Most parents check a worksheet given to their child with absolute eagerness. The tracing, the circled pictures, the row of numbers filled in – all these give parents something to check or point to. Such worksheets make them feel relieved that the morning was productive and spent well by their little one.
When it comes to calculating the productivity of children’s playtime, it becomes difficult to do the math. A child who has spent an hour at the water table, or building a structure that keeps falling or following a pretend story across the room, can make an adult feel quite uncertain about the productive quotient of such a session. The gap between what play looks like and what it actually involves is worth understanding, especially in thoughtfully designed Montessori preschools in Singapore.
From a teacher’s point of view of a top-rated boutique preschool in Singapore, that hour is rarely wasted.
The learning that tends to come through play is a wholesome one. Any form of game or playtime activity involves the mind and body of a little one. The way a child makes a real choice with some unpredictability and sureness involved becomes a much more meaningful experience for his development than a printed exercise in a worksheet. A child’s mind retains the whole activity in a more comprehensive way, which also reflects how preschool makes children feel confident.
Play often holds a child’s attention for longer
When a child gets a worksheet, it is already decided by an adult (read teacher) what the child will do and how! The task has one shape, and it ends when the page is done.
When a child is playing, the learning curve for the little champ here is unique. He learns a lot of things differently in a playful way, especially in a nature-based preschool setting in Singapore, where exploration is encouraged.
A child building a road with gravel or wooden blocks that keeps collapsing is working out a problem. The journey teaches him a lot of important lessons. It builds patience and also lets a child have the eagerness to solve a problem (here constructing the road). They decide how long to continue and fix things. If there is a sudden drop of energy, curiosity or plain dislike for the task to continue, a child might switch to something different.
Children have a habit to stick to things that they choose. When it is a self-choice, an activity becomes more interesting and the eagerness to know what’s next increases. During preschool years, a child’s focus multiplies with curiosity. A motivated child retains focus on anything he does. Gentle words, soft nurturing, compassion and care from adults go a long way in ensuring a holistic development of a child, including the social skills kids develop in preschool.
One activity during play usually carries several kinds of learning
A tracing exercise in a worksheet focuses on one specific skill. Most play activities carry several things at once. The child is rarely aware of all of them.
- Pouring water, for instance, involves hand control, judgement. A child gets to know early on how much fits in a given vessel or bottle.
- Rolling or kneading dough works the hands in a similar way, building the grip that later supports writing.
- Sorting objects by size or colour is learning logic early. It gives the child the idea of a form. A child gets a fair idea as to how to hold an object.
- The other fun things that children get hooked to like songs, stories, and pretend play- all connect differently. They build vocabulary and the ability to hold a sequence in mind.
- Block play and time outdoors add planning, balance, and an understanding of how things move and fit together for children.
A child who has spent the morning at the water table might come away with nothing substantial to show. No page, no tracing; which a parent usually finds in a worksheet. The silent urge to learn continues within the mind of a child. By keenly observing how carefully a child carries a container, the duration for which they stay at the table and how often their mood fluctuates when the water spills – all gives a fair understanding to an adult about the interest level of a child for such an activity.
Play gives children room to think and adjust
Just carefully watch a child dealing with a set of blocks for ten minutes and you see something that feels simple. However, it is not so. They build, something shifts, it falls. They look at it, move one piece, try the weight differently. Making the effort to let it stay up means working on what went wrong. It is not a petty thing to expect from a three or four-year old. It is not something one can pick up by working on an exercise from a printed page.
Pretend play involves a different kind of work. Two children running a pretend shop, or acting out a journey, need to hold a shared story in mind while responding to each other in real time. One says something unexpected. The other has to listen, adjust and continue with the story. That back-and-forth while carrying on the pretend shop act draws on memory, language, and the ability to stay present with another person. These are things that matter well beyond the preschool years.
Play-based learning Vs Worksheets: At A Glance
The little ones get motivated to learn and make independent choices. They take ownership to solve problems. This sense of ownership helps in building confidence. Worksheets are often close-ended, contain lots of instructions and promotes only one correct answer. For a very young child, it can curb their curiosity or put them off trying altogether.
A child becomes more social when they play in groups with little champs of almost their age. They learn to communicate, collaborate and identify emotions while understanding things. Patience, compassion and the urge to solve problems whole-heartedly are the virtues that children learn during playtime. The tasks on worksheets, on the other hand, can help in developing strength and control in their fine motor skills.
In our Waldorf-Montessori classrooms – we try and present an open world to young souls. They can take a look at the broader canvas, observe and absorb all that catches their fancy. We do not consider play as a break that should be detached from the learning curve – rather, it forms the very basis of it. Our colourful, clutter-free classrooms designed for the little ones give the tiny hearts the urge to explore, be close with Nature, earthy objects and materials guided by the teachers. Our teachers guide the small hands with care rather than acting as authoritarian instructors.
We are not ruling out the importance of worksheets by any means. Worksheets can be age-appropriate too. In our Waldorf-Montessori classroom, it can come just a little bit later.
Final Thoughts
For the tiny champs, a top preschool in Singapore like ours can let a child learn and engage in the best possible way. In our Waldorf-Montessori schoolhouse, practical work, stories, outdoor time, and simple tasks carried out alongside other ordinary things make up much of the day. These are ordinary parts of the morning that go on to make extraordinary individuals in the long run.
Dear parents – are you looking for such an early learning environment for your child? We welcome you to visit us. Reach out to us for more!