Learning Through Creative Play

I know we've all heard this before, but it bears repeating. Children learn through play. While in the Seahorses NC Pre-K class this week, I witnessed this first hand. Although it may appear to be just playing, it's actually learning. The children were read a book about Chester and going to school. After the story, Ms. Audrey told the children what had been added to each center and the things they could possibly do in those centers. These two went to blocks to build what I thought was the school Chester went to. While they were building and working togefher,  I was asking open ended questions to add to their activity. Well,  I was surprised to hear it wasn't the school at all,  but the whole town Chester lived in. 

Another example was at the writing center. Not only are they carrying on conversations with each other,  they are practicing writing skills and fine motor skills. While this activity looks like its more learning than play,  it's play because they decided to do this,  no one made them go to the writing and no one told them what to do. The activity is set out, and the children choose what to do. 

The same goes with stinging the beads and play dough activities. They are working on fine motor, math, and social emotional skills just to name a few. 

So,  next time you may think your child is just playing, think again. Your child is learning!