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Children experience rich and meaningful learning when they play.
Importantly, it is through play that children develop critical thinking, perspective taking, and essential social skills. Some forms of play specifically enable children to explore mathematical concepts such as quantity and measurement, while other forms of play build language skills for speaking and listening, as well as practice inquiry and, with teacher guidance, apply the scientific method and basic engineering principles. Children also develop their creativity, innovative skills, and confidence through structured and guided play.
At St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, we pride ourselves in giving each one of our students the greatest opportunity to learn and grow! As a parent, we invite you to learn all about our Play Based Learning and our Teacher’s role in your child’s learning environment.
What is Play-Based Learning?
Children naturally learn through play by engaging in and making sense of their
surroundings through direct positive interaction. Play-based learning is self-chosen, enjoyable to the child, and process-oriented. This provides opportunities for experiences that are child-directed but that are also teacher-facilitated. More specifically, in play-based learning teachers take an active role as intentional planners, observers, and guides, while still allowing each child enough autonomy to find their own joy in the activity at hand. Play-based learning also allows for varying degrees of free play which enables children to connect authentically with the intended content and context. Additionally, when children co-construct their learning with their teachers and peers, they apply it to their own lives and make meaningful personal discoveries all while progressing towards intended goals and planned learning objectives.
What is the teacher’s role in Play-Based Learning?
In a “learn-thru-play” preschool the teacher’s role is to be a facilitator of positive,
objective-oriented play. Teachers define and shape the environment for the
learning, ask guiding questions, create challenges, offer vocabulary, and provide
positive constructive feedback both collectively and on a child-by-child basis.
What is my child learning in Play – Based Preschool?
Children experience rich and meaningful learning when they play. Importantly, it
is through play that children develop critical thinking, perspective taking, and
essential social skills. Some forms of play specifically enable children to explore
mathematical concepts such as quantity and measurement, while other forms of
play build language skills for speaking and listening, as well as practice inquiry
and, with teacher guidance, apply the scientific method and basic engineering
principles. Children also develop their creativity, innovative skills, and confidence
through structured and guided play.
READY TO REGISTER YOUR CHILD?
PLEASE FILL OUT THE REGISTRATION AND ENROLLMENT/MEDICAL FORMS FOR THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR!
TAKE A LOOK AT THE PARENT HANDBOOK FOR ALL INFORMATION!
To serve God, we the people of St. Margaret’s Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, come together to reach out in faith and love to all people with the Good News of God’s reconciling Grace in Jesus Christ. We do this through our worship, nurture, and outreach.
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