Play, experimentation, storytelling, construction, and shared reading are the key activities through which children develop

What is an activity?

An activity is something that has its own motivation and its own way of acting. Not everything a person does is an activity in this sense. How can we tell whether it is? By looking at whether there is motivation – and this can be seen through a child’s involvement. Involvement is a state in which a person is focused, interested, and clearly does not want to be distracted, at least for a while. This kind of involvement can be seen very early. Even a one-year-old child may spend 20–30 minutes absorbed in trying to put a ring onto a stacking pole, or fitting all the pots they can reach inside one another.

Are there different kinds of activities?

Yes. For adults, the activities of an engineer and an artist differ greatly – in their processes, goals, and materials. But for young children, development begins with holistic activities, within which other activities gradually grow. These holistic activities are play and experimentation. From them, little by little, construction, artistic activity, and storytelling emerge. That is why these foundational activities are so important – and why it is essential to create conditions for them.

Where do activities come from?

This may sound surprising: children seem to start playing “by themselves,” as if no one teaches them how. But in reality, activities already exist in the “air of culture.” Children are surrounded by toys and books, they watch cartoons, communicate with adults, and pick up adults’ expectations. From the moment a mother or grandmother first says a rhyme like “Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake,” we can say that a small seed of play as an activity has already been planted.

Can activities develop?

Yes, activities can develop (and that means they also may not develop). In culture there are what we might call “ideal” or developed forms of activities – when a person masters complex ways of acting.
This applies to play as well (stories can gradually become more complex, play can last longer, interactions between play partners can become more intricate, conflicts can be resolved more skilfully, and for actors, play moves to an entirely new level). It also applies to artistic activity (a poet may be so immersed in writing that they stop noticing anything around them, concentrating on choosing words, sounds, or colours to convey a feeling). The same can be said about any activity. Of course, the highest levels are reached by professional adults. But what is fundamentally important is that a child is surrounded by examples of activities realised at high levels. A child lives in a world where there are books and paintings, theatres and tall buildings, complex machines and hospitals. This is an extremely valuable experience for development – to sense that one can someday learn to do complex things when one grows up. A child also lives in a world of older children. This priceless resource has become rarer in recent decades, as families now tend to have fewer children. Traditionally, the ideal form of play – the ability to engage in long, complex play – was passed from older children to younger ones. When this continuity becomes difficult, thoughtful adult involvement becomes even more important (not just any involvement, not one that disrupts activity, but sensitive and supportive involvement).

Can activities develop within the preschool years?

Yes! Play, experimentation, artistic activity, construction, and many other activities can become richer and more complex. Only in this case does the child become increasingly interested, involved, and capable of using more advanced ways of building with construction sets, drawing, or playing.

How do activities develop?

There is a fundamental developmental law: all activities and abilities are first born in shared activity and only gradually become individual. This does not diminish the importance of children’s independent exploration or trial-and-error. But it does highlight the importance of adult participation.

What can an adult do: interfere, not interfere, or support?

Interfere
Yes, from the “air of culture” children absorb new ways of acting – in play, experimentation, artistic activity, and so on. But adults can devalue children’s activity in different ways.

Unhelpful ways of interfering – how to hinder what is emerging “by itself”:

• Ignore
  When a child is engaged in play or experimentation, adults do not respond or notice it. Attention (a smile, facial expression, posture, tone of voice) is an important signal to a child that what they are doing matters. If such signals are absent – or if adults show approval only when a child picks up a book – this also becomes a powerful experience. The child may not stop playing or experimenting, but they learn that this is not important for the adult.
• Devalue
  Direct devaluation includes dismissive remarks or an openly negative attitude. These act even more strongly, sending the message: “When you do this, I don’t like you.” If the need to play or experiment is strong, the child ends up in an acute inner conflict: the wish to be “good” for important adults clashes with the wish to play, splash in puddles, or draw.

Not interfere
Because so much is “dissolved” in the air of culture, if adults do not interfere but simply allow the child – with warmth – to play, experiment, communicate with friends or siblings of different ages, and if at home there are at least minimal opportunities to draw, model, build, and play, then it is much easier for the child to engage in activities.

Support – that is, create conditions for development
Today we know quite a lot about conditions that help different activities develop. These conditions can be grouped into:

• Arrangement of space and materials
• Provision of time
• Adult–child interaction that does not destroy activity or take away the child’s initiative, but enriches activity

Activities and child development

Within each activity, different qualities and abilities can develop (for example, in play both self-regulation, initiative, and imagination emerge).

At the same time, each ability or quality (such as imagination or initiative) can be formed in different activities – in experimentation, in play, and in storytelling – although in different ways.