In early childhood education, the spotlight belongs on the children. Though it may be tempting for the teacher to put himself or herself in a central position, it's important to understand the benefits of child-centered learning. Play provides a rich medium for children's mental, social, physical, and emotional development. Some categories of play are sensorimotor, symbolic, solitary, parallel, and interactive play. Work also offers a medium for children to learn about the environment and taking responsibility for themselves. Adult attitudes toward work have a significant impact on children's attitudes. Children love to watch adults at work, but experts disagree on the appropriateness of exposing children to adult work in early childhood programs. The project approach to learning combines both work and play and involves the joint efforts of adults and children. Three of the major roles adults assume to facilitate children's work and play are the observer role, the stage manager role, and the encourager role. Descriptive feedback and encouragement (as opposed to praise) are two effective devices early childhood educators use in fulfilling these three roles.
