Having spent a year in the primary classroom and worked with preschool teachers there is no doubt in my mind that children in that age group just do not develop holistically unless they can play. It goes without saying that in an educational setting whether you are working in Bloomsburg, PA or downtown Barcelona pre-school children learn through play. Interaction with their peers and teacher provides and essential platform for children to discover themselves as individuals and begin to appreciate and hopefully understand the basic norms of socially acceptable behavior.
Play which is structured such that it is natural to a child’s development and growth can only facilitate their cognitive and social development. The child learns why the square peg will not fit in the round hole or the child observes that objects fall to the ground when they fall out of a cardboard or plastic tube. Integrating activities which cause this to happen with a simple why? Question starts the ball rolling (down various gradients of course), of a child’s understanding of the world around them.
Play and the individual
All children have their own interest’s desires, skills and aspirations. At preschool we cannot expect any child to stick to their choose answer to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” However, one should encourage an interest in whatever it is they gave as an answer, even if in 6 months (or 6 minutes), they have changed their mind. A preschool is likely to be the first time that any child has spent a significant amount of time outside of his or her home environment on a regular (probably daily) basis. With this in mind it is essential that this time is as interesting, varied, stimulation and actually enjoyable for the child.
It is crucial that preschool provides a platform where very young children start to make sense of the bewildering world around them, which can only help them achieve as they progress through a given education system. To achieve this aim children need to play and therefore there education must integrate play into its overall structure. The result means that educators can spot the gifted and talented and highlight any potential problems with equal care, consideration and expertise.
