We plan a balanced learning and play curriculum, using weekly themes, through dramatic play, art, music, and sensory activities, all while incorporating academics (writing, reading, science, technology, engineering, math). When children play they test their developing ideas with objects, people, and situations- the key ability for academic learning. They develop many kinds of skills together-physical, social, emotional, thinking, and language. They are doing things they are interested in, so they have a natural motivation to learn.
They develop concepts and skills together. For example, as a child learns to write the letters in her name, she is also learning the concept that each letter represents a sound. She is very motivated by the meaning- her own name! Children are more likely to remember skills and concepts they have learned by doing things that are meaningful to them.
Through pretend play, children develop their skills in using language and in telling and understanding stories. When children play with materials such as blocks, clay, sand, and water, they develop skills in logic. They experiment with cause and effect, with counting and sorting things, and with putting in order. They learn how to invent strategies for solving problems. As children share materials and play together, they learn to cooperate, listen to others, stand up for their own ideas, handle frustration, and empathize.
When children do activities they have chosen, learning is enjoyable. Its based on their own interests and gives them a sense of competence. Children learn more through play when they have well trained teachers who know how to promote, respond to, guide, and extend their play to increase learning, and how to assess their development by observing their play.