PLAY IN SCIENCE TEACHING

Abstract

Teaching practice points to the educational character of children’s play as a specific form of learning. The content of the curriculum can be achieved through the use of properly designed activities and games with teacher’s support, encouragement and guidance. Using play as a teaching tool implies knowledge of psychological and physical abilities of each child. Play allows free, spontaneous and creative expression and development of children's potential. Depending on the individual psycho-physical characteristics of every child, it will be difficult or easy for them to adapt to the school environment and learning. The aim of the research is to determine how play contributes to overcoming the difficulties in adapting to the new environment and obligations while developing into an active and creative being. By using play as a teaching method in the first grade of primary school, through teaching science, it was determined how much play contributes to socialization, development of motor skills and cognitive processes. Through play, children explore the world around them and their own possibilities, find and invent new solutions in different situations, which contribute to the acquisition of functional knowledge.