On the Coast – Families Issue 97 I December/January 2019 | Page 40

Ready Steady Go Kids
What’s better...
Structured or free play?
What’s better...Structured
or free play?
Structured play vs. free play! Somewhere
along your parenting journey you’ll come
across these two words and begin to
wonder which is more valuable than
the other. At Ready Steady Go we value
them both and that’s why you’ll notice an
element of each within a Ready Steady Go
session.
Structured play, or “play with a
purpose,” is any activity that offers your
child a specific learning objective, for
40
KIDZ O N T H E C OA ST
example in a Ready Steady Go setting
the goal would be to learn to throw a
ball. Structured play activities and games
that are generally instructor-led where
the instructor sets the tone for the play.
While an activity is ‘structured’ it doesn’t
necessarily mean it’s not fun. At Ready
Steady Go you’ll see ‘structured play’ in
a variety of the gross motor skills being
learnt. And as a parent, you can feel
confident your little one is slowly acquiring
those skills, while still having fun.
Free play, on the other hand, centres
on non-structure where kids are free to
let their imaginations and creativity run
wild as they enjoy the moment they’re in.
Children are naturally motivated to play.
That’s why you’ll see fun elements during
a Ready Steady Go session that targets
this component of ‘free play’. Not only is
your little one discovering and developing
through play, but when they’re having
fun, they’re more likely to create positive
associations with that activity and want
to do it over and over again. You’ll see
this kind of ‘free play’ at a Ready Steady
Go session when the instructor throws
all the balls in the air and the kids have