The Ultimate Guide to Preschool Learning

Hi there friends! Today we’re going to talk about one of my favorite topics, play-based learning! Play is SOOOO important with helping preschoolers learn and grow. It’s how they make sense of the world and play-based learning is really where the magic happens in the preschool classroom. ✨

There are basically two types of play- free play and guided play. We’ll explore more of these two types of plays, plus why hands-on learning activities are the absolute KEY to preschool learning. 🔑

Free Play

This is exactly how it sounds- play that is free exploration! Preschoolers can chose what they want to play with and how they want to play with it. Imagine multiple stations the kiddos gets to choose from, like blocks, art, dramatic play, etc. This is easy peasy to set up in your classroom, and it’s SO FUN to watch your students let their imaginations take flight! ✈️

*Another way you can implement this is by assigning students to a station and then rotating their station each day. But kiddos will still get to have free play at their station.*

Guided Play

Guided play is play with a purpose. It’s play that has an end learning goal and at times can have some light adult support. Imagine preschoolers at a table and molding play dough to build basic shapes. (I also highly recommend letting your students know what they’re learning at each center- more on that later!)

Hands-on Learning Activities are KEY

Remember how earlier we said that preschoolers use play to make sense of the world around them? Well that’s why hands-on learning activities are the absolute key to helping your preschoolers learn. Hands-on learning activities have kiddos fully engage their entire little body to learn and explore. They aren’t passive listeners, and they’re not just coloring a worksheet, they’re completely active and engaged! And studies show over and over again that those kinds of learning activities are the ones that stick! 🥳

CRUSH IT with Multi-Skills Learning Activities

Oh my goodness, every time I see kiddos engaging in a multi-skilled activity, I absolutely SWOON. Is there anything better?! Not only are your preschoolers totally engaged, actively learning, but they are practicing multiple skills at once! Multi-skilled activities = students hitting multiple learning goals and less planning and work for you! Makes me want to do a happy dance! 💃

Say those Learning Goals Out Loud!

One of my favorite things to do is to tell students what they are learning at their station/center. It helps them become more involved in their learning and lets them know that each activity is INTENTIONAL (it also lets parents and administration know as well!) There is nothing better than when an adult comes in and a students tells them “We’re working on our fine motor skills!” This helps let everyone know that our classroom play has a purpose, we are learning through these hands-on activities. 🙌

Play and Preschool Learning

So a quick wrap up, we saw that play-based learning is the best way for preschoolers to learn and develop. There are various ways you can include this in your preschool classroom, such as free play and guided play (and I absolutely recommend using both!) Hands-on learning activities are your golden ticket to a happy learning environment and bonus points if those activities hit multiple learning skills and you share with your kiddos the multiple skills they are learning! 😍

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