Preschool

Life Skill: Employability

Time Frame: 45 minutes

Group Size: Small Groups

Summary:Play is the way a child learns. Students will experience various types of play.

Objective: Describe the value of play.

Materials:Supplies as required for activities listed below.

Background For Teachers:Set-up activities for student participation.

Student Prior Knowledge:Basic principles of child development.

Intended Learning Outcomes:Students will participate in various kinds of play to experience activities that young children enjoy.

Instructional Procedures:Play is a child’s natural way of learning. Children test and practice new physical, mental, and social skills through play. Play builds a foundation for future learning. It is the way a child learns to concentrate, to imagine things, to try new ideas, and to practice grown-up behavior.

Play can stimulate a child’s imagination. It promotes exercise, coordination, and imagination.

The preschooler enjoys all kinds of creative materials. Providing children with many different activities will reinforce the skills they are learning and encourage further learning.

The activities do not need to be complicated or excessive--keep things simple and let the child do the exploring.

Eventually, you will be given an assignment to plan an activity unit for children. The activities we do today will help spark your own imagination as you plan and prepare for your own unit.

LARGE MOTOR SKILLS: balls, jump rope, hula hoop
SMALL MOTOR SKILLS/CREATIVE ART: stringing Froot Loops on yarn, play dough creations, stencils
SOCIAL SKILLS: games such as Cooties, Go Fish, Candy Land
SPEECH DEVELOPMENT: books, music, a story board, rhymes
MATH: puzzles, sorting
HEALTHY LIVING HABITS: apples with peeler/corer, fruit kabobs
DRAMATIC PLAY: hats, dolls, puppets, blankets
SCIENCE/DISCOVERY: magic mudd, bubbles, a magnifying glass, a prism, colors to combine, rock and insect collections.

Source: http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=436