Cathy's Kids
Early Learning Center
Childcare / Preschool
ALL ABOUT PLAY
A Virtual Tour of Cathy's Kids
-Read an article "The Power of
Play"
Hi, Parents! Welcome to Cathy's Kids Site - ALL ABOUT PLAY. You can use this site to learn about my Childcare/Preschool program, and also to discover ways your child can play and learn at home with you!
Questions about my early childhood program or this site? Email me at nickisch@montana.com
Why Play? from http://www.daycare.about.com/parenting/daycare/library/weekly/aa071000a.htm
Along with a need for safe and supervised care, many parents enroll their child in a childcare or preschool program with the expectation that they will be learning academic skills that will prepare them for future school success. Because many of the parent's early school or care experiences were rigid school environments comprised of worksheets and teacher-directed activities, they are often dismayed to find their children playing for most of the day.
After all, isn't play just an idle waste of time? Surprisingly, child psychologists and educational specialists will answer this with a resounding "No". Many early childhood teachers and childcare providers are now recognizing what they have found in numerous research studies: Play is the most effective and powerful way for young children to learn. Often it is said that play is the work of childhood, the primary method for them to learn about themselves, others and their world.
Some scientists have found evidence that play can sculpt the brain and build denser webs of neural connections. When we play we literally exercise our brain cells. The nerve cells in the brain actually thicken and grow as we learn.
What does play teach?
Play is the best way for young children to learn the concepts, skills, and tasks needed to set a solid foundation for later school and life success. Most childcare and preschool programs focus on developing the whole child: socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Many common play activities meet these goals.
| PLAY ACTIVITY | What is Learned: |
| Finger Plays | language development, fine-motor skills, counting, coordination, and self-esteem |
| Circle games | large motor skills, creativity, cooperation, and spatial concepts |
| Pretend play | social skills (cooperation, turn-taking and sharing) language and vocabulary development, imagination, emotional expression |
| Puzzles | problem solving, abstract reasoning, shapes, and spatial concepts |
| Block building | a foundation for more advanced science comprehension including gravity, stability, weight, and balance |
| Sand-box play | measuring, problem solving, and fine motor skills |
| Cooking | math skills (counting and measuring,) nutrition and science concepts (prediction, cause and effect) |
| Drawing/Painting | creativity, emotional expression, symbolic representation, fine-motor skills |
Go to:
A Virtual tour of Cathy's facility
Cathy's Kindergarten readiness page
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world."
-- Albert Einstein