There are a wide range of articles circling lately that discuss the difference between "play based" and "academic focused" curriculum in preschool. Both philosophies are used all over the world and many could argue the advantages to each.
Our mission statement at Children's Discovery Center reflects our belief in research showing that children learn best through play:
As a ministry of Christ United Methodist Church, Children’s Discovery Center believes that each child is a child of God and should have the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually to his or her fullest potential. Children’s Discovery Center provides learning experiences through hands-on activities with small groups of children of the same age. Emphasis is placed on the needs of the individual child to develop self-confidence and independence in successful learning opportunities. As we plan to meet the educational needs of the young children of our school, specific kinds of learning experiences will be provided to reflect an awareness and sensitivity to their learning style. Research has shown that the first five years are critical to a child’s brain development. At CDC we make learning fun. Our goal for each child is to develop a healthy, positive feeling about himself/herself and develop a love for learning.
Hands-on activities, looking at the needs of each individual child, giving the children experiences and making it all fun are the main characteristics for a truly play-based, child-centered curriculum. But, while the "play-based" label is becoming more and more the norm for preschools, not everyone fully understands the reasoning behind it nor the methods used in order to carry it out in an actual classroom.
At Children's Discovery Center, the teachers in every classroom, with children ranging in ages from 9 months to 5 years, put this into practice each and every day. The activities planned are stimulating, engaging and work to develop the whole child, focusing on all areas of development, including social, emotional, language, spiritual and cognitive.
Boasting a play-based philosophy is one thing, but what does it really look like in a classroom? What kinds of activities fit into it?
Featured below are just a few examples of how the amazing teachers at CDC Preschool implement this philosophy into their classrooms every day! The children are learning and discovering with each of these child-focused activities to become engaged, active problem-solving learners, which will serve them well in school and through their entire lives.
These girls are carrying out an experiment to see just how strong egg shells are. They recorded their hypothesis on how many books the shells can hold up, then put their guesses to the test!
These children are given the space and opportunity to sit at a child-sized table together. Toddlers are still typically practicing parallel play, but should be given chances to interact with their peers as often as possible.
This group of three year olds were given buckets of water and paint brushes on the playground. With no direct instruction or given product to work toward, they are discovering all about the properties of water, what the cement looks like dry vs. wet and so many other things!
Learning can and should be messy at times!!! Shaving cream with food coloring on the table top gives these kiddos a chance to get their hands dirty while exploring colors, textures and smells!
Given open ended materials and the opportunity to create, children can and will construct structures that require balance, symmetry and cooperative skills.
Children LOVE pretend play and thrive in an environment set up for them to be grown-ups!
These children have been given the chance to peel an apple, stretch out the peel and see how long it is while the other class got to watch popcorn pop! Both of these meaningful experiences will develop their senses, which will in turn instill a sense of curiosity about the world around them!
As a whole, early education should encourage children to wonder about things, teach them to communicate with others and more than anything, help them to be able to analyze situations, to independently problem solve and quite plainly...to think! Letter sounds, handwriting, number values and all other things will fall into place eventually. Now is the time to develop their minds to be curious and able to think through anything that comes their way.
If you teach a child to think,
she can't help but to learn.
Please visit www.cumc.com/cdc for more information about our program.
