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

Play-based learning in preschool

& the significance ofparents’ involvement

by John C. Yiannoudis

Dorothy Snot PreschoolAthens, Greece

www.dorothy-snot.gr

play-based learning & the significance of parents’ involvement

• What is play?

“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)

X


• 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

(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


• 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


• 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


• 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


So, how & why family comes in the picture?

• 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


What does that mean?

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

• 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!


• 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

• 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


• 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


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

withschool

teachers



Parents’ active

involvement in Christmas

& Summer schoolparties



Run a Parents’

School on a

permanent or ad-hoc

basis


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)


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 withthe whole class

(i.e. talk to kids about old-time games

and then play with them!)


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!)



A mom or dadof a certain expertise

comes in class and performs

an activity connected witha school project

(i.e. a mom-doctorbrings x-rays &

explains things regarding our body)



A mom or dad comes in

and performs an activity

connected withclass’ daily life (i.e. a

dad-carpenter come and assists

kids to repaira broken table )


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!)


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!)


There are dozens of ways and ideas to involve parents in school life. Some of them can be disconnected from teaching procedure:

School organizesa Parents’ Book Club

(parents readbooks together

with their childrenand then meet all together to

discuss over them)



School forms a Parents’

Theatre Club(parents rehearse

on a theatrical playand then

perform itin front of

their children!)



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)


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:

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)

todema.wordpress.com


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:

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)einai2030.gr


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!”• 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


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

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

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