In preschool, we focus on collaboration and working together for a common goal. This developmental milestone will pave the way for children to start managing their feelings and take ownership of play! Our preschool staff set out and organized areas of the classroom to encourage this skill to develop. With consistent exposure to turn-taking, collaborative play and problem-solving, teachers are able to talk with the children and create meaningful connections to support their understanding of how things work. Did you know that fine motor lacing activities are academic skills? It is called a pre-writing skill and children need to master small muscle movement in order to be able to hold a pencil and have control for printing!
While it is tricky to see the tangible learning that is taking place, the biggest goal we have in preschool is to support children in questioning, collecting and organizing information and reflecting and reaching conclusions (ELECT, Page 53). Our staff are trained to support that level of learning by planning activities that include sorting, matching sets of objects and talking about learning! Teachers support this by asking open-ended questions such as, “How did you figure that out?”, giving the children opportunities to think critically – providing meaning to their play.
