Five Play Based Learning Ideas For Preschoolers

I remember as a young mom, prior to my oldest beginning school, feeling as though I needed to teach her as much as possible.  She was a bright child and loved learning.  We would sit and I would teach her phonics and addition.  We would practice spelling and writing her name.  By the time she was old enough for Kindergarten, she had already met all the Kindergarten standards.

While I still feel it is important to teach my toddlers and preschoolers, my philosophy has grown and matured along with me.  I’m no longer that mom who feels she needs to start teaching her four year old to read with structured curriculum.  There is plenty of time for that.

Seven children later, my preferred method for teaching my little ones is through play based learning.  Children are naturally curious about the world around them and they love to learn about it.  Tapping into that curiosity in a fun and engaging manner now will help to build a lifetime love of learning.

Play Based Learning Ideas

Here are five ideas for incorporating play based learning  to teach your little ones through their natural day-to-day activities.

• On a walk or hike, stop to point out different flowers or plants.  Ask questions about the color, number, or shape.  If you know the name, teach that also.  If you come across animals, ask what kind they are, the sound they make and count how many.   This is also a good place to incorporate simple word problems.  For example, we saw two birds at the beginning of our walk and now we see one more bird.  How many birds have we seen so far?
• Finger Paint!  While messy, finger paint is a good place to let children learn color mixtures.  Talk about the colors they have and have them experiment to see what colors they can make.  You can also ask leading questions, such as, “what two colors would you use if we want to make green?”  If your child doesn’t know them let then experiment to learn.
• Play restaurant or store.  Talk about shapes and colors of food.  Create simple word problems.   Ask what sound different items begin or end with.  If you have play money, start teaching the different names for coins.  This is also a good place to talk about healthy foods and sometimes foods. You can model this play in an actual store as well.
• Tentagrams.  These pattern blocks are wonderful for letting children express their creativity while learning different geometric shapes.
• READ! Read, read, read.  And again I say READ!  Reading aloud to your child is the best way not only for their language skills to grow, but also for them to gain the desire to want to read on their own later.  This does not have to be done while your child sits quietly on your lap or next to you.  Bring out the play dough or coloring books and let them be busy while you read to them.  On those moments when they are curled up next to you, have them pick out letters.  For favorite books, ask your child to tell you the story instead.

Hopefully, these ideas will lend to some of your own.  While the current trend may be to send your 3-5 year old off to preschool or find a curriculum to teach them yourself, all they really need is a mom who is willing to play with them and point out those natural teaching moments.   So tap into your inner child and teach you preschooler while making precious memories together.