At Raising Arizona Preschool we are firm believers in play based learning. Many parents wonder what this means, and why play is so important. I am going to share with you some of the reasons that play based learning is so important.
It is a proven fact that preschool age children learn differently than school aged children. Because of this your child’s day at preschool will look vastly different than your school agers day at the local elementary school. Play is the main way a preschool aged child learns and develops ideas about the world. Play helps a child build the necessary skills for critical thinking, problem solving, and self-worth. When children play something wonderful happens, they learn! Many things that parents and even teachers don’t realize happen while a child is engaged in play.
As a parent or teacher you may see a child flapping her arms pretending to be a butterfly, but what you don’t see is that child using their imagination to represent an object. This will later help them when they have to visualize historical events or scientific ideas.
As a parent or teacher you may see a child pouring sand into different sized containers. What you don’t see is the fact that they are developing important logical skills. They are also learning cause and effect. This will help them later when they begin doing experiments that involve observation and comparison.
As a parent you may see a child care center that is all about centers and child led learning. What you don’t see is that studies have shown that interest led learning gives a child a sense of competence. A child who has an attitude of curiosity, motivation and competence is going to have better success in elementary school. Pretend play and interest led learning has been shown to improve a child’s social development and helps them succeed in school. Pretend play helps a child learn to think abstractly and is connected to early literacy, mathematical thinking and problem solving.
At Raising Arizona Preschool we are committed to being a high quality preschool that has your child’s best interest in mind. We believe that play is not a break but that is the WAY young children learn.
For more information on Play Based Learning please check out this link.
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