What is Play-Based Learning? How is it Established in the Classroom?
Plasticene makes learning letters fun.
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Children are naturally inclined to play. They use different play behaviours to enact what they see around them in order to make sense of the world. Children play 'house' to learn about basic activities such as cooking and cleaning, to better understand the adult caretakers in their lives. Children learn easily when fun is mixed into curriculum. A child would generally leap at the chance to sculpt letters out of plasticene, rather than to simply print them with pencil and paper. The element of fun and play encourage students to enjoy learning. Enthusiastic learners generally do much better in school than those who find no joy in learning.
"Five- and six-year-olds are natural, enthusiastic learners. Their impulse to ask questions, to investigate, and to explore, examine, and experiment, comes from a burning curiosity about the world and a desire to understand things. They learn, grow, and internalize through interactive experiences with each other, with adults, and with real materials that require all of their senses." (Region 4 Education Service Center, p. 3) |
Playing With Blocks Teaches Many Important Lessons.
Play teaches kids how to problem solve, how to make friends, how to express themselves, how to enjoy the world around them, and how to recognize letters and numbers. All of these skills form the foundation of a love of learning.
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Play is incredibly important at the kindergarten age. A Pre-K-K teacher writes, "Play is an active form of learning that involves the whole self. Even cognitive development, the primary focus in today's kindergarten, is achieved through child-initiated exploration and discovery." (Allie Magnuson, 2010) Children all come from a variety of home situations. They have different religions, some may have grandparents living at home, others may live with a single parent, some may have same-sex parents, be adopted or fostered, come from low income, high income, or be anything in between. Students make sense of their lives through play, and it is the easiest way for them to learn new concepts. The Ontario Curriculum for Kindergarten states that "Each child grows and develops in various interrelated areas – physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic. In order to address the full range of each child’s developmental needs,the Kindergarten program should provide opportunities for learning, self-expression, and self-discovery in a variety of areas – for example, in music, drama, games, language activities, and cooperative activities with peers." - learning through play-based education methods, specifically through learning centres, addresses the full range of a child's developmental needs.
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