Still searching for the right preschool to kickstart your child’s educational journey? You might want to consider sending them to a play-based preschool in Singapore!
Play-based preschools focus on cultivating a love for learning from an early age through fun, engaging, and age-appropriate activities, while helping children develop essential skills that will benefit them for years to come.
Read on below to learn more about play-based preschools and why your little one is sure to enjoy the experience!
What is play-based learning?
Play-based learning is an early childhood education approach that uses play as a central tool for developing children’s skills, often emphasising hands-on experiences, experimentation, and story-based activities to introduce new concepts.
This approach is grounded on the belief that children can naturally develop their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills through purposeful play, as well as they learn best when they enjoy what they’re doing.
In a play-based learning environment, children take an active role in their own learning process, exploring topics that interest them and learning at their own pace.
1. Different types of play
Play-based learning takes into account that every child has unique interests and learning styles, so it introduces them to the fact that there’s not just one type of playing they can do. It also introduces them to the idea that there isn’t just one way to play!
Besides physical play (which all children already know), other common types of play include imaginative, constructive, communicative, explorative, sensory, and mastery play, among others.
For example, communication play involves using sounds, words, and gestures, such as singing songs, telling stories, and playing with rhymes to build children’s communication and social skills.
Meanwhile, children who enjoy building and playing around with tools will certainly love constructive play, which involves building things and creating art through manipulating various objects and materials.
2. Learning at their own pace
In play-based learning, children are the captains of their own preschool journey, exploring topics that interest them and learning at their own pace. It’s them who decide what they want to learn, and they learn it.
That’s why it’s usually compared to the direct instruction approach, a more traditional method commonly seen in preschools around the world, not just in Singapore.
In direct instruction, the teacher takes the lead by giving instructions and guiding the learning process. Meanwhile, play-based learning is child-centred, encouraging them to take the lead.
By fostering an environment where children can take the lead, the preschool supports the development of every child’s independence, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
3. Plenty of opportunity for socialising
Sending your child to a play-based preschool can significantly boost their communication and social skills like no other.
Through daily interactions with teachers and classmates, children learn essential life skills such as sharing, collaborating, taking turns, and resolving conflicts in a safe and supportive environment.
Additionally, engaging with people outside of their immediate family helps foster empathy, strengthen communication skills, and build confidence, all of which can inform how they make relationships as a child and later in life.
4. Exploring new worlds through books
A common denominator among play-based preschools is a strong emphasis on reading and literature, which is nurtured in the young learners. Many of these preschools include reading sessions into their daily schedules, helping to cultivate a love for books from an early age.
When children are exposed to different types of stories, they get to explore and immerse themselves in new worlds and discover new ideas, all while expanding their own knowledge and creativity.
This positive attitude towards reading helps children to become lifelong learners, encouraging them to stay curious and explore new concepts through books.
