Preschool Questions & Play-Based Learning

The Importance of Experiences for their Exploring Brains…

Current brain research has confirmed that in early childhood years, positive and varied experiences are crucial to laying the groundwork for later capabilities. In the early years, young children’s brain cells form connections (synapses) very rapidly. These connections are in part formed by interactions, experiences – these positive experiences profoundly stimulate the young brain. By the time they are three years old, they will have twice as many neural connections as adults!

After this, connections that aren’t used are eliminated, called “pruning.” This is a necessary process, just like in a garden whereby you prune away things not needed, so that enough sunlight and food lets the essential things grow and flourish. Children’s brain connections that have been used repeatedly in the early years become stronger and tend to remain; those that have not been used much are pruned away, to allow for that child’s ‘needed’ connections to thrive and strengthen.

Offering these varied and rich experiences in early childhood environments help lay the foundation for the scope of their abilities in these exact areas later on. Expose them now to these experiences and concepts, and their brains will make framework connections that they can rely upon later!

There is an incredible opportunity for a child to think differently using science, while learning indirectly the skills to socialize and communicate, helping to create emotional stability and personal well-being.

Doing science is a social skill.

In addition, children engage in all kinds of cognitive skills while doing science:

Language/literacy skills

•Retells and dictates stories

•Writing as a way to communicate

•Represents stories through pictures and play

•Understands & follows multi step directions

•Understands & uses language to communicate with peers and adults

•Links new learning and vocabulary to explorations

Math skills

•Recognizes, describes, compares shapes

•Understanding of directionality, order, positions

•Match, sort, regroup, compare

•Using standard & non-standard measurements

•Participates with graphs

Approaches to Learning skills

•Chooses to participate in tasks & activities

•Increased flexibility, imagination & inventiveness

•Grows in eagerness to learn and discuss a range of topics

•Ability to set goals and persist to complete tasks & projects

•Increasing ability to find more than one solution to a question, task, project

•Grows to recognize and solve problems through active exploration, interactions, & discussions

These are the many literacy goals (or learning standards) throughout early childhood. Your child's environment will be rich and diverse with integrated literacy learning opportunities. Teachers prepare each child for their next school level, according to the appropriate standards. Many children will be much more than just prepared, and carry with them a deep love of literacy.

Love literacy-related activities
Print goes left to right, top to bottom
Books are magical and full of stories
Letters have sounds
Letters make up words
Words describe things
Words have meaning when put together
Language communicates thoughts and feelings
Language is used to tell stories
Recognize some letters
Grammar
Phonological Awareness
Write some letters, especially their name
Knowledge of characters and string of events

Writing is a visible connection between a child's thought, and their ability to write it down. Symbolic play is a scaffolding to writing, giving voice to complex thinking turning into stories.

There are several writing goals (or learning standards) throughout early childhood such as correct tripod grasp, scribbles that turn into more recognizable items, and most importantly, well-developed small motor skills. Process is honored and nurtured, their stories may be written down for them until they can write their own, and small motor and letter practice opportunities abundant.

Your child's environment will be rich and diverse with integrated writing learning opportunities. Teachers prepare each child for their next school level, according to the appropriate standards. Many children will be much more than just prepared.

These are the many math goals (or learning standards) throughout early childhood. Your child's environment will be rich and diverse with integrated math learning opportunities. Teachers prepare each child for their next school level with developmentally appropriate materials, according to the appropriate standards. Many children will be much more than just prepared, and carry with them a deep love of all things numbers.

Recite numbers to 10
Begin to recognize numbers and their names
Subitize to 3 or 4 (recognize w/out counting)
One to one correspondence up to 5 & 10
Cardinality - last number said is quantity
Understanding more or less
Understanding effect of removing or adding
Simple addition/subtraction to 5 & 10
Group of things can be taken apart to smaller
Sorting/Classifying objects by 1 or more things
Recognize and repeat simple patterns
Compare and order objects
Identify and use simple shapes
Understand positions in space

Arts will be offered daily in a variety of formats for optimal accessibility and engagement. For example but not limited to:

Variety of music, songs, instruments, beats (physics - sound waves; math - beats; large and small motor, sensory)
Free choice play in coloring, drawing, painting/color mixing
Appreciation/study of certain famous artists, then art projects emulating their colors/techniques (this is more guided practice but still different end results)
Loose parts art, sculpture, projects
Free choice play and projects in different kinds of clay, sculpture
Variety of other art medium projects like paper making, art with nature, movie making, beading, mobiles, playing with scale, utilizing light/shadows...unending list!