What does a Kindergarten day look like
Children learn and develop by touching, hearing, tasting, seeing, smelling and moving.
When children in are learning in Kindergarten you will see them:
Listening to stories
Reading with a peer
Imaginative Play
Learning through play
Solving problems and telling others about their learning
Developing skills and concepts, both indoors and outdoors
Having a quiet time as needed
Eating meals and snacks
Making friends
Learning to get along with other children and adults
Talking
Listening
Creating
Transforming
Why is play important for learning
Play is the true work of children. Children are busy when they are playing and they are learning when they play. For example when children are lifting, dropping, looking, pouring, bouncing, hiding, building, knocking down, climbing, running and role playing they are learning.
Your child is learning important skills and concepts through play. Here are some examples:
- making and sharing observations about what happens when objects are put in water
- getting along with others, making friends and being respectful
- using thinking skills such as how to recognize and solve problems
- walking, running, hopping, balancing, throwing and catching
- cooperating, collaborating, problem solving, designing, refining
- talking, listening, explaining, writing, drawing
- counting, sorting, patterning, measuring, solving puzzles, playing games
Role playing is really important for your child. When children role play, they practice real life situations. Research shows that children who role play:
- have greater language skills (oral language is one of the greatest indicators for success in reading)
- have better social skills
- have more imagination
- are more likely to be kind to others
- are less aggressive
- show higher levels of thinking and problem solving
- develop better self-regulation
Physically active play is fun and has lots of benefits. Being physically active helps
- build strong muscle
- develop and grow in the healthy way
- eye-hand coordination
- large muscle skills
- small muscle skills
Self-regulation is the cornerstone of development and is one of the central building blocks of early learning. Self-regulation is the ability to adapt one`s emotions, behaviors and attention to the demands of the situation. The greatest opportunity for developing self-regulation in Kindergarten is through self directed and guided play where students are able to make decisions, manage emotions, plan, share, contribute and learn to cope with frustration, disappointment and wait time. Research shows that self-regulation enhances both literacy and numeracy growth.
Self regulation looks like:
- being able to make a choice
- being able to communicate needs more appropriately
- solve problems and complete tasks more easily
- use information from previous experiences
- get along well with others
- waiting for a turn (delay gratification)
- sharing tools or toys
- working with an assigned partner
- developing the ability to tolerate frustration and resist doing something tempting (i.e. taking someone`s toy)
- listening to a story quietly
- staying calmly focused and shifting attention when needed (moving from read aloud to partner discussion)
- helping a peer or adult
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