What a week. it took all of me to complete this past week, it has been mad hectic but hey we move. i must say i'm learning a lot from all these study units so far so good. There is a lot of work for this module i cant keep up but i work very hard to pace up.

Now back to study unit 3.

1. Play has 7 elements.

• Play involves a state of mind: for one to be able to play he/she must be playful and allow themselves to use their imagination. As teachers we could allow learners to use the classroom as a place to explore, pal and imagine.
• Play contains elements of surprise and challenge: play is driven by a form of curiosity and surprise, for learners its fascinating and exciting when it comes to play, learners are always looking forward to finding new things and discovering things, they wait with great excitement to see what kind of play they will be part of.
• Play involves a process, attitude and structure : play is not a chaotic process, there are rules and regulations that needs to be followed so that it is not chaotic. everyone must know when is their turn to take part therefore in that way it is orderly and there is some form of structure that goes in playing.
• Play is voluntary and unifying, forming part of the socializing process : no one is forced to play or to participate when they do not want to. its up to a person to want to take part in play.
• Play involves aesthetic quality judgement by participants : play is beautiful we do not just play but play teaches you discipline, how to behave around other people and what to do when you are not chosen to participate or eliminated.
• Play create informal space for socio-historical comment : play is one thing that unites people it does not matter you are young or old, rich or poor.
• Play reinforces societal roles: in play social roles and responsibilities are important and taken very serious. they do not just do things they consider other aspects that contributes to play.

2. Play is so valuable, where learners are concerned play is there. play support cognitive growth and development both physically and emotionally within the foundation phase context. play helps with fine motor  and gross motor skills. through play learners has the opportunity to master various intellectual, physical and concepts. play gives learners the opportunity to be themselves and discover things on their own and learn while doing it, learners are also able to away a skill or two through play. through play learners develop cognitively by developing their problem-solving skills and learn about cause and effect while they are also experiencing cognitive growth.

3. It is very important to include the elements of play in as many teaching and learning activities as possible in the foundation phase, as Vygosky believes that play is very important in child's development in three ways which are as follows. play creates a child's zone of proximal development in a play  setting a child can control behavior such as attending to a task before she is able to control that behavior in another setting. secondly play facilitates the separation of thought from actions an objects, in play a child can pretend that a block is a boat, this separation of objects from meaning is critical to the development of abstract thinking. lastly play facilitates the development of self regulation, in developing a self regulation learners in play are required to make their behavior match the role they have accepted. learners learn best through play and because play for them is not just a play it is easy for you as a teacher to teach them through play. it has been found that imaginative play is a significant casual force in the development of multitude of abilities such as creativity, sequential memory , group cooperation. socio dramatic play is especially important in a development of creativity, intellectual growth and social skills.

4. There are many ways to include play in the foundation phase in the morning when they get  in the classroom for example in grade R learners should be given free play first thing in the morning before any lesson start. free play is a form of self-discovery for learners as well. music is also a form of play. as a teacher you can include play in one of your subjects so that you can get through your learners, they would think that they are playing but you know that its a form of teaching for you and learning for them.