- Maplewood Nursery
- Learning
10 Fun Ways Kids Learn Through Play
Play looks like recreation, but underneath it children are running experiments. A block tower is an early lesson in balance, counting and cause and effect. A water tray teaches volume and flow. Dressing up builds vocabulary and empathy.
This is the principle at the centre of the Alberta Curriculum we follow: children learn best as active participants, not as passive recipients of instruction.
Educators plan around what children are already curious about, then add the language, the question or the extra material that pushes the thinking a little further.
When a tower falls down and a child builds it again, they are learning persistence - and no worksheet teaches that.
What different kinds of play build
Construction play develops spatial reasoning and early maths. Role play develops language and social understanding. Sand and water develop scientific thinking. Outdoor play develops balance, strength and risk assessment. Music and movement develop rhythm, memory and coordination.
The adult’s job
Mostly to notice, and to resist taking over. Sit alongside, describe what is happening, ask an occasional open question, and add a new material at the right moment. Then step back again.
Post A Comment