Those Who Do Preschool Programs (Or Who Use A Curriculum)

[kendallina]

For those that do preschool or use a curriculum, here's a great article that highlights the importance of a play-based preschool program, one that includes a lot of imaginative play (adult-mediated). Note that it is an opinion article, written by college professors, but very interesting nonetheless.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/12/29/christakis.play.children.learning/index.html?hpt=Sbin

One thing I always tell my preschool parents is that the most important skill they can learn in preschool is self-regulation and impulse control. If they have those skills when they go to kindergarten (and throughout life), they will have a much better chance of learning and succeeding in school.

Hope you enjoy.

[nannyde]

Through play, children learn to take turns, delay gratification, negotiate conflicts, solve problems, share goals, acquire flexibility, and live with disappointment. By allowing children to imagine walking in another person's shoes, imaginative play also seeds the development of empathy, a key ingredient for intellectual and social-emotional success.

I would take exception to this:

Programs centered around constructive, teacher-moderated play are very effective.

Programs centered around constructive, adult supervised play are very effective. I don't think preschoolers need "teachers" and I don't think they need moderated play. I think they need proximally supervised free play. I think they need multi-aged intergration free play so each older child can model and teach the younger kids skill sets and the younger kids can teach the older child flexibility, delayed gratification, leadership, tolerance, etc. They also need self entertainment play where they fully, completely, entertain themselves.

Play IS the key but keep the adults out of the play as "players" and put them in the role of managers and supervisors.

[MarinaVanessa]

Programs centered around constructive, adult supervised play are very effective. .... Play IS the key but keep the adults out of the play as "players" and put them in the role of managers and supervisors.

I agree 100% with this. It was a good read though. I printed it out and will probably include it with my newsletter today.