Extending Play-Based Learning Beyond Kindergarten

There are numerous studies surrounding the importance of play in a child's development and plenty of scientifically proven support of play-based learning. These principles and practices have been implemented in pre-school and kindergarten programs around the world. The benefits of play-based learning are now widely acknowledged and accepted by the education community. The embedded YouTube videos by the BC Principal's & Vice-principals Association below explains the benefits of play-based learning. If play-based learning is so beneficial for our students at 4 and 5 years of age, then why would those benefits cease to exist when our children turn 6? 

Play-based learning should be extended into grades 1 to 3 through the use of centres in the classroom and by giving students access to materials and tools to explore and acquire a deeper understanding of what they are learning. The difference though between pre-school and kindergarten and the upper primary grades is structure. From grades 1 to 3, students benefit from purposefully designed play-based learning to extend concepts learned as a group to increase individual understanding. As is explained in the online article on Teacher Vision (/www.teachervision.com) "most teachers agree that there are three different types of learning centers: enrichment centers, skills centers and interest and exploratory centers."

Enrichment Centers are designed to enhance a common lesson by providing practical experiences at the center. These hands-on applications of concepts deliver a more personalized understanding of what is learned at carpet. For example, if students have just learned about basic patterning, teachers could consider offering students these opportunities at centers:

• Creating a beaded bracelet using pipe cleaners and alternating colours to create a pattern.
• Colouring a mandala using alternating colours to create a pattern.
• Using stamps to create patterns on paper.
• Looking through kaleidoscopes and writing down observations of what patterns they see.

Skill centers offer students the opportunity to fine tune skills that they have learned in class on their own. Enhancing fine motor skills is a good example of how skill-based centers can help students work on skills independently. I recently encountered a teacher who used peanut-butter jars filled with fine motor skill activities and labelled with simple instructions on the front for students to work on independently. Some of the jars contained pipe cleaners with beads, some had nuts and bolts, some had tweezers with little pom pom balls.

Interest and Exploratory Centers are designed to capitalize on student interest. "These types of centers can be set up throughout the classroom, with students engaging in their own selection of activities during free time, upon arrival in the morning, as a "free-choice" activity during the day, or just prior to dismissal. These centers allow students to engage in meaningful discoveries that match their individual interests." Board games, computer centers, listening stations are all examples of free-play centers that capture the interests of individual students.

Creating intentional play-based learning opportunities for upper-primary students will help to provide an enriched learning experience for all children. Using centers in the classroom is a great way to tap into multiple intelligences and also to observe children in an informal way for diagnostic or formative assessment purposes. Play-based learning reinforces concepts learned in class and helps students to understand the practical application of abstract ideas. In this way, play-based learning prepares children for summative assessement and increases confidence overall.

Source: Teacher Vision,