25 Nov Can preschool aged children really learn through play?

Many studies show play is vital for the development of a child’s brain as it contributes with their social, cognitive, physical and emotional wellbeing.

Play is one of the most important ways children learn. And in most instances, it comes natural to children.
Without realising it children demonstrate a lot of learning process just by playing.

Let’s look at a few examples…..

A girl (who does not know how to read) has picked up a book and is pretending to read the words on the page. Looks at the pictures then points at the words and continues to pretend to read as she flicks through the pages.

Has she demonstrated any learning through her play? You’d prob think… no not really. She can’t even read how is this benefiting her?
Well surprisingly she’s demonstrated more than you realise. She was able to use her imagination to predict what the story was about. She used her critical thinking and creative problem solving which evolved from using her imagination to read the book in her own version. She used her fine motor skills to flick through the pages and her hand-eye coordination as she pointed to the words on the page. And I could go on but let’s look at another example.

A boy and a girl are playing with some toy cars. Racing them against each other. Rolling them back and forth on their pretend road and comparing how their car looks better than the other and at times complaining how one child has more cars than the other.
Surely, they aren’t learning with this type of play? They just seem like they are disagreeing about everything.

Well they are. Fine motor skills are enhanced as they move their little cars back and forth on the ground. Use of imagination as they make car sound effects and pretend to be on the open road. Sharpening their observation skills as they compare the look of each other’s toy cars based on size, shape and colour (mathematical concepts). And working on their counting and addition skills as they compare how many cars they each have and who has more.

At Preschool in a box we know how important play is for a child’s development. For this reason, all our activities and worksheets are educational yet fun at the same time, that way the child doesn’t even realise they are learning. Each box includes 24 activities and worksheets which are linked to the Early Years Learning Framework of Australian curriculum that way you know what learning processes your child will demonstrate with each activity. Everything is included in the box so all you need to do is have fun learning with your child.

If you’d like to know more check us out at
www.preschoolinabox.com.au
www.instagram.com/preschoolinabox/

About the Author

I am a mum of three beautiful children under the age of five. I am an Early Childhood Teacher and have a Masters degree in teaching from birth to 5 years of age.

Website: http://preschoolinabox.com.au

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[Any information given in articles are not intended to be a substitute for any professional medical advice or diagnosis or treatment. Always consult a medical professional concerning any questions you may have regarding medical conditions or concerns.]