My program is play based. When I say this, people seem to think that it is Lord of the Flies. The mud-covered clothes the children tend to leave in don't do much to dispute this. So what exactly is a play based early childhood curriculum?
My lesson plans revolve around materials, not instruction. For example, the math center currently has a set of Picasso Tiles, a measurement set with a variety of standardized measuring tools, counting beads, and a Counting Cars board game. Do my plans for the week involve standing in front of this group of 3-5 year olds and quizzing them on each shape in the tile set, the addition and subtraction facts in the board game, and the names of the units of measure found in the measuring set? They could, but there's not a 5 year old in the world who would sit still for that. Instead, we play together.
When looking for a dress to fit a certain baby doll, we measure how many inches tall the baby is to find something that fits. When building a rocket ship, or museum, or campsite, we talk about how two right triangle tiles can fit together to make a square, or how three isosceles triangles will sit on an equilateral triangle and make a great pyramid. We play Counting Cars and make math sentences with counting cubes.
It's possible to follow the children and still lead.
This morning, three of the oldest decided that they wanted to paint their faces with chalk. I paused. Were they enjoying it? Absolutely. Was there an educational opportunity here? Probably only that chalk dust is uncomfortable to breathe. So I stepped in. I told them that the chalk was for the chalkboard, and that they were free to choose another activity once they washed up. Lo and behold, after minor (anticipated) protest, they came back ready to work on some puzzles.
Play based learning is loud. It's messy. But it isn't anarchy.
Hear, hear! I love this blog!
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