Help: What does "play-based" even mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sense is that "play based" generally means less structure and fewer rules. Lots of "free choice." If you have a 100% standard issue kid, and there are otherwise decent care providers, then they'll be fine there. But if you have a kid who needs a little more attention, the wrong kind of play-based philosophy (especially with too many kids and not enough teachers) might mean that they end up with behavioral issues. Especially for the new 3s, they really flourish better with a lot of adult interactions. So the version of "play based" where the kids are just expected to play on their own, doesn't really work.

+1

Plus, there's no certifying body or anything like that, so any school can call itself "play-based" and basically do whatever. It's a hazy, ill-defined educational pedagogy that leaves kids ill-prepared for K and beyond. But lots of DCUM parents send their kids to ritzy "play-based" private schools because they think price and a fancy name tag = quality.

I would think very, very carefully before opting to spend money on a "play-based" school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone with child development education can help these folks out? Many schools utilize it -- but I will let someone who knows better than I do explain it.

+1 I'd really like to hear this too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's an annoying term. At our school, although they had claimed to be 'play based' ... they switched out Pre-K 4 to be full days so that the children could be 'Kindergarten ready'

So it was bit and switch to the parents who started in Pre-K 3, half day, expecting 1/2 day for Pre-K 4 and less pressure to 'learn' in the traditional sense...we'd been sold the 'play based' ..
So, the best play based Pre-Ks are NCRC and possibly St Columbas here in DC...nurturing, sweet environments that parents rave about.
Wish we'd gone that route!

This. It's a marketing ploy and very trendy right now.

[Anonymous]

I think a good way to think about it is "play with a purpose." So the teacher is putting out specific things to help them learn while they play. For example, having kids build structures with only a certain set of blocks. How does stacking them differently make the building taller? How can you work together to build? What makes a tower more stable? And so on...

[Anonymous]

http://www.childaction.org/families/publications/docs/guidance/PlayItstheWayYoungChildrenLearn_Eng.pdf

What the Research Says about Play http://www.naeyc.org/play (all the below are links)

Play's Role in Learning is Complex
More Threats to Preschoolers' Play
Debunking the Play Versus Learning Dichotomy
Gender-Typed Toys
Impact of Specific Toys on Play
Dr. Alison Gopnik on the Evidence that Connects Play to Learning
References to Play in NAEYC Position Statements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Play-based means learning through play. It is especially important for younger kids, as that's how they learn best. Learning through playing dress-up or playing trains on the rug or train table - that kind of thing.

But what is the difference between a play-based preschool and a playgroup? I'm trying to decide whether to send my kid to a play-based preschool or keep him in a playgroup we like very much. It's much more expensive for us to do the preschool. He already plays with trains and costumes at his playgroup. What would an expensive play-based preschool do that's any different?

i think the preschool teachers are better than most parents about helping kids learn independence and how to socialize without parents always being right there.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I just toured the wrong preschool, but the play-based preschool we visited was barely controlled chaos. We backed right out of there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sense is that "play based" generally means less structure and fewer rules. Lots of "free choice." If you have a 100% standard issue kid, and there are otherwise decent care providers, then they'll be fine there. But if you have a kid who needs a little more attention, the wrong kind of play-based philosophy (especially with too many kids and not enough teachers) might mean that they end up with behavioral issues. Especially for the new 3s, they really flourish better with a lot of adult interactions. So the version of "play based" where the kids are just expected to play on their own, doesn't really work.

+1

Plus, there's no certifying body or anything like that, so any school can call itself "play-based" and basically do whatever. It's a hazy, ill-defined educational pedagogy that leaves kids ill-prepared for K and beyond. But lots of DCUM parents send their kids to ritzy "play-based" private schools because they think price and a fancy name tag = quality.

I would think very, very carefully before opting to spend money on a "play-based" school.

Agreed. It's a rip-off. But it's very "of the moment" right now and lots of DCUM-ers are too insecure to do anything other than go with the flow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sense is that "play based" generally means less structure and fewer rules. Lots of "free choice." If you have a 100% standard issue kid, and there are otherwise decent care providers, then they'll be fine there. But if you have a kid who needs a little more attention, the wrong kind of play-based philosophy (especially with too many kids and not enough teachers) might mean that they end up with behavioral issues. Especially for the new 3s, they really flourish better with a lot of adult interactions. So the version of "play based" where the kids are just expected to play on their own, doesn't really work.

This was our experience with a 4yo. The "teachers" were glorified babysitters, little more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Play-based means learning through play. It is especially important for younger kids, as that's how they learn best. Learning through playing dress-up or playing trains on the rug or train table - that kind of thing.

But what is the difference between a play-based preschool and a playgroup? I'm trying to decide whether to send my kid to a play-based preschool or keep him in a playgroup we like very much. It's much more expensive for us to do the preschool. He already plays with trains and costumes at his playgroup. What would an expensive play-based preschool do that's any different?

Stick with your playgroup. Don't waste your money on a program that will be basically the same thing as the playgroup.

[Anonymous]

I used to work at a play based preschool that adopted some of the following approaches to learning:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

http://projectapproach.org/

As other posters have mentioned, children learn through play, there was a strong emphasis on having the children have a role in deciding the themes based on their interest and the teacher would adapt their curriculum from there. imaginative play, art, and outdoor/ hands-on science is big part a play based curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Comparing Preschool Philosophies: Play-Based vs. Academic http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/going-to-school/choosing/comparing-preschool-philosophies/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to work at a play based preschool that adopted some of the following approaches to learning:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

http://projectapproach.org/

As other posters have mentioned, children learn through play, there was a strong emphasis on having the children have a role in deciding the themes based on their interest and the teacher would adapt their curriculum from there. imaginative play, art, and outdoor/ hands-on science is big part a play based curriculum.

Isn't Reggio Emilia a separate educational philosophy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Play-based means learning through play. It is especially important for younger kids, as that's how they learn best. Learning through playing dress-up or playing trains on the rug or train table - that kind of thing.

But what is the difference between a play-based preschool and a playgroup? I'm trying to decide whether to send my kid to a play-based preschool or keep him in a playgroup we like very much. It's much more expensive for us to do the preschool. He already plays with trains and costumes at his playgroup. What would an expensive play-based preschool do that's any different?

Stick with your playgroup. Don't waste your money on a program that will be basically the same thing as the playgroup.

+1, many people on this board complain their kids are not ready for all day K. or its too hard, which makes no sense if you have them in a preschool or day care. Someone failed those kids. At 4, I think they need to be in a more structured preschool to get them ready for K., but before that, I think its a waste of time if money is an issue. We did it starting at 2. I wish I knew better. It was a co-op and it was a free for all. Parents did all the work (or none and just ignored the kids) while the teacher sat back and drank hot coffee. At 3, we changed to much better program and my child was prepared. Play based is the trendy thing. In 20 years it will change to something else. Then we will do all kinds of studies to justify that learning style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to work at a play based preschool that adopted some of the following approaches to learning:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

http://projectapproach.org/

As other posters have mentioned, children learn through play, there was a strong emphasis on having the children have a role in deciding the themes based on their interest and the teacher would adapt their curriculum from there. imaginative play, art, and outdoor/ hands-on science is big part a play based curriculum.

Isn't Reggio Emilia a separate educational philosophy?

Reggio Emilia IS a separate, and pretty well-established, method of teaching. What I gathered from PP's post was that the play-based school she worked at adopted some of the aspects of the Reggio curriculum.

But that's the problem with play-based schools. There is no consistent set of standards other than "play is good" so teachers can borrow from whatever philosophies and make it up as they go along. The quality of the individual teachers in play-based schools is incredibly important. We sent our kid to a play-based preschool and we lucked out because we had a wonderful teacher and assistant who really made the experience worthwhile for my child. But the classroom next door with a different teacher? Lots of unhappy parents in that one. Make sure you do your research but generally I advise parents who ask to steer away from play-based and go with something more standardized.