Learning Through Play

Please click on this link to see play based learning in action.

Love To Grow On Engineers 
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Play is a crucial part of childhood and learning, yet it often gets looked at as unimportant and an useless, waste of time. Many adults think learning takes place in the confines of sitting in a group setting, criss-crossed legs, listening quietly to the teacher prattle on about some subject or idea; and not necessarily anything the children are remotely interested in.  It can be followed up with worksheets, busy work and project art all deemed curriculum. This learning style is actually an academic  style more appropriate for older elementary school students. Kindergarten and First grade students should still be experiencing learning through play and Second grade through  Sixth grades should still be getting more physical movement and play in their day, than is currently allotted.

Play-based learning is defined as young learners constructing

knowledge as they explore, experiment , discover and solve problems in a playful and unique ways. Development is linked to play and viewed as a pattern of continuous,  interrelated changes that begins at birth and continue through life span whilst learning is a change in behaviour. In the early years it is through experience in play that learning occurs. (1)

I am blessed to teach at a center where play-based learning and the Reggio Emilia Approach are embraced.   At Love To Grow On children are viewed as capable learners and play is an key part of learning. Here is a peek at two of our recent play-based learning experiences my class had the chance to explore.

A real life experience with Chutes and Ladders.

So much is going on here.
Physical- balance, spatial awareness,  self-confidence,  body awareness & muscle memory are being created.
Social- turn taking, self-regulation,  Problem-solving & conflict resolution.
Language & Literacy- Describing what is or will happen, looking At things from a different perspective,  communication skills & sharing ideas.
Math & Science- making hypotheses, trial and error, comparing velocity and distance.
So much more is learned in this play than would ever be learned While sitting at a table doing a work sheet and much more will be remembered, learning through play.

Pulleys

Exploring pulleys opens the door to engineering. From this exploration children learn about gravity, weight, measurement, and cause and effect. They experience physics at work. They discover the impact they can have on their environment. They propose ideas and explore their hypotheses.
Learning through play is far more impactful, and last life long. Worksheets and rote learning leads to frustration, especially in young ages  (2 years to 8 years) and does not carry the same long-lasting foundation for more learning. 

It was fun presenting a provocation none of these children had encountered before.  Their excitement on the first day was fun as they cheered each friend on as they picked a bucket to add marbles too. Their chant for which bucket they were routing for was replaced with pleading, debate, and discussion as they realized one bucket was slowly raising towards the ceiling. The roar of success was fun when one bucket soared up and the other bucket plummeted towards the ground.

Today I presented bigger buckets and different items to place in the buckets. I set the ladder to the side but allowed the buckets to hang low enough the ladder was not necessary. We discussed what we had learned the day before.
"The heavy bucket goes down."
"The empty bucket goes up."
"Why does the empty bucket go up?" I asked.
"Because it is not as heavy, it is lighter."
With both buckets in easy reach blocks were added to each bucket equally. The buckets did not move.
"What is happening?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Why?"
"Because one is not heavy."
"So how can you fix that?"
A flurry of discussion and then the solution to move blocks from one bucket to the other. As the one bucket moved out of reach the ladder was dragged over to make it easier to pluck out a block and move it to the other bucket.
It was fun to watch the cooperation and conversations taking place. They continued on with this activity all day long.

(1)(Taken from  Play-based learning Ebbeck, Marjory, Yim, Hoi Yin Bonnie and Lee, Lai Wan Maria 2013, Play-based learning. In Pendergast, Donna and Garvis, Susanne (ed), Teaching early years : curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, N. S. W., pp.185-200.   http://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30052049 )