Does anyone know the benefits of "learning through play"? I am planning on enrolling my child in a LTP center

Question

I am a parent who is deciding the best place to put their child in school while I work. There is a center that emphasizes "Learning through Play". Would anyone know the benefits and competencies of this type of learning environment compared to other pre-schools or day care centers?

Answer 1

Here in Australia "learning through play" is the accepted norm in child care centres, and I have taught preschool children based on this theory for the last 13 years.

Basically it means that your child is still learning, they are just doing it through play activities, not sitting down at a table with worksheets etc. Below are just a couple of experiences to explain what they are learning:

Building with blocks- They are learning to plan, problem solve, about spatial concepts, shape, eye-hand co-ordination, fine motor skills(dexterity needed to manipulate writing implements), working as part of a team(if they are building with another child)

Dancing- awareness of body in space, rhythm, tempo, gross motor development(children need to be adept at gross motor skills to move onto fine motor skills). Then you can add something like scarves to the dancing, and it becomes a pre-reading and pre-writing excersice - teaching left to right movements etc.

This is just a tiny insight, I could go on and on......

Think about how you engage children.... through play..... it doesn't mean that they are not learning... they just may not be totally aware that they are. But the foundations are still being laid for their time in school. Also think about how many years of formal education they have ahead of them? Why must we force the preschoolers to sit down at such a young age, when they are learning just as much, if not more, through play?

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Answer 2

When preschoolers play, they take the initiative — choosing where they want to play, coming up with ideas, and trying them out. However, this doesn't mean that their teachers do nothing but move around and watch. Rather, teachers have an important role in helping children learn through play.

Teachers set the stage for children's learning by selecting materials they know will engage preschoolers and organizing them effectively in interest areas. They provide guidance if children need help and ask questions to spark children's thinking while allowing and encouraging them to experience the power of feeling in charge of their own learning. In any one play period, your child might choose to work on a puzzle, build a block tower, look through a familiar book and retell the story, and play a game with a friend. When she's free to follow her interests, learning happens naturally.

The act of playing is an important tool that influences a child’s life. The primary goals of childhood are to grow, learn, and play. It is often through play that children learn to make sense of the world around them. It is a child’s "job" or "occupation" to play to develop physical coordination, emotional maturity, social skills to interact with other children, and self-confidence to try new experiences and explore new environments.

At a LTP center you won't see kids But kids sitting at desks doing worksheets and drills. Instead conversation, art, and play form the basis of their education. If kids aren't doing well in general, knowing the alphabet won't help them. So rather than push a standardized curriculum, LTP promotes health, social development, and oral communication, laying the basis for later reading and writing.

Answer 3

My kids went to a LTP center. They loved it and so did I. But, I felt that around four years of age, they needed more structure to prepare them for regular schooling. It is not like Montessouri Method which is actually pretty structured. LTP allows your child to do the things children are supposed to do - play and explore. My thoughts were that if I can't be with my kids, they should not have to go to "work" like me. Work sucks and basically life is school and then work - until retirement. I wanted my kids to have some time to play in the dirt and not feel like they were off to work at age 3. As a result, they have excellent problem solving skills and are very open and bubbly children and socially and academically advanced now that thay are in school (except penmanship, for now) "If you teach a child, you forever take away his opportunity to discover it on his own."

Answer 4

An LTP is much like HeadStart programs. The emphasize is children learn socialization thru interactive play. Social interaction is great, but according to most public school systems, students who pretest for Kindergarten that come from programs like HeadStart are "behind" in skills than the children who come from Childcare programs that offer a range of activities.
I worked as a Teacher's assistant in a school system, then an assistant in HeadStart. I was truly surprised that in HeadStart we were not allowed to teach the alphabet. When i would visit with teachers from my old school district they would voice their opinion that they were upset with HeadStart and the lack of knowledge the children had. It's not like the past where children started to learn in Kindergarten.
I would recommend that you visit as many ChildCare centers as possible, and see how the children are treated, the conditions of facility, and the varied activities they have to offer.
I read some of the comments above, and yes play/interaction/ and socialization is important, however, varied activities are important. It's important to learn through many different styles and conditions.

Answer 5

there is no good place for a child to be away from its mother when the child is under 5. It's very damaging to children. no institution is good and the whole school thing is just a smokescreen to fool some parents about how they are abandoning their children for their own good.

kids learn nothing good in an institution. if you can't avoid abandoning your child to the care of others, LTP would be the way to go.

Answer 6

I am a Teacher and I can tell you that's a great concept. It's originator is Maria Montessori. Her beliefs are that a child can engage in an activity through multiple learning perspectives. This means "hands on" can teach a 3-D understanding of a concept.

Think of it this adult way: If I tell you what a square looks like, you will wonder. If I show you a square on a chart, you may get a better mental picture of what it looks like, but you will still not be able to grasp that it has multiple dimensions. If I tell you what a square looks like AND show you a chart AND give you several sized square shape blocks to hold in your hands........NOW......you can UNDERSTAND.

True learning leads to understanding.

Answer 7

Learning through play simply means that traditional "academics" are not taught in the traditional sit-down-in-a-chair sense. Children learn best through playing and interacting with their world, rather than rote repetition of facts. I would expect this center to focus on the social skills and learning of "academic-type" skills through playing in the classroom.

Answer 8

Well one your kid willl have more fun than a normal preschool i guess. At normal ones you dress up for fun and things. Learning thourgh play you acutally dress up as something then be that person and present. Also they'll learn other things that might seem hard if you teach it normaly that'll be easy through making things and diagrams. Social skills will also be learned here as well. So there are lotst of benifeits throught learnign through play.

Answer 9

DON'T DO IT!!!! Trust me