For this Performance Task, you will create a PowerPoint presentation that synthesizes the inter-relationship of infant/toddler play, exploration, and learning while underscoring the vital role children have in their own play, the role of adults in truly fostering play and development without being controlling, and the role of appropriate and inspiring play spaces in supporting children’s growth.

Submission Length: A narrated PowerPoint presentation with approximately 20 slides

The Vital Role of Play in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers

As the long-time director of an infant/toddler care and education program, you have worked with caregivers who have innately understood the value of play to children’s healthy development and translated that understanding into fostering children’s exploration, discoveries, and growth. You have also worked with caregivers who haven’t been able to understand the complex yet exciting relationship between play and children’s growth. You have seen caregivers with the best of intentions limit children’s explorations, challenge their play endeavors inappropriately, over direct their activity, and, often due to great enthusiasm, take the lead in children’s play, limiting their opportunities for creative expression, independence and safe risk-taking. Because you deeply believe in offering a stellar play-based program, you’ve decided to draw on a variety of strong resources in order to create a PowerPoint presentation synthesizing the inter-relationship between infant/toddler play, exploration, and learning while underscoring three vital roles: 1) the role children have in their own play; 2) the role of adults in truly fostering play and development while honoring children’s individuality, initiative, interests, and imaginations; and 3) the role of appropriate and inspiring play spaces in fostering children’s growth.

You decide to create your PowerPoint and include narration, substantiated by current resources, so your current staff will benefit from hearing your passion and sincerity along with quotes, examples, and narrative prose to better illustrate the points you want people to understand and think about. Use the Play PowerPoint template to create a PowerPoint presentation with narration, using the following structure:

• First Slide: Introduction explaining your definition of infant/toddler play based on current resources
• At least 5 slides synthesizing the inter-relationship between infant/toddler play, exploration, and learning (with examples from varying age levels and insights substantiated by resources)
• At least 5 slides explaining 1) the vital role children have in their own play, and 2) the role of adults in truly fostering play and development while honoring children’s individuality, initiative, interests, and imaginations (with examples from varying age levels and insights substantiated by resources)
• At least 5 slides synthesizing the role of appropriate and inspiring play spaces in fostering children’s growth (with examples and insights substantiated by resources)
• At least 2 slides synthesizing the inter-relationship between child-directed/independent play, play spaces in infant/toddler care and education programs, and children’s healthy development and learning (with examples and insights substantiated by resources)