Do You Know the 5th Stage of Play?

​Parten’s stages of play have made us know the child's method of playing so educators and parents can make the most of the playing experience. According to Mildred Parten, there are six stages of play, and we will learn about the 5th stage of play in this article. Let us get to know more about this 5th stage of play. 

​The 5th Stage of Play
Among the six stages of play explained by Parten, the fifth stage is considered to be the most important one when it comes to Montessori childcare. The fifth stage of the play shows the interaction of a child with its peers. The fifth stage of play is known to be “associative play”.
Associative Play
The child learns to engage in associative play when he joins Montessori preschool. Children's interaction with their peers would be the same as your interaction with your associates in your office. The child learns to play while focusing on his own activities as well as playing with the playmates. 

​Features of Associative Play
If a child is in the fifth stage of play, then he must be going through some of these steps to achieve this stage.

• Observe and imitate other children while being at a near distance
• Bargain about shared tools
• Play alongside each other but not a common goal
• Also, play independently with a number of goals and strategies
• Communication is less among the children
• Ask questions during gameplay with their emerging language and chatter skills.
• Play is in a chaotic fashion among children.

Just like your interaction with people in your workplace, your child also interacts with their Montessori preschool mates while he or she is content to play alongside them and also pays attention to his own activities.