Learning in Preschool Learning in Preschool By: Samia Saleh

We plan and help the children learn and grow while they play. Erik Erikson’s stage three is the genital- locomotor stage or play age. From three or four to five or six, the task confronting every child is to learn initiative without too much guilt. Initiative means a positive response to the world's challenges, taking on responsibilities, learning new skills, feeling purposeful. (Boeree, 2006)

The students making letters, shapes, patterns, numbers, art designs by using different materials, such as play dough, wet sand, clay, paint, straws, shaving cream, and different manipulatives; making letters, shapes, and numbers in the air with their fingers, and even using their whole body as a team to make letters, numbers or shapes. Students learn by being active learners and using their whole body to learn new things. Making the letter Z with our body

 Teachers model writing for students. Students make their own choices about writing:  What to write  How to write  When to write

Reading is included throughout the day Reading together during read to someone. They are following the expectations on the daily 5 chart. Eyes on the book, sitting knee to knee and elbow to elbow. During read to self, students reading the whole time, staying in one spot and doing one of the three ways to read a book, by either read the pictures, recall the story, or read the words. Even during play time, students read to each other and to their toys. Shatha holding the doll in her lab and reading to it. Zahara sitting her doll in the chair and showing it the pictures.

During play time students build and developments their social, cognitive, physical, and fine and gross motor skills. Akayra showing Mustafa the house with a door that she built for her teddy bears. Being creative and working really hard makes students proud of their work.

Practicing helping and caring while playing  Playing and pretending grown up chores such as cooking, and laundry and ironing helps in learning responsibility.  Dressing and caring for babies is not only learning how to care for others, but also learning about babies and different vocabulary used with cloths and dressing.  Learning about the head, body, and face parts that are responsible for our senses with Mr. potato head.

Being involved in making decisions, we voted on naming the turtle. Also, teaching them about taking care of the animals and nature.

Cleaned around the school helping in keeping the world a clean safe place. We went on a nature walk, collected natural things for our tree project to hang in the hall way.

Preschool is the right place for age appropriate learning. Neff points to, “Vygotsky (1962) examined how our social environments influence the learning process. He suggested that learning takes place through the interactions students have with their peers, teachers, and other experts”. Also adult scaffolding is a very important part of early childhood grades. According to Mcleod (2014), “Scaffolding (i.e. assistance) is most effective when the support is matched to the needs of the learner”.

Reference Boeree, C.G. (2006). Personality theories: Erik Erikson. Retrieved from n.html n.html McLeod, S. A. (2014). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from tm tm Neff, L. (n.d.). Lev Vygotsky and Social Learning Theories. Retrieved, from ch/learningtheorieswebsite/vygotsky.htm