Whether by necessity or choice, the majority of parents work and many
depend upon formal, organized out‐of‐home care.
Offering quality child care that supports the child’s natural desire to
play and provide an environment that is intentional about creating
opportunities for learning through play helps create a common good
society. Quality early care and
education programs that follow a pedagogy of play support a child’s optimal
development and readiness for success in school. Longitudinal research
(e.g.
Chicago Child‐Parent Centers, High/Scope Perry Preschool and Abecedarian
Projects) shows that children who attend high‐quality preschool programs are
less likely to be placed in special education; less likely to be held back a
grade; and more likely to graduate from high school and attend college.
A
play-based child care program, like the one You’re Invited provides, is one
that allows children to learn at their own individual pace through the natural
process of play. The profound benefits
of this type of learning environment are losing ground to adult-directed, instruction
based philosophies. Important life-long
skills such as problem solving, emotional development,
divergent thinking, analytical skills, etc are being put to the side for
worksheets, drills, table work and other developmentally inappropriate teaching
styles.
Problem solving, for
instance, involves an element of risk. If we want children to learn to solve
problems we must create safe environments in which they feel confident taking
risks, making mistakes, learning from them, and trying again (Fordham &
Anderson, 1992). In a play-based curriculum, each day provides opportunities to
learn about reading, writing, and math through real, meaningful situations. For
instance, children set the table for snack so each child has one napkin, one
straw, and one box of milk. Children string beads to match the pattern on a
card or wait their turn because there is room for only four children at the art
table. Through these meaningful experiences children begin to understand
number, quantity, size, and other mathematical concepts.
It is clear the expectations
of our society are changing and our culture is becoming increasing focused on
specific functional skills such as arithmetic and pre-literacy as the objective
of pre-kindergarten learning environments.
We feel children’s play and play-based learning should be the
fundamental philosophy behind early learning environments and will continue to
offer an environment that is proven to provide the most solid foundation for
acquiring these functional skills when developmentally appropriate.
Fordham, A.E. & Anderson, W.W. (1992). Play,
risk-taking, and the emergence of literacy. In Play's place in public
education for young children, edited by V.J. Dimidjian, 105-114.
Washington, DC: National Education Association.
