Learning through play
If your child started preschool or kindergarten this month, what did you see? I remember when my first-born set foot into kindergarten. I had visions of her learning to read novels, write stories and calculate her first math problems. Instead she was playing — all morning long! Since then I have learned how important play is to a child’s development and future success.
Nobel prize-winning and U.S. economist James Heckman’s research shows that grades and test scores are a poor predictor of success in life because they measure only one skill — cognitive achievement. Far too much credit is given to cognitive skills when in fact emotional well-being and social skills play pivotal roles. These skills are developed through playing.
Dr. Peter Gray pointed out in his research, “Children’s freedom to play and explore on their own, independent of direct adult guidance and direction, has declined greatly in recent decades. Free play and exploration are, historically, the means by which children learn to solve their own problems, control their own lives, develop their own interests, and become competent in pursuit of their own interests.”
The important soft skills of thinking before we act, sharing, and showing empathy can all be learned through play. I’m so glad that our children get to play each day in preschool and in kindergarten. As caregivers, we can let go of the pressures to make our children focus on math and learn letters during their early years! Instead, we can let the children play!
What are some of the skills kids are learning through play? Robert Fulghum said it well in his book “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten.” 1. Share everything. 2. Play fair. 3. Don’t hit people. 4. Put things back where you found them. 5. Clean up your own mess. 6. Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
7. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat. 9. Flush. As parents and caregivers, we can focus on some of the items on Fulghum’s list as we teach our children at home. Let’s support kindergarten and preschool teachers as they give opportunities to practise these skills at school through play.
The Early Learning teams at Holy Spirit Catholic School Division and Lethbridge District 51 have enthusiastically embraced the importance of play in their Early Education and Kindergarten programs. For more information about their programs contact Lynn Saler with Holy Spirit Catholic Schools at 403-308-8229 and Isabelle Plomp with Lethbridge District 51 at 403-380-5291.
Lethbridge Early Years Coalition believes that all children deserve a great start in life. A child’s early experiences and environments have lifelong impacts on everything from mental and physical health to success in school, work and relationships. Lethbridge Early Years works with community partners to create positive environments for young children and build awareness of the importance of the early years of children’s development.
For more information about Lethbridge Early Years, visit