When children play, they are learning. Yes, they are having fun and they, themselves, may not realize it, but they are learning. The following descriptions tell only part of the story because there are many things children need to learn between the ages of Birth to 5 years. And this learning is not divided into categories as easily as it appears below. Yes, children learn about reading by have books read to them, but they also learn about reading by having cookbooks in the play kitchen area or by having labels on the toy shelves to tell them which toy belongs in each spot. They learn math concepts in the Math Area when they count out 5 Teddy Bears to go onto the numeral 5, but they also learn how to count when they count how many children are eating lunch.
...to exercise imagination and creativity.
...to hold a pencil, paintbrush or other utensil and to control the pressure.
...eye-hand coordination.
...that our ideas have value.
...the names of colors and how to make new colors.
...to distinguish shape and to purposely create shapes. This is important for learning to read and to write.
...how to express ourselves.
...concepts of space, size, symmetry, balance, and design.
...one to one correspondence--one peg for one hole in the pegboard. This is an essential math counting concept.
...eye-hand coordination.
...to make patterns and repeat patterns. This is important for math and reading.
...to notice details, likenesses and differences in objects and to form categories. This is also important for reading and math.
...concepts of color, shape, and size.
...logical reasoning.
...the precursors to math basics including addition and subtraction.
...concepts of more and less.
...problem solving skills. This is important for many aspects of education and basic life skills.
...a love of reading. (This is the most important thing a preschooler needs to learn about books!)
...a basic understanding of books (front of the book, direction to turn the pages, authors and illustrators).
...a basic understanding of reading and writing (We read the words, not the pictures. We print from left to right. Writing is a way to put what we say or think onto paper.)
...to identify some letters and even words.
...to be creative.
...that we can be anything we want to be when we grow up. (We often pretend to be doctors, bus drivers, firefighters, office workers, etc.)
...to care for other people.
...to work with our friends and to cooperate.
...social skills such as negotiation and manners. (Deciding who is going to be the Mommy and who is going to be the Doggy can be quite the diplomatic feat.)
...to use fine motor skills such as zipping, snapping and tying laces.
...about shapes and sizes.
...concepts such as 'one-half the size' or 'twice the size.'
...how to build with and balance blocks.
...concepts such as over, under, next to, below, above and through.
...cooperation with other children.
...math concepts, especially those related to geometry.
...about simple machines such as the ramp and levers.
...about how to build buildings and towns (architecture and map making).
...large motor coordination.
...to improve balance and strength.
...to use our energy in constructive ways.
...concepts of speed, direction and location.
...that exercising is fun.
...how to cooperate with our friends.
...about life science, including life cycles and food webs.
...concepts of texture, color, weight, size, etc.
...to group objects into categories and to observe likenesses and differences.
...new vocabulary.
...how to use books and other resources to find out more information about things we find.
...to appreciate nature and develop a sense of wonder.
...to take care of ourselves and others.
...to take care of our environment.
...math concepts such as one to one correspondence and counting.
...language and reading concepts such as vocabulary and identifying labels.
...fine motor skills such as zipping and snapping.
...to cooperate with our friends.
...to trust people.
...to gain confidence in themselves.
...to feel free to explore and learn about their world.
...to recover from stresses or difficult situations in their lives (resilience).
...language skills.
...object permanence.
...cause and effect.
...to trust and love people.
...the foundations for the all of the skills listed in the all of the above 'what we learn' examples.
