In PreK at Moravian Academy, it's all about play.
We're developing the whole child to become a well-rounded individual, someone who is creative and empathetic, who finds constant joy in discovery. This kind of holistic development is accomplished through play, which is why play-based learning firmly grounds what we do in the classroom.
In October, one of our themes was apples. Students learned about gravity by racing their apples down ramps at different inclines, propping up the ramps all around the classroom and playground, taking turns to see whose apple would roll the fastest. This simple game demonstrated gravity while exercising social skills as children took turns, kindly returned run-away apples, and guessed aloud whose apple would be the winner. In another activity, children (including one virtual student) made a graph by lining up apples of different colors, proudly stating which apples had the most of one color. (In a normal year, apple week even includes baking).
Play-based learning doesn't just happen in structured science experiments and STEAM activities (although Mr. Pomeroy, the Lower School science teacher, does drop by throughout the year to give special science lessons). Children play in "centers" -- areas stationed throughout the classrooms with simple toys, blocks, and puzzles. At the start of the year, we see students' interest wane in a short amount of time. But, their attention spans grow longer, and it's not long before they can discover independently through play for long stretches of time while building on social skills, like sharing, conflict resolution and compromise, and communication -- especially when children can play closely together.
We want our students to express their creativity and to develop the kind of natural curiosity that will continue to open doors throughout their lives. However, more than anything else we want them to become good people, which we've seen time and time again to be accomplished through play.