Many other centers talk about play in their curriculum, but often structure lessons based upon a purchased, scripted curriculum or traditional primary grade direct instruction.
DBCC creates a learning environment where children can self select activities that are created to meet the individual needs and strengths of the individual children in each classroom.
How does play enhance a child’s development?
· Play ensures that children to have experiences that encourage natural growth in all areas – social, emotional, physical and cognitive.
· Play allows children practice in taking initiative and responsibility.
· Play ensures that children develop the ability to make rules.
· Play encourages children to learn from each other as well as from the helpful adults in their lives.
· Self-selected play encourages children’s natural curiosity and creativity.
· Self-initiated play with peers ensures that children have practice in social problem solving skills.
· “Research suggests that there is a relationship between the role that children have in determining their own learning experiences and the development of social skills.” (Young investigators, The project approach in the early years. Katz and Helms, pg 5)
· “The ability to “become meaningfully engaged in a topic of interest …affect the development of dispositions to achieve and learn.”
· Providing children with opportunities to initiate their own play scenarios ensures that that curriculum is culturally relevant.
· Play allows children to proceed at their own pace, observe others, take learning risks, try on different roles, learn basic concepts of physics, mathematics and science, enhance verbal and language skills, practice social skills, learn problem solving and conflict resolution skills, take responsibility, make choices and decisions, become emotionally resilient, develop critical thinking skills and listening skills and to be actively engaged.