Any experiences with play-based learning?

[Anonymous]

I'm considering sending my 2-year-old to a day care with play-based learning. I've read various claims that play-based learning is better in the long run, but the only two actual scientific studies I could find about this said there's no conclusive evidence to find that it has any effect either positive or negative.

Does anyone here have any experience with this? Are they literally just playing all day and learning things as a bi-product? Are there no teacher-initiated lessons? Do kids experiencing play-based learning come home and talk about what they learned in school? Or does it not work that way? Is it more of a "learning how to learn" for later life, or learning facts, counting, math, etc?

Does a teacher ever say, "Okay everyone gather around for story time" or "math time" or "phonics time" and stuff like that? Or does that not exist in this kind of school?

Any help here would be appreciated. Thanks.

(And yes, I know he's only 2 and should be playing. I'm not arguing against this, just trying to get a better understanding.)

[Anonymous]

As your particular daycare as this can vary tremendously between centers.

[Anonymous]

Play-based doesn't mean a whole day of free play. They have circle time, outdoor time, structured activities like art projects, and story time as well as free play. They incorporate learning into the activities they do. For example, if they're learning about shapes, they'll play with different shaped manipulatives, make art projects incorporating whatever shapes they're learning about, etc. When learning letters, they'll have show and tell of objects that start with the letter of the day. Things like that.

[Anonymous]

The PP is very well meaning, but not as well informed as could be. In a nutshell play based curriculum has a focus on social learning and emotional development of children. The curriculum in a play based classroom is extremely engaging and well thought out. All activities and opportunities that are in the room have a purpose. In true play based you will not see "letter of the week" or "writing letters," particularly in a class of 2 year olds.

[Anonymous]

This is my DS's schedule in the 3 yr old class at a play-based half-day preschool:

Outside time (1 hr): pretty child directed. Learning gross motor skills (scooters, climbing, balancing, etc.) and super-important social skills
Circle time: stories and music. Teacher directed. No explicit instruction, but learning lots through stories and songs
Snack time
"Table time": kids are assigned to tables to do a variety of fine motor stuff. To them it's play, but they are learning a lot too. Activities like puzzles, drawing, Mr. Pototo Head, gears, looking at things through magnifying glasses.
Free play (45 min.): blocks, legos, dramatic play, etc. Learning social skills, counting, understanding narratives.

No "phonics time," but I think that would be totally inappropriate for 2 and 3 year olds. Learning social skills is so much more important.

[Anonymous]

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2011/03/why_preschool_shouldnt_be_like_school.html

This article cites two recent studies about the developmental science behind play-based learning, and why it's better in the long run. My son went to a play-based learning preschool (RCNS) and a HUGE percentage of the kids in his preschool class are at the Center Program for the Highly Gifted with him now in 4th grade.

It definitely doesn't sacrifice anything about academics in anything except perhaps a very short-term sense. Long term it's better.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure there are any non-play based programs for 2 year olds. It's the 4 year old programs that tend to be more academically focused or still heavily play based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The PP is very well meaning, but not as well informed as could be. In a nutshell play based curriculum has a focus on social learning and emotional development of children. The curriculum in a play based classroom is extremely engaging and well thought out. All activities and opportunities that are in the room have a purpose. In true play based you will not see "letter of the week" or "writing letters," particularly in a class of 2 year olds.

You didn't comprehend what pp wrote.

[Anonymous]

I disagree. This pp below is describing a traditional preschool. I'm not sure all play based preschools have the letter of the week. To me a play based school has more projects that are open ended. Science experiments where the outcome is unknown, letter sounds and writing introduced as children want to know how something is spelled, more focus on imaginative story writing verses writing letters, lots of dramatic play and block building. Projects based on children's interest at the time. Open ended art projects. These types of things.

if they're learning about shapes, they'll play with different shaped manipulatives, make art projects incorporating whatever shapes they're learning about, etc. When learning letters, they'll have show and tell of objects that start with the letter of the day

[Anonymous]

Ask to look at the curriculum. Creative Curriculum is play based and it is structured. They should have a copy of it in the office.

Creative Curriculum is published by Learning Strategies.

[Anonymous]

I think you definitely need to look at the particular school.

That said, at my children's "play-based" preschool there are parts of the day set aside for free play, but also plenty of teacher-facilitated activities with learning goals. For example, in my 4 year old's class, they are no math worksheets, but at lunch time the children take turns counting out the cups and napkins and may play games throughout the day that involve counting and adding and running around putting themselves in groups of certain numbers. In the 2 and 3 year old classes, there was no specific phonics or letter instruction, but there was plenty of story reading, exposure to songs and language, and art projects that develop the fine motor skills they'll eventually need for writing.

My sons definitely come home talking about what they "learned" at school, but it's typically more along the lines of "today we did science and we got to rip of newspapers and make them all gooey and we're going to wait for them to dry and then it's going to be new paper and that's recycling!!!" than "today we learned that G makes the "gguh" sound" (although they are doing a bit of that in the pre-K class even though in name it's a "play-based" school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PP is very well meaning, but not as well informed as could be. In a nutshell play based curriculum has a focus on social learning and emotional development of children. The curriculum in a play based classroom is extremely engaging and well thought out. All activities and opportunities that are in the room have a purpose. In true play based you will not see "letter of the week" or "writing letters," particularly in a class of 2 year olds.

You didn't comprehend what pp wrote.

What did I not comprehend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask to look at the curriculum. Creative Curriculum is play based and it is structured. They should have a copy of it in the office.

Creative Curriculum is published by Learning Strategies.

Why would you assume that the office would have a copy of Creative Curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask to look at the curriculum. Creative Curriculum is play based and it is structured. They should have a copy of it in the office.

Creative Curriculum is published by Learning Strategies.

Why would you assume that the office would have a copy of Creative Curriculum?

Why wouldn't you assume? It is an example.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the school but my experience with a play based preschool is that they are left in a room to play with whatever they want for 2 hours or so. they may get more free time outside and sometimes the teacher has an activity for them (make a paper pumpkin or turkey for example)

Absolutely no review of ABC's or basic counting. No help with learning to write your name. No nursery rhymes. Might read a story 2-3 times a week. Play based learning often means the kids play and we hope they learn something. I wouldn't do it again (although my son is doing very well in school so it didn't destroy his academic career.) I just think we had to work harder in Kindergarten.