On our website, we use terms such as
“Learn through Play” and “Kindergarten Readiness”. We say “Health and Wellness
Literacy” with our Healthy Apple Program, but what do they all mean? What is
important to understand is in Alberta there are no legislation's on how to run a
playschool. We are approved by Alberta Licensing , which offers a safer, satisfactory
program. Locally there are programs ran as a “playschool” that aren’t licensed,
and even out of houses. Other than that, all the opinions written up in this
blog are my opinions.
Let’s
explore the first thing many people don’t understand:
Playschool
vs Preschool
Playschool, Preschool, Nursery school and Pre-K programs are
all the same thing, with exception to what the schools are trying to tell
families they see as the main focus of their classes. Each school use their
names to reflect what they really want to execute as a priority in their
program philosophy. They all work on ABC’s, 123’s and have play time during
class.
- Nursery school – generally for children 2 and older
- Preschool & Pre-K programs – try to
convey the message “getting ready for kindergarten” is important. This often
includes phonic programs, and writing programs like Handwriting without tears®
and Itchy’s Alphabet.
- Playschool – a program that uses play as
its main focus in education, often integrating curricular concepts into the
play time
Playschool, as used in our title, is evidently our
number one priority and philosophy. We as a playschool still find the value in
early literacy and Handwriting without Tears®, but we use it
to add sprinkles to our ice cream. The main focus is what children are learning
during their play experiences
What is
Learn through play? And why is it our philosophy?
In
Stuart Browns, with Christopher Vaughan’s book “Play: How it shapes the brain,
opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul”, they define play as a “state
of mind.” Play is a profound biological process that provides enjoyment, a
suspension of self consciousness and sense of time. It is self motivating and
makes you want to do it again. It is a primal
activity, which for us, lies at the core of creativity and innovation. We as educators must provide an environment
filled with rich and meaningful play opportunities’.
This is achieved by taking the
children's lead based on their current interests. The interests of the children
are then integrated into a developmentally appropriate curriculum. After
observation of general interest, programming is planned to offer purposeful
play experiences to the children at Capilano Playschool. This is achieved
during the day when the children engage in different play experiences, such as
dramatic play, early literacy, gross motor and fine motor activities, and
sensory play. During these experiences, curricular concepts such as math, science,
language, and social studies are naturally integrated.
I believe play is the most important
activity a human being can experience. Play does not know age, nor gender or
race. It is a simple, universal language we all speak from the moment we begin
to smile; to the day we grow old. While volunteering with children, I watched a
deaf child and a hearing child play the same game together. They shared the
same basic rules and direction while laughing at one another without being able
to speak a single word to one another. Play is a universal language that
children are born with the right to do. As Mr Rogers said, “Play is often talked about as if it
were a relief from serious learning, but for children play is serious learning.
Play is really the work of childhood.”
What is “health
and wellness literacy?”
Being “literate”
in something is being “knowledgeable or educated in a particular field
or fields” according to the free dictionary online. Websters dictionary refers
to it as “having knowledge or competence.” When we decided to
change our program from a regular program, to a health and wellness program, we
wanted to rear children who were knowledgeable and experienced in being a
healthy person. We wanted to share with children and their families our passion
for caring for our families, friends and community. Physical literacy includes
education about the importance of developing a healthy body and mind as the
result of deliberate effort. Capliano
Playschool wants to work with the Canadian physical activity guidelines for the
early years to help reach 180 minutes/day of physical activity per day. We will
work towards supplying physical activity at playschool, including but not
limited to – outside play, circle time activities, gym time, free play time and
field trips. This active play will be varying between moderate activities and
energetic, progressing toward at least 60 minutes of energetic play by the time
the child is done playschool and is 5 years of age.
(http://www.participaction.com, 2013).
Wellness literacy is understanding the value in the wellness of your own
mental, and physical state, as well as the wellness of others. Of our community
members, animals, and the Earth as a whole.
What
exactly is Kindergarten Readiness?
At Capilano playschool we build foundations of early
learning to begin scaffolding and building stronger structures that children
can become fluent at for Kindergarten and the years ahead of them. These are
what I see as important pre school tools, and can offer as a Kindergarten
Readiness Check List.
Families and
communities are FULL of individuals that we spend hours with each day. These
people help your children learn to become social beings. The more people you
offer to your child in the first 5 years of their lives, the easier it will be
for them to approach a new child in kindergarten on the first day. They will be
able to introduce themselves to new kindergarteners and to not be afraid of the
big grade threes at the park and in the fields outside at recess.
It seems simplistic enough – you go, I go. Only 12 months
ago playschoolers were small toddlers who developmentally struggled with
“sharing”. The “mine” phase was fun, but without experiences to practice your
turn, my turn, you still struggle with it in kindergarten. During class my playschoolers take turns in
circle, in the gym, and outside at the park. We begin to understand sometimes
there is only one piece of material in which we need to take turns with instead,
like with crayons, felts, and certain toys. It isn’t always fair, but being
able to identify “fairness” and exercise patience is very important in
kindergarten.
Public Speaking
In our class, the
children are given situations that help them become confident in front of an
audience. Once children hit kindergarten these experiences are much more
frequent. Public speaking isn’t necessarily standing in front of a crowd and
reading from a script. It’s feeling confident to raise your hand and answer a
question or tell your teacher about your weekend when she asks you a question
in circle. In our playschool it is singing for our parents during holiday
celebrations, and our favourite is show and share! During show and share
children get to feel excited about sharing information about something special
to them. Then the other children ask them questions, educating them about
“who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, “why” and “how”. When we go on field trips this
learnt behaviour comes naturally when presenters ask for questions. The
children quickly find questions to ask the presenter.
This seems like a simple goal, to be able to line up. In
kindergarten it is so important for fire drills, to and from class and when
entering field trip bus. As we grow up we understand it like second nature, at
the bank, grocery store and gas station. The ability to line up helps us learn
to control our impulses. It teaches us to be conscious of those around us, and
cope with turn taking. It offers children a chance to leadership, and make a
new friend when they are directed to hold a new little hand. Lining up helps
with so many concepts that adults forget exist. To be told by an adult, and
cope with not getting to stand where you want to, or be with whom you want to
be is very hard. Spending time in play school practicing this make it’s much
easier to be directed when you have much less time to in kindergarten.
“Academic” Qualities
Once I asked a
kindergarten teacher “if I can help them excel in one thing, what would you
like?” Her response shocked me honestly “I want them to write their names in upper
and lower case…” According to most development specialists, that’s not a
realistic goal for a 3 year old unless parents, and other adults in their environment,
offer a lot of exposure through books, and lead by example.. This year I asked
the kindergarten teacher the same question. This time I received a wonderful
answer, which can help me create confident, independent children, in a
developmentally appropriate way. She wanted children who could go to the
washroom without support, attempt to do their own jackets up, problem solve
without screaming and crying. She wanted children who had exposure to sitting
in a circle for ½ hour a week, so they are ready for 5 days a week.
Every thing we do has curricular concepts to them. When you
paint there is science in the texture and the colours the paints make when
mixed. When you bake cookies there is math in the measurements. When children
build with blocks they are exploring geometry and architecture. When they dress
up in the house center they explore social studies – who plays what role?
When a child has a book read to them in circle, when they
see a sign for the “house center” and when they are exploring the labels on
boxes, they are being exposed to literacy. All of this scaffolding creates a
confident, educated playschooler who will be capable of reading and writing
when they are developmentally ready for it. At Capilano I ensure I expose
children to cutting lines, running in the gym, playing in the park, holding a
pencil, exploring letters and trying to write their names. All of that is
kindergarten readiness.
Sincerely,
Ms Asha
