Tag: play-based learning

Why Play Is Important in Preschool Classrooms

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“If you want your preschooler to be ready for the academic rigors ahead, forget about the curriculum. Instead, look for a classroom that lets children learn the way they do best…

“‘For kids under 5, play is the foundation for creativity, constructive problem solving, self-regulation, and learning as a whole,’ says Susan Linn, cofounder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and author of The Case for Make Believe. Play also helps preschoolers master the skills they’ll need for academic subjects later on. Storytime advances pre-reading skills like rhyming, wordplay, and the ability to follow a plot. A simple activity like playing with soap bubbles can stimulate science learning, while building with blocks establishes a foundation for understanding geometry. Repetitive play (such as putting a puzzle together, taking it apart, and then reassembling it) hones motor acuity, while unstructured group play boosts kids’ social skills…

“An early academic approach doesn’t seem to improve classroom performance. A study from the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville, found that fourth-graders who have attended play-based preschools outperform fellow students both academically and socially. And a study published in Early Childhood Research & Practice found clear links between pretend play and enhanced language ability. Your child’s future success in school doesn’t hinge on your enrolling him in a pre-K that teaches him to add and subtract or know the chemical formula for water. It’s more productive to find a program that lets him have fun as he learns.”

To read the entire article, go to parents.com.

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What’s the rush?

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Children learn when they are left alone to explore their environment at their own pace. Downey Preschool believes in child-led, play-based learning, and for a good reason. What’s the rush? Check out the entirety of this lovely blog post at http://happinessishereblog.com/.

I won’t say ‘hurry up’, when you’ve stopped to smell the flowers.

I won’t rush you when you’re admiring the shape of the clouds.

I’ll let you lead me away to show me that interesting bug.

You’ll join in with what I’m doing, and we’ll go at your pace.

I’ll delight in the world, just like you do.

You’re learning, and I’m learning too.

This is important. This here is what life is really about. Thank you for showing me that.

from “Childhood: Why the Rush”

Play-based learning article

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In case you missed the July issue of “Natural Awakenings Indy,” here is a nice article that touches on play-based learning and the power of playing outside.

“Research published in Early Childhood Research & Practice shows that children that attend play-based rather than academic preschools become better students.”

“Self-initiated and self-directed play means the child is calling the shots and learning what comes naturally. If a child strums a guitar because he loves it, that’s play. When being instructed, the child may enjoy the experience, but it’s not the same, because the motivation is at least partly external.”

“… Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg, a professor of pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania and a leading expert on resilience, remarks, “Every child needs free, unscheduled time to master his or her environment.” Play is valuable because it miniaturizes the world to a manageable size and primes kids for learning.”

“Given our global challenges, tomorrow’s adults will need the skills developed by such play—innovation, creativity, collaboration and ethical problem solving—more than any preceding generation. A major IBM study of more than 1,500 CEOs from 60 countries and 33 industries in 2010 found that the single most sought-after trait in a CEO is creativity.”

“Ultimately, everyone must rely on their own resources and sense of self or they’ll always be looking for external direction and validation. Mental health workers say that produces kids that take unnecessary risks, have poor coping skills and are vulnerable to substance abuse.”