Play Based Learning

Play based learning.
It's not new.
200 years ago (1817) Frobel opened his first kindergarten.

His aim was to unite school and life, giving children the tools to become “free-thinking, independent people,” free from the whims of fashion, society, and the stifling spirit of the age. Fröbel’s belief was that life and school should not be separate experiences: “School and life should become one!” Such ideas led him to create the first kindergarten, or “garden for children.”
FRÖBEL DAY – TWO HUNDRED YEARS IN KEILHAU, GERMANY

It's through play that we learn best. When something is interesting & relevant, we learn. When we are actively involved with something, we learn. When we create something new, we learn. By working with others we learn - a lot - about other people. We learn to communicate, problem solve and to wonder.

Children learn through play. There are times for unstructured, self-chosen play and there are times for the teacher to come together with a group or the class for some learning time together, that, if presented in a playful way, engages children in learning.

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Tape Man

Some of the children put blue tape over their mouth. Usually I would have said something like, "Take the tape off your mouth. It's not for putting on your mouth." Instead I thought of Tape Man (with some pride, being from New Zealand). I thought of creativity. I thought of art. So we sat together for whole group time, some with tape on their mouth. I said, "I've got something to show you." When they first say him one of them said, "It's scary." I reassured them that it's not too scary and that he's being funny. So they started to laugh. Pretty soon there was no more tape on mouths (not that I minded if there was, it's just hard to laugh). Thank you Tape Man for reminding us that creativity begins with exploration in play.

Making Black Blacker

It started with small jars of water for the children to use to wash their paint brushes while using the blocks of water color paints. It turned into a color mixing experiment. I asked if I could change the water "because it's only going to get blacker." "That's what we want," was the reply. They wanted the experience of adding more and more to get darker and darker black.

Light Table OHP Needs to be Repaired

It's an old Over Head Projector (OHP) that we use for our light table. It has provided hours of learning - exploration in light and shadow, color combinations (using the transparent color blocks) as well as lessons in cooperation. The children have been "repairing" it with tape, winding it round and round. The top part of the OHP broke off so they needed to repair it with tape. (It now has a plastic top, after the glass broke). Experiences in collaborative repairing.

NZ Teacher

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