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Have you ever noticed that children in early childhood education tend to love going to school? Yet, as children get older it becomes more and more of a chore. Of course, part of this is to do with the fact that they have to go to school. But, some of it is also to do with the way children learn.
Very young children learn through play, this fades as children grow, and yet, play is an important part of life and something that everyone should do, no matter how old or young you are.
Fortunately, whether you’re at Croydon early learning center or already in your primary school, the following methods can be used to incorporate more play in the classroom and improve the learning potential of all students.
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Act it out
Acting or role playing is a great way for children to enjoy themselves while learning a range of skills. You can make the lesson focus on anything you like, including improving social skills.
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Play games
Something as simple as getting a board game out can help to engage the children and ensure they’re learning at the same time. Keep using different games to keep the variety and the interest of the children.
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Put on a show
You can organize a show for the end of term or a mini-show for half the class to do for the other half. Either is a good idea and gives the opportunity for the children to dress up and have fun while learning the story.
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Go outside
Getting the children outside will allow them to try a wide variety of different activities, all of which can be play-based and learning opportunities. Even something as simple as trikes and scooters can help them to learn to share and
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Use sport
Sport is something that all children have to do, even if they’re not all so keen. But, you can choose the sporting activity and make sure it’s fun, teaching your children there is fun to be had in everything.
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Guessing games
A simple way of introducing some fun play into the classroom is to do a guessing game. It can be one-on-one or the entire class. You’re guaranteed they’ll all want to be involved.
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Puzzles
Puzzles of any nature are a great way to challenge the brains of children of all ages. They’re also fun to do and can be considered play, especially if you allow them to tea up and challenge each other.
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Water play
You can learn a lot with water, such as displacement, although that may be a little advanced for the youngest members of your class.
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Sort & Stack
Every day the toys need to be put away but this can be both a learning activity and a little extra play. Simply make a game of sort and stack, your children will actually want to help tidy the room and that’s a valuable life skill.
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Computer Use
Finally, no play session can be complete without introducing a little screen time. The simple fact is that we live in a digital age and children need to understand how computers work s well as what they can do.
Playing simple games on the computer helps them to start developing this understanding.
