Developing the Potential of Early Childhood through the Play Dough
Erna Budiarti
Nurul Aulia Educator at Kindergarten, Cimanggis, Depok
bbbudiarti@gmail.com
Keywords: Play Dough, Creativity, Work Together in Problem Solving.
Abstract: Creativity of early childhood has a very important role in children lives in the future. Through creativity,
children can create in accordance with talent or abilities, child can solve a problem and can improve the
quality of her life in the future. Therefore, the required stimulation that can develop the creativity of
children, one of them by the using of play dough. In fact, early childhood creativity has not been well
developed, early childhood has not been smooth in expressing an idea or ideas. The aim in this study is to
describe the level of early childhood creativity by applying media, the difference in the level of creativity
play dough in early childhood before and after using media of play dough. This research took place in 2016.
As for the method of the qualitative approach is used with a method where the subject of the research is
early childhood Group B with a total of 12 children in kindergarten Nurul Aulia. The results showed that the
level of treatment given before the child’s creativity is at a low category. Whereas after using play dough,
media creativity level has increased. The conclusion can be drawn that a playdough media gives significant
effects. It can be recommended for teachers in using the playdough can be used as alternative media to
develop creativity in children effectively. For school, the aim is to facilitate by providing other learning
media can improve early childhood creativity.
1 INTRODUCTION
Basically, the children have had the creative
potential from birth into this world. If this is not
nurtured creative talents will not develop into a
hidden talent that cannot be realized. Bandura
believes that a key factor in developing your own
potential is the development of mastery through
experience, for example in observing others who
work, have a positive and affirming comments from
others, and understand the strong emotions and
feelings. The success of the self as an integral part of
the learning experiences of children, therefore, have
very broad implications for practitioners working
with children early age. The importance of play for
children pushing a prominent social psychologist
Kenneth (2007) to participate theorizing play is
necessary in the development of children as
contributing to the level of cognitive, physical,
social and emotional control was good. Pramling
and Maj (2008) defines that the play is a natural
thing in the lives of children. When the children
were asked about what is the best thing they can do,
their answer is the great answer that play
comfortably and conveniently. Active play statement
said Derek et al. (2014) has a direct positive impact
on academic achievement with the self-improvement
of child behaviour and be an advantage in doing
activities. Playing media using a material in general
should facilitate a wide range of creative expression,
facilitating a wide range of emotional expression,
involved in the interests of the children, facilitates
expressive and exploration play, allowing
exploration and expression without verbalization.
Paula (2003) relate to statements that put this in the
principles of Maria Montessori stated that children
aged 3-6 years is a sensitive period or sensitive
period in children, which is a period in which a
particular function needs to be stimulated, directed
so that development is not too late. Therefore, the
development of creativity should be given early,
with children's creativity can create according to his
talent,
Schaefer (1993) explain important aspects of a
child's play must be in accordance with the
development of growth, level of mastery, lower
levels of anxiety, able to communicate the outside
and the inside, symbolic play, and problem-solving
skills. Developing the mindset and behaviour of
children by Adibah (2014) must be humility,
Budiarti, E.
Developing the Potential of Early Childhood through the Play Dough.
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences (ICES 2017) - Volume 2, pages 235-239
ISBN: 978-989-758-314-8
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
235
patience and passion. Other important destinations
from the viewpoint of Imam Al-Ghazali is focused
in the development of Islamic environment.
Environment plays an important role in growth.
Environmental factors in the context of Islam that is
the role of parents, teachers and neighbourhoods that
have important effects on the growth of children's
creativity.
Environment has a great influence on the
development of children's creativity. In line with the
above John Locke argued that in studying any case,
kids should be doing a lot of recreational activities
into their play, because play is for their learning.
Dewey also stressed the importance of play in the
philosophy of education, though he focused on how
to play in the context of a social group rather than
the individual level. Children's play activity is an
activity that is very attractive for them. theoretical
Piaget cognitive development declare that in the pre-
operational stage which lasts from about the age of
2-7 years, children cannot pass up operation is
reversible mental acts, but they began to represent in
words, images and pictures to form a stable concept.
In fact, learning in kindergarten still tended to be
"teacher centered". Teachers tend to play a dominant
role in learning. Ki Hajar Dewantara argue if the
child already has a good nature, then it becomes
better through educational institutions. Ki Hajar
Dewantara philosophy adopted is grindstones,
compassion and parenting (compassion). Character
education assert that discipline, if you want to
succeed, it must transform children from inside.
Discipline should change their attitude, the way they
think and feel, Learning media have an important
role in the development of children's creativity,
learning at an early age child are made fun, exciting,
and make creative children through play. Hurlock
(1987) reveals that creativity can give children the
pleasure and personal satisfaction is very large; the
awards have a real influence on the development of
his personality. Children are provided with materials
for drawing, painting, molding with play dough, and
build with blocks. Some children choose to represent
their special place in various forms, "art is a system
of symbols which can be used to produce meaning".
The fact is that in Nurul Aulia kindergarten the
motor skills of children are still low proven by the
coordination of the hands of the children have not
been directed and honed properly, the agility and
flexibility of the child has not been seen clearly, not
smoothly write his own name, how to hold the
pencil is still there that is not true, coloring and
cutting it's not tidy yet. As well as a class room with
chairs arranged neatly make the child cannot play
freely. In accordance with the opinion of
Venetsanou and Kambas (2011) which states motor
growth is the basis of expertise in which the child
begins to grow toward certain body, talent ability
and body characteristics begin to form the level of
conceptual character in children begin to be
constructed in motor action is actively free
according to the child's thinking.
By playing the child can train the flexibility of
the wrists of the hands and hand-eye coordination so
that it can hone the fine motor skills of the child to
prepare writing the symbols to enter the next level.
The brain stimulus is part of the Brain Gym (2014)
which is a design intervention by educators and
reading specialists, Paul and Gail Dennison, in the
1970s to improve results including attention,
memory and academic ability. This intervention
requires participants to engage in various
movements to help the body remember the
movement from the first stage of life as they are
learning to coordinate the hands, eyes, ears, and the
whole body. The process of learning with fun
activities for children is through play and is expected
to stimulate creativity and foster children in
accordance with their potential. Santrock (2007)
says that playing is a fun activity that is done for fun
doing activities to please, using certain tools or not.
Constructive play is an activity where children try to
build something, like a castle made of beams or
picture house made with paper and color pencils
(Forman & Hill, 1980; Forman, 1998; Scarlet, et al,
2005). As well as by Nichols (2010) argued that
playdough is a soft object, can make children paused
long enough to do it, the colors are varied (like the
colors of the rainbow) but the material is easily
fragile and the dirt can stick to the rubber. All this is
in line parallel with what was said Elena (2008)
states that the play is not only a reflection of the
level of children's development: The important thing
is the mechanism that drives the development of the
child's progress in playing. The idea of the
development zone is the distance between the
apparent level of development determined by
problem solving by counselling or working with
more capable peers and is based on Piaget's theory
discussing intellectual cognitive. Intellectual
development is closely connected with the study. Gil
(2003) pointed out that teachers and parents should
observe the various domains including physical
functioning, social interaction, play and thematic
material externalisation problems that occur in early
childhood.
From the description above it can be concluded
that early childhood creativity through play is a vital
ICES 2017 - 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences
236
factor to enhance the potential of early childhood
creativity is supported by the environmental factor is
the role of parents, teachers and neighbourhoods that
have important effects on physical functioning,
social interaction, creative, innovative, problem
skills in early childhood through play.
2 FORMULATIONS OF THE
PROBLEM
Based on the above background, the problem in this
research is: "How to develop the potential of early
childhood through the medium of playdough?"
2.1 Research Purposes
The purpose of this research is to know that by
playing playdough may increase the potential for
early childhood.
2.2 Benefits of Research
The benefits that can be obtained in this study are:
2.2.1 Theoretical Benefits
For the science of early childhood education can
provide useful scientific contribution to developing
the potential of early childhood through play that use
playdough as media.
2.2.2 Practical Benefits
For the author, through this paper can add author's
knowledge regarding early childhood creativity in
play playdough and can be studied more deeply.
For early childhood, through this study, young
children can learn to pour directly imagination in
accordance with the desire without fear of being
wrong and be motivated to learn so they can
improve their academic achievement optimally.
For parents, the writing is expected to be used as
a means to increase knowledge about one of the
ways to sharpen a child's creativity and develop the
potential of young children is to play playdough.
3 METHODS
In this study, researchers will examine early
childhood play groups at the 12 subjects in group B
children in kindergarten Nurul Aulia, Depok by
involving all concerned to know the full picture and
the details about the implementation of educational
activities play playdough.
Research was conducted on a group of students
in early childhood play in group B TK Nurul Aulia,
Depok, West Java, amounting to 12 children.
The tools used for data collection, namely: (1)
pieces of observation / observation, (2) copies of
field notes, and (3) Documentation photos. Data
collection techniques used in this study were: (1)
observation, which is a method to observe directly to
a thorough and systematic research, observation was
made during learning activities take place.
Observation is the systematic observation and
recording of the symptoms that appear on the object
of research. (2) Documentation, documentation is a
real picture or virtualized evidence at the time of
learning activities take place. (3) Notes field. The
instrument of this study will be used to perform
measurements with the aim of producing accurate
data, each instrument must have a scale. The
observation of this study is in table 1:
Table 1: Observation of study.
No.
Indicator
Item Observations
1
Make different shapes
using playdough
through hand eye
coordination.
1. Hold the playdough
with your thumb and
index finger
2. Make a 3-dimensional
shape with using
playdough
2
Printing with the
media
Playdough
3. Pressing-juggling
playdough on the print
tool with the fingers.
4. Cut playdough with
using a plastic knife.
5. Print playdough with
using the print tool
3
Using playdough
into works of art
6. Using playdough into
works of art
4
Express yourself
through the Playdough
game becomes Art
7. Expressing yourself
through the playdough
games into art
5
Group playdough
which has been formed
accordingly
with the same color
8. Group the already
created playdough
according to the same
color
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Researchers first perform the initial observation,
namely to determine the fine motor skills of children
Developing the Potential of Early Childhood through the Play Dough
237
in making shapes out of playdough, and therefore do
activities with the aim of obtaining data on the fine
motor skills of children in making a variety of forms
in the initial conditions March 22, 2017. After a
study it turns out the fine motor skills of children in
creating new forms of 7 children have good fine
motor skills, the rest still need the development of
children's potential. From the results of these
observations have been found to cause problems
assumptions, and therefore researchers and
collaborators to discuss and identify the problems
encountered and causes. Assumptions cause of the
problem can be seen in the following table 2:
Table 2: Assumptions cause problems.
No.
Problem
1
Teacher
1. Lack of preparation in
planning of learning
2. Less in using props
3. Less in providing
opportunities for children to
communicate actively
2
1. Not conditioned to
communicate actively
2. Feeling bored with the
material presented by teachers
3. Less interested in the
methods used by teachers
4.Lack of problem level skills
in children when faced with
problems
3
1.Less varied and attractive
2. Centered on the teacher so
that children are passive and
less creative
3. lack of media props
4
Others
1. Lack of supporting
facilities and infrastructure
2. Lack of child habits and not
follow the rules
This supports the hypothesis that there is the effect
of playing against the potential ability of students in
kindergarten Nurul Aulia, Depok, West Java
increased in the academic year 2016/2017.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of the conclusions that
describes an increase in each cycle, then the media
playdough be one solution to develop fine motor
skills in children, by obtaining the conclusion that
through play playdough can develop fine motor
skills of children, then it will also have positive
influence on teachers to consider media will be used
in further learning, especially for early childhood
development potential.
Playdough media use is very beneficial for
children in an effort to develop fine motor skills of
children and learning activities are very enjoyable.
For the teacher it can be used as consideration for
the selection of the appropriate media in an effort to
develop the fine motor skills of children. This study
is also useful for schools to increase children's
achievement in the field the ability to overcome the
problem in any school activities.
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