playful activity (Toub et al., 2018; Weisberg et al., 2016).

Every educator should have a road map that guides teaching; a curriculum that shows what the children need to practice this term. Each class/group as well as each child should have some learning goals to aim for. Curriculum and learning goals give direction to educators, but the most important thing that should guide planning is the children's interests, ideas, and needs.

Download free Child's Individual Curriculum template

2. The activity or interaction should allow children some degree of choice and agency over their play: whether the playful interaction is adult- or child-initiated, play should be child-led where possible (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2009).

Children gain self-confidence as they get to choose the activity or the way the play continues. Every child should experience these moments of directing and shining. The more children get to participate, the more involved they will be and the more they will learn. When you plan, mark down which things children can have an effect on during the playful activity (Eg. the activity is "a craft" but children can choose which animal they are going to make).

Download free Lesson Plan template

How do early childhood educators in Finland prepare children for formal education through playful pedagogy? And is it scientifically proven that play really promotes learning?

What is the mission of ECEC in Finland?

The mission of Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland is to: Promote children’s holistic growth, development, and learning in collaboration with their guardians.

The aim is to nourish and teach children in all learning areas. It is vital that children are happy. Their well-being is the most important thing.

All this work with the children does not work out without engaging the guardians. Effortless, trustworthy, and open communication with the whole family is valued in Finnish early childhood education.

What is essential in ECEC in Finland?

Essential to Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland is: Understanding the importance and pedagogical possibilities of play in the promotion of wellbeing and learning. (Finnish National Agency for Education)

Play is the most important tool in early childhood education. Learning happens through play. Children practice new skills, test their own ideas and theories, process fears, and express feelings in play. Children learn through all those experiences in a natural and most of all - fun - way.

Highly or loosely structured classroom?

Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle state in their book Let children play that a Classroom with rich child-initiated play and a Playful classroom with focused learning brings the best results in learning. Children should be able to explore the classroom with the active presence of educators. Children also benefit greatly if educators guide learning with rich educational activities.

Educators should give plenty of space for children's play, guide it gently and offer materials, tools, and ideas to enrich it. Topics for play should come initially from children, but adult guidance and monitoring are needed.

Talented educators see when the children's play is too free and wild. In those situations, some steering and guidelines are in place. In turn, too many rules and warnings suppress children's ideas and creativity so the educator should not be too controlling either.

What are the positive sides of play?

• Play promotes the child’s development, learning, and well-being.
• Play motivates children and brings joy while allowing them to learn new skills.
• Experiences that stimulate the children’s emotions, curiosity, and interest inspire them to play.

(National Curriculum Guidelines for early education in Finland)

Is it scientifically proven that play actually promotes learning?

Simply, YES.

A learner-centric and holistic curriculum should be used. Test how your preschool is succeeding:

• Is your curriculum utilized as the basis for the daily planning and activities?
• Do your teachers observe, document, and assess learning goals effortlessly?
• Do the parents know how their children progress in their learning?
• Can you guarantee that the children get learning opportunities in all the areas of your curriculum?
• Can you provide a competitive high-quality service?

If you answered YES to all questions, you are in good shape – congratulations!

If NOT, there is room for improvement. You should take the lead and make the change happen! 

Sounds challenging - but it is actually straightforward

In this blog, we want to share our views from Kindiedays. And provide some advice on how to make the improvements in a pragmatic way.