What We Do, and Why...
The following describes some of the things that we do day in and day out that the kids usually call "play". The descriptions are paraphrased from The Creative Curriculum for Family Child Care.
Art
Through art, children are developing thinking skills by learning the properties of materials, identifying colors, observing cause-and-effect, labeling shapes and objects, and learning to solve problems.
Through art, children develop socially by learning to cooperate, learning to share, and learning to plan.
Through art, children develop emotionally by experiencing pride, expressing feelings, and asserting independence.
Children develop physically by practicing small muscle skills, coordinating eye and hand movements, and learning to use balance.
Blocks
When playing with blocks, children develop thinking skills by discovering the physical characteristics of materials, learning how their actions affect objects, learning to represent other places and things, solving construction problems and developing math skills.
Children develop socially by understanding the appropriate behavior, making friends and developing social skills, and learning how to cooperate.
Children develop emotionally by building self-esteem and pride, replaying scary events to they can control their feelings, and developing independence.
Children develop physically by learning how to coordinate eye and hand actions, developing large muscles, developing small muscle control and learning to balance.
Books
Books play a major role in helping children grow up to become readers. Research tells us that children who are used to being around books when they are young are likely to become good readers when they get to school. They're also likely to enjoy reading throughout their lives. By sharing books with children, you can set the stage for success in school and a lifetime of good reading habits.
Children develop thinking skills by learnign to understand symbols, learning vocabulary, learnign to count, anticipating events, learning to recognize colors and shapes, and applying knowledge.
Children develop socially by learning to share, trying out different roles, and showing concern.
Children develop emotionally by working through fears, feeling good about themselves, and showing compassion for others.
Children develop physically by developing their small muscles, strengthing their eye muscles, and coordinating thier hand and eye movements.
As you read to a child and encourage him to look at books, you'll find that there are any number of ways in which books can be used to encourage children's growth and development.
Cooking
There are many types of learning experiences that can take place through cooking. Children develop thinking skills by learning about nutrition, solving problems, sorting and classifying, gaining a foundation in math, understanding specific scientific principles, and expressing creativity.
Children develop socially by developing responsibility, learnign self-help skills, developing consideration for others, and working cooperatively.
Children develop emotionally by showing pride and having fun.
Children develop physically by strengthening hand muscles, coordinating hand and eye movements, and learning directionality.
Dramatic Play
Dramatic play helps young children develop an understanding of the world around them, cope with fears and uncertainites, and learn to get along with others. In other words, dramatic play helps young chldren develop skills they need both now and in the future.
Dramatic play helps children develop thinking skills by imitating the actions of others, solving problems in play, using different objects to represent something they need in their play, sorting objects into categories, remembering their own experiences and replaying them.
Children develop socially by responding to what other children are doing, sharing props and toys, and trying out different roles.
Children develop emotionally by assuming powerful roles, replaying experiences that scare them so they begin to gain a sense of control.
Children develop physically by using large and small muscles, and bycoordinating their hand movements.
Music and Movement
Music and movement support developing thinking skills by linking sounds to their source, discovering cause and effect, distinguishing sounds, applying knowledge, and solving problems.
Children develop socially by sharing experiences with others and making friends.
Children develop emotionally by expressing emotions and forming a sense of personal taste.
Children develop physically by becoming aware of what their bodies can do, coordinating hand and eye movements, practicing large motor skills and developing rhythm.
Outdoor Play
Children develop thinking skills by using their senses to learn about the world, experiencing cause and effect, developing language skills, learning to plan and to solve problems, following through on a task, learning about science.
Children develop socially by making friends, learnign to share and take turns, learning to cooperate.
Children develop emotionally by feeling successful and competent, learning to be independent, expressing creativity.
Children develop physically by refining small muscle skills, developing large motor skills, coordinating eye and hand movements, and learning coordination and balance.
Sensory Play
Sensory play supports childrens growth and development by developing thinking skills. They notice how things are the same and different, discover how things change, observe how their actions affect things, and they gain the foundations of math.
Children develop socially by practicing social roles, making friends, and sharing.
Children develop emotionally by seeing a task through to completion, building self-confidence and pride and developing independence.
Children develop physically by developing small muscles, learning to move eyes and hands together, and improving coordination.
Toys
By playing with toys children develop thinking skills by using their senses to explore a toy, identifying colors and shapes, learning directionality, classifying objects ccording to size, shape, or function and being creativeand solving a problem.
Children develop socially by sharing materials that interest them, playing cooperatively, and taking responsibility.
Children develop emotionally by experiencing their own power, achieving satisfaction by completing a task, and extending their imaginations and creativity.
Children develop physically by using small muscle skills, practicing visual skills, and coordinating eye and hand movements.
