Curriculum

THE VALUE OF PRESCHOOL ACTIVITIES: PLAY IS LEARNING!

She learns to use her imagination to create something from her own thinking.
She has the satisfaction of being able to make something.
She learns about sizes and shapes, weights and balances, height and depth, smoothness and roughness.
She is exercising her body.
She learns to play with others.

He is more concerned with the process he is going though than with a finished product. This is how it should be for this stage in development.
He learns about colors and how he can use them.
He learns to use his imagination and transfers his ideas to paper.
He gets emotional satisfaction from being able to express himself.
He learns how to use small muscle coordination to handle a brush.
He learns how to make choices and decisions.

She learns about doing things for others.
She learns how to use materials like scissors and paste.
She learns how to use her imagination to make the kind of present she has in mind. Again, the process, not the finished product is important to her.
She learns about shapes, sizes, colors, and textures.

He finds it soothing to bury his hands in sand or pour water in and out of cups.
He is able to relax with these types of media and center his attention on a task.
He has an opportunity to play alone and not have to compete with other children as with some activities. This is especially important to a child who has trouble getting along with others.
He has a great opportunity to learn about size and measurement, experimenting with measuring spoons, cups and different sized containers.
He learns which things float in water.
He is not concerned with the final product, so he does not find it frustrating.

She has an opportunity to work alone or together with other children.
She gains satisfaction in completing a puzzle and builds her self-confidence.
She has an opportunity to improve her eye-hand coordination.
She will use skills learned in doing puzzles later when she learns to read - putting letters to sounds, making words with letters, and making stories with words.
She learns to play with others.

She learns to follow directions.
She stimulates and uses all five senses.
She learns to recognize colors and shapes from different kinds of foods and kitchen utensils.
She has an opportunity to use different tools and equipment to improve small muscle coordination.

He learns to appreciate music from different countries, cultures, and time periods.
He learns to express himself and his ideas.
He increases his vocabulary.
He gains satisfaction from participating in an activity that can be fun, physical, and enriching.

She explores new concepts, practices emerging skills, and reinforces skills already mastered.
She develops fine motor practice.
She learns about classifying, sorting, predicting, problem solving, and analyzing results.
She develops her knowledge of the world around her using real objects and concrete examples.
She learns how to learn.

He learns how machines work and how they can help him learn more.
He practices eye-hand coordination, using the mouse.
He is able to learn the processes necessary to use technology.
He learns how to express his ideas through technology and share his ideas with others.

She is able to verbalize her feelings using words.
She can begin to understand the feelings of others.
She can role-play and perhaps find solutions to situations that may disturb her.
She stretches her imagination.