Types of play – solitary – heuristic

6 month old baby plays with a basket of objects. He uses his sense to explore their different properties. Adult is near by but does not engage with the play.

Good for looking at

• Heuristic play
• Sensory play
• Types of play - solitary
• Object play
• Characteristics of effective learning - playing and exploring

Notice

• What cues can you see that show what the baby is interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How the baby is learning?
• Which areas of play, development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• In what ways does the adult support the baby’s learning?
• How do the materials provided support the baby’s learning?