What do you need to organise before your child starts school?
* School uniform, including hat.
* Raincoat, no umbrellas.
* School bag.
* Lunch bag/lunch box.
* Morning tea bag.
* Drink bottle.
Learning Through Play. When I play I am learning...
When I paint at the easel, I am learning...
* to develop my imagination and creativity.
* eye-hand co-ordination, helpful for learning to write.
* the names and colours and how to make new colours.
* to distinguish shapes and purposely create shapes.
* to notice patterns from background, necessary for learning to read.
* to express my feelings and ideas.
* that my ideas have values.
* relationships of space and size, necessary for mathematics.
* concepts of symmetry, balance and design.
When I play with water, I am learning...
* that some things sink and some things float.
* to observe changes as water takes different form in different containers.
* about different temperatures.
* about wet, dry and evaporation.
* what happens when you add soap.
* eye-hand co-ordination as I learn to pour.
* concepts of empty and full, volume and weight, relevant to mathematics.
When I play with blocks, cars and trucks, I am learning...
* concepts of shape, size, length and location, all relative to learning mathematics and to reason.
* to create and repeat patterns, a mathematic skill.
* to express my imagination.
* to express my ideas.
* to co-operate with others.
* to solve problems.
* about the properties of wood.
* to see myself from a different perspective, that of a giant.
When I participate in circle time activities, I am learning...
* to listen, sit still and understand spoken language.
* to add my ideas to the discussion. My ideas have value.
* to wait when others are talking.
* new vocabulary connected with the topic of discussion.
* to remember the words of songs and poems.
* the names of others in the group.
* to co-operate and be considerate of the needs of others.
* to help plan what we will do and what items we will need to do it.
When I play with playdough, I am learning...
* to see the shape against the back ground of the table, a reading skill.
* concepts of shapes, relative sizes, big, small, length, height.
* to see negative space when cookie cutter shapes are taken away.
* to express feelings, squeezing and pounding.
* to exercise my imagination and creativity.
* that the amount of a substance remains the same, even when the shape changes.
When I sort things, I am learning...
* to notice details and similarities and differences in objects.
* to form categories, essential concepts for reading and mathematics.
* concepts of colour, size and shape.
* numerical concepts of more and less.
* logical reasoning.
When I play on the climbing equipment, I am learning...
* self confidence as I develop new skills.
* physical strength, co-ordination and balance.
* to use my imagination.
* to co-operate with others when involved in some dramatic play.
* to solve problems.
When I play in the dress up corner, I am learning...
* to be flexible in my thinking.
* to express myself in sentences.
* to try on different adult roles.
* to solve problems, especially socially, through negotiation with friends.
* to sort and organise play things.
* to make decisions.
* to improvise and use things in a symbolic way to represent something else.
* to carry out my ideas, with the cooperation of others.
* to exercise my imagination and creativity
Reprinted from WHEN I PLAY I AM LEARNING. Written by Karen Miller, Children's World National Director of Education.