Serendipity Early Years Centre
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The Value of play

HOme
The Value of Play:
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Serendipity is a fun, loving, Montessori Inspired, play-based early learning program where the curriculum is based on observations of the children’s interests to create child led projects and a child led environment ~ the emergent curriculum. Children will have the opportunity to develop their intellectual, emotional, social, creative and physical skills through a variety of activities throughout the day at their own pace during structured and non-structured times.  Here is a list of the centres that are offered during your child's day at preschool and a glimpse into what they are learning while playing at preschool.
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The value of play dough:
  • It is a soothing activity to adjust to a new environment
  • It develops fine motor skills, strengthens fingers- a pre-writing skill
  • It develops social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
  • It develops language concepts by talking with their peers
  • It gives emotional release through pushing, pulling and squeezing
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The Value of dramatic play:
  • It provides endless opportunities to play out real life situations such as having supper, talking on the phone, driving their car, dressing up and role playing
  • It provides a chance to act out emotional experiences and practice problem solving
  • A puppet provides a safe outlet for the child to say something through it, which the child may find difficult to say directly
  • It provides a chance to expand a child's concept of roles and occupations that avoid stereotyping
  • It provides the opportunity for social interaction by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
  • Provides opportunities to connect and share their culture with their peers
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The value of block play:
  • It develops pre-math and pre-science concepts such as long, short, circle, taller, smaller, and balance
  • It gives the child the experience of cause and effect- when stacking, will it stand or will it fall
  • Children categorize blocks by size, shape, color
  • It develops imagination, building houses for dinosaurs and making roads
  • It develops gross motor skills by using large muscles to move the blocks
  • It develops spatial awareness
  • It develops cooperative play- opportunities to negotiate plans and share ideas
  • it develops  social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
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The value of math/science centre:
  • It develops curiosity- I wonder what will happen if I add this or take it away
  • It gives hands on experience with weights, magnets, color mixing etc
  • It provides opportunities to question, experiment, explore and discuss
  • It develops pre-math concepts of sorting, counting, ordering etc
  • It develops social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
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The value of the sensory table (sand, rice, water, corn etc):
  • It provides soothing, relaxing opportunities
  • It develops motor skills/eye-hand coordination by pouring, scooping, dumping, sifting
  • It provides a chance to experiment and measure with containers of different sizes and shapes
  • It gives a chance for pre-science exploration opportunities with strainers, funnels, sponges and observing sink/float
  • It provides the opportunity for dramatic play with animals, vehicles etc
  • It develops social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
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The value of the arts and crafts table:
  • It develops fine motor skills and pre-writing skills
  • It provides the opportunity to be creative and imaginative
  • It develops language concepts- colors, shapes, textures
  • It develops eye-hand co-ordination
  • It provides the opportunity to experiment with various materials on different planes
  • It develops social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
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The value of painting:
  • It gives  a chance to express feelings and moods
  • It gives the child the opportunity to naturally experience colors with mixing and blending
  • It develops fine motor and gross motor control
  • It provides a soothing release of tensions, especially finger painting
  • It provides opportunities for creative expression by using different mediums
  • It develops language concepts of directionality (up, down, left, right), colors, shapes and textures
  • It develops social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
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The value of the work bench:
  • It develops fine motor and gross motor control
  • It develops eye-hand coordination
  • It provides the opportunity to create and pretend
  • It develops social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
  • It develops cooperative play- opportunities to negotiate building plans and sharing ideas
  • It provides opportunities to play out real life experiences /role playing, such as working in the shop with mom/dad/grandpa/uncle
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The value of music:
  • It provides the opportunity to feel the emotional impact of music
  • Gains a feeling of rhythm and beat
  • gives the opportunity to learn the concepts of loud/soft and fast/slow
  • Provides the opportunity to enjoy singing and dancing to familiar songs
  • Provides opportunities to connect and share their culture with their peers
  • Provides social interactions such as taking turns, engaging in conversation and problem solving
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The value of puzzles, manipulative toys:
  • ​It develops pre-math skills- matching shapes, colors
  • It develops eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills and pre-writing skills
  • It gives the child the experience of cause and effect- this one is too big to fit, or too small
  • It helps develop social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
  • It helps develop cooperative play- opportunities to negotiate building plans and share ideas
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The value of the book corner:
  • It provides emotional satisfaction, fosters self-expression and gives reassurance of various feelings
  • It fosters language growth, listening skills and pre-writing skills
  • It develops imagination through the exposure to a variety of literature forms
  • It provides opportunities for exploration of books- front, back, upside down, letters, words, punctuation, sentences, author, illustrator and how to use a book
  • It provides social interactions such as taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
  • It provides opportunities to connect and share their culture with peers
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The value of adults baking/cooking with children:
  • It provides real life, hands on experiences, sense of accomplishment
  • It develops motor skills/eye-hand coordination by measuring, pouring, scooping, dumping, sifting, stirring
  • It provides a chance to experiment and measure with containers of different sizes and shapes
  • It gives a chance for pre-science and pre-math exploration opportunities with strainers, funnels, measuring cups, spoons
  • It gives the child the experience of cause and effect- what it looks like now and what it looks like after it is baked/cooked
  • It develops social skills by sharing, taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
  • It develops language concepts- texture, volume, consistency
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T
he value of outdoor play:
  • It provides large motor opportunities- running, jumping, leaping, skipping, building, scooping, pushing, pulling, throwing
  • It provides the opportunity for children to use their LOUD VOICES
  • It provides opportunities for children to explore nature
  • It helps children learn cause and effect of weather/temperature, warm, cold, hot, snowy, rainy
  • It provides the child opportunities to build, garden, plant
  • It provides social interactions such as taking turns, problem solving and engaging in conversation
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There are many many developmental outcomes that come into "play" during a child's day at preschool,
this is just a few outcomes of what your child is learning throughout their day :)
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