Play-based learning in preschool & the significance of parents' involvement

Play-based learning in preschool & the significance of parents’ involvement

by John C. Yiannoudis Dorothy Snot Preschool Athens, Greece www.dorothy-snot.gr

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement • What is play?

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“Engagement in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose” (Oxford Dictionary)

“Play is what I do when everyone quits telling me what to do”! (“Teacher Tom” Hobson) •

Play is about freedom

•

Play means that I engage with only what I want to engage in free will, and grasp most possible pleasure and happiness out of life

• Because play, is what life itself should be: an exciting journey!

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

(John Dewey)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement • So, if play is life and life is education, then

play should be education!

•

And that is how play-based learning was born: an approach

transforming play into education (all photos you see in this presentation come from our school)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement • Play-based learning (or project-based learning) just describes an educational approach that sets

play at its core

But, what kind of play?

• That kind of play that allows children, while playing, to engage into

real-world derived activities in full enthusiasm and joy

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement • Such activities should reflect behaviors and actions of everyday life and force children to take their own initiatives • This way, very young children build

strong personality and character on experience & emotion

(i.e. managing conflict, disappointment, rejection, team-playing respecting rights, etc)

• In other words: very

young children, through playing, learn to manage their own life

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement •

In a play-based preschool, every child is a king!

•

In most traditional education systems, teachers set the plan and ask students to follow - no matter if they want or not to do so.

Discipline and obedience are highly valued •

In a play-based school, what happens is exactly the opposite: the

needs of the children are the tools that move class ahead But, how it really works?

• In our school, we split time over small or larger projects. At the beginning of each project, teachers just set the sparkle and children

come up with their own ideas on what to work on

•

Then, teachers assist them to make a list and start voting. And the

most voted item by children is set as period’s project

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement • What happens next is just playing, initiated by children’s questions and ideas • Teachers just listen and respect what children say. And, if needed, change their plans • “Play is the message children

send to the world about what they want to learn“

Prof. Dr. Artin Goncu

• In PBL, teachers never impose top-to-bottom orders. Instead, they enforce children to express

open-ended questions

and then, all together, design life derived activities that help whole class find the answers

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement So, how & why family comes in the picture?

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As said, PBL connects play with life. School activities should refer to things happening in the real world

•

But still, and under any condition

family life is the strongest bond children have with the real world •

Therefore, things happening daily in a play-based class

cannot be separated

from what family is doing at home.

Actually, school & family should share common values

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement What does that mean?

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Family has to treat children’s attendance in school as respectfully as the rest of its life (i.e. adults’ going to work)

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This is fundamental for children to feel important, get the most out of school life and start developing a strong and

confident personality •

Under this logic, each parent

is engaged in school life several times per year Do they like it?

• Yes, if we train them to do so!

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement •

Children love these moments. At first, they feel so proud when their dad or mom comes in and plays or does something great, with the whole class. Their self-esteem gets boosted

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Second, understand their

everyday playing in school as a very important thing.

So important, that mom and dad are willing to take one day off for that and i.e. look for ants, together!

•

It is exactly this kind of thinking that helps children grow strong and responsible, since feel their life and needs are much respected by adults

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement •

Also: parent’s involvement in school life can be part of larger, extra-curricular family play projects used to tighten the bonds of its members

•

This also makes children feel important and respected within family and their personality to get stronger

•

Also: parents’ frequent presence in school turns them

more confident and trustful

towards it •

Eventually, they pay more attention on school’s remarks and become more cooperative. This is an excellent way to develop strong bonds

between school and family

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life Some of them can be on a group basis:

Attend scheduled meetings with school teachers

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life Some of them can be on a group basis:

Parents’ active involvement in Christmas & Summer school parties

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life Some of them can be on a group basis:

Run a Parents’ School on a permanent or ad-hoc basis

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be on a group basis:

Participation in scheduled Open Classes (where moms and dads play with children and together share aspects of school life)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be on a group basis:

A group of parents (or grand-parents!) comes in school and performs a collective activity with the whole class (i.e. talk to kids about old-time games and then play with them!)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be on a on individual basis:

A mom comes in class and just plays with children (i.e. cook together!)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be on a on individual basis:

A mom or dad of a certain expertise comes in class and performs an activity connected with a school project (i.e. a mom-doctor brings x-rays & explains things regarding our body)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be on a on individual basis:

A mom or dad comes in and performs an activity connected with class’ daily life (i.e. a dad-carpenter come and assists kids to repair a broken table )

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be outdoors:

Class visits a dad’s business enterprise (i.e. Dario’s Italian restaurant) and performs an activity connected to a project class is working (i.e. bake a pizza!)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be outdoors:

School organizes an excursion with families where some kind of special, ad-hoc activity may take place (i.e. take photos of the city) or just go for a picnic!)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be disconnected from teaching procedure:

School organizes a Parents’ Book Club (parents read books together with their children and then meet all together to discuss over them)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be disconnected from teaching procedure:

School forms a Parents’ Theatre Club (parents rehearse on a theatrical play and then perform it in front of their children!)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some of them can be disconnected from teaching procedure:

School organizes an once-off cultural activity where parents participate together with their children (i.e. a children’s book writer presents one of his books in a local bookstore exclusively for school parents)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some can have a social welfare impact and be open to larger parts of the

local society:

todema.wordpress.com

Parents organize themselves to offer assistance in parts of the society who need it (i.e. collect clothes and food for homeless people or collect medicine and funds for elders’ houses)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life.

Some can have a social welfare impact and be open to larger parts of the

local society:

einai2030.gr

School works with other social groups to co-organize public events that promote issues of broader interest (i.e. need for changes in education or speaking against bullying)

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement The aftermath of parents’ participation in our play-based preschool •

We see our children grow happy, self-confident and loving

experimental living

• “That’s not fair!”

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They tend to express

themselves freely in any situation and

argue for their rights •

They also tend to

regard playing as an ultimate value within their education life

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement The aftermath of parents’ participation in our play-based preschool •

Parents learn to treat children equally,

acknowledging their rights and respecting their needs •

They trust and love school at most and tend to become active part of its life

•

This way, a tight bond between families and school is born and this bond enables children to deeply love the learning process