Play...is OKAY!
Why?
In the picture above, two students independently thought to use the kitchen sink as a hair washing studio. Yes, it may seem like just a cute picture, but these students are hard at work. Play like this, with encouragement from adults, has an opportunity to help children build strong math, literacy, language, and social emotional skills.
What to do:
1. Allow your child to be creative in their play. when they do something unexpected, instead of saying "that's not how you use that." try saying, "Wow, why are you using it that way?" or "How does that work?"
2. Understand what your child loves and capitalize on the learning opportunity! For example, here are possibilities with the children in the picture above:
Literacy: If your child is interested in hair in this way, buy a hair magazine from the store and look over it with your child. Let your child "read" to you by having him or her look at the photographs and talk about what they see. Then, allow them to make their own magazine or "how to" booklet. They can staple pages together and write their own book about how to wash and manage hair correctly. This type of opportunity will be very engaging to the child because they will have chosen the content of their learning themselves. You as the adult have simply facilitated in to provide as many educationally meaningful opportunities as possible.
Social emotional: Allow your child many opportunities to play cooperatively with other children. Encourage fair use of materials and team work.
Language: Encourage your child to talk, not to be quiet. Play provides an opportunity for children to practice important language skills such as turn taking, giving details, maintaining eye contact, and other important communication necessities.
Math: When doing hair like this, counting can be woven in easily. For example, when taking out braids or getting a new hair cut, talk about how many times you think you you need to brush your hair to make it untangled and clean? Predict and then test your guess. Also, when putting in beads or barretts in, count how many you've placed in.
Preschool standards addressed through this activity:
2c. Interacts with peers
2d. Makes friends
3a. Balances the rights and needs of self and others
3b. Solves social problems
9c. Uses conventional grammar
9d. Tells about another time or place
10a. engages in conversation
10b. Uses social rules of language
15c. Notices and Discriminates Smaller and Smaller Units of Sound
16a: Identifies and Names Letters
16b. Uses letter-Sound Knowledge
20a. Counts
20b. Quantifies
20c. Connects Numerals with their Quantities
30. Shows basic understanding of people and how they live
In the picture above, two students independently thought to use the kitchen sink as a hair washing studio. Yes, it may seem like just a cute picture, but these students are hard at work. Play like this, with encouragement from adults, has an opportunity to help children build strong math, literacy, language, and social emotional skills.
What to do:
1. Allow your child to be creative in their play. when they do something unexpected, instead of saying "that's not how you use that." try saying, "Wow, why are you using it that way?" or "How does that work?"
2. Understand what your child loves and capitalize on the learning opportunity! For example, here are possibilities with the children in the picture above:
Literacy: If your child is interested in hair in this way, buy a hair magazine from the store and look over it with your child. Let your child "read" to you by having him or her look at the photographs and talk about what they see. Then, allow them to make their own magazine or "how to" booklet. They can staple pages together and write their own book about how to wash and manage hair correctly. This type of opportunity will be very engaging to the child because they will have chosen the content of their learning themselves. You as the adult have simply facilitated in to provide as many educationally meaningful opportunities as possible.
Social emotional: Allow your child many opportunities to play cooperatively with other children. Encourage fair use of materials and team work.
Language: Encourage your child to talk, not to be quiet. Play provides an opportunity for children to practice important language skills such as turn taking, giving details, maintaining eye contact, and other important communication necessities.
Math: When doing hair like this, counting can be woven in easily. For example, when taking out braids or getting a new hair cut, talk about how many times you think you you need to brush your hair to make it untangled and clean? Predict and then test your guess. Also, when putting in beads or barretts in, count how many you've placed in.
Preschool standards addressed through this activity:
2c. Interacts with peers
2d. Makes friends
3a. Balances the rights and needs of self and others
3b. Solves social problems
9c. Uses conventional grammar
9d. Tells about another time or place
10a. engages in conversation
10b. Uses social rules of language
15c. Notices and Discriminates Smaller and Smaller Units of Sound
16a: Identifies and Names Letters
16b. Uses letter-Sound Knowledge
20a. Counts
20b. Quantifies
20c. Connects Numerals with their Quantities
30. Shows basic understanding of people and how they live