Thursday, October 1, 2009

Outside Play Anyone?


Today we tried a new lunch treat that I read about on a blog. Caterpillars! You stick the dry spaghetti through the hot dog and boil. Most of the kids loved it!



Whitlee riding a tricycle and Rosanna checking for mail in our playhouse mailbox.

A worm!




Building Community is so important. This is how kids learn to get along in society and in classrooms. The best way to facilitate this is LONG periods of free play. I like the picture of the kids on hoppy balls. It looks like a meeting of some sort. Maybe.. a future PTO leader is on there, like her mommy!

"Preschool is the first early learning a child is exposed to. It should prepare them for future education and should establish many behavioral patterns that are expected of them, as they grow older. The most important of these behaviors for a child to learn is belonging to a community.
If a child feels as though they're a part of a community, it will establish important lessons that include cooperation, communication, how to get along with others and how to share and be shared with. This early learning will provide children will lifelong lessons that will allow them to survive later in school, at work and in life in general." RL Hamilton

.

Clara making use of the Tonka Toys. A girl has to do what a girl has to do !


This is our worm farm. The kids love digging here. Kids WILL dig. Better to give them their own spot than find 20 more around the yard! Bianca loving that skateboard.

Whats for lunch?




This exercise ball should be used for something, right?


We had a great day ! We had breakfast outside!!!!! We played outside from 8:00 - 10:45. And yes, they are all snoozing very soundly right now. As I walked around listening to their conversations I was amazed at the level the majority of the children talk on. And imaginations - WE HAVE THEM!

From the American Academy of Pediatrics:

Play is integral to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to enhance children’s learning readiness, learning behaviors, and problem-solving skills.2232 Social-emotional learning is best integrated with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children’s ability to learn are elevated at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning


2 comments:

  1. I have one of those large excersize balls and my kids love it too. I hold the ball between my legs, hold their hands and they jump. Great Fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Play and socializing with other kids is great. And you don't need to be in preschooler to do it. We belonged to a playgroup and my kids would play for hours with the other kids. They are still friends with many of these kids.

    Renee, author of
    www.thesmarterpreschooler.com

    ReplyDelete