IMPORTANCE OF PLAY Simple Steps by Karen Miller

Dramatic play, pretend or make-believe is very important in early childhood and starts to show up in children’s play in the toddler years. This kind of play is enjoyable for children and also extremely valuable for their development.

Children play out scenes with emotional weight. They cast themselves in adult roles. Instead of being the baby being tucked into bed, they are the parent doing the tucking in and reassuring. Instead of being the child getting a shot, they are the doctor giving the shot. This helps children come to terms with their feelings in such situations. When a child doesn’t have much power in real life, being powerful in pretend play has great appeal.

Emotional

Children who have had much experience taking on different roles are better at empathy. They practice this skill when they engage in role-play.

Social

Dramatic play develops friendships.

Language

Children begin to practice language skills when they play make-believe together. They learn new words, gestures and facial expressions to communicate. Children who have had a lot of experience playing out their own scenes and stories are better able to follow the story line, or plot, in a book.

Cognitive

Children learn the use of symbols in their play. Toys are symbols of real objects, they represent something the child has seen. A steering wheel for instance will prompt a child to a certain kind of play. Later she might use a paper plate as a steering wheel or just move her hands in a steering motion. When children have had lots of experience creating and using their own symbols in play they will be better prepared for using other peoples symbols, like letters and numbers.

What will we be learning about this year?

I noticed that once I could talk to my son about the new things he would be learning in his new class, he became more excited about going. His anxiety level dropped some and he became curious about school again (instead of telling me he was not going because he doesn't know his new teacher).

As a parent, I know you are interested in the things your child will be learning and it will help you at home to reinforce the things we do at school. So, here is a general list of our Units of Study. All of the 3s teachers at St. Matthew's focus on these but the way we teach them may vary.

• All About Me (Feelings, Emotions, 5 Senses)
• Farm (A petting zoo will come to St. Matthew's so the kids can see and touch live farm animals!)
• Fire Safety (Firemen and their firetruck will be visiting St. Matthew's to discuss Fire Safety. The kids will be able to tour the firetruck at this time!)
• Fall Fun (Bats, Spiders, Pumpkins, Apples, Harvest)
• We Are Thankful
• Christmas
• Winter
• Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales
• I Love You
• Community Helpers (There is a "Career Day" where the kids get to dress up as what they want to be when they grow up.)
  
• Transportation (The 3s classes have a "Road Rally" where this kids bring their bikes to school and have lots of fun!)
• Animal Homes (The "Reptile Man" will be visiting St. Matthew's and the kids will be able to see live reptiles up close!)
• Circus (Doodlebug, the clown will give a special performance for the 3s classes!)
• Mother’s Are Special (The class will host a special Mother's Day Tea for all you mommies!)
  
• Summer Fun

Separation Anxiety in Preschoolers

I would like to know if your child is having anxiety about going to school and how are you helping him/her cope. CJ, my four year old son, was adamant that he was not going back to school because he doesn't want a new teacher nor does he want to meet the new kids in his class. That was until I started talking to him about the neat things he was going to learn about in PreK - things like space, cowboys, Indians and dinosaurs. I told him I felt a little sorry for the girls in his class because it seemed like they would be learning mostly "boy" things. Apparently, that is what he needed to hear! Suddenly, he became very interested in his new class and wanted know all about it. Of course, he did tell me that he is not coming into my classroom since there will be new kids in there too. One baby step at a time I guess ;)

• Are you talking with your child about what s/he can expect in school?
• Will your child met with his/her teacher(me) in advance?
• Does your child have any ways to cope with meeting new people and being separated from you?
• Does s/he know what s/he can do when feeling scared or overwhelmed?
  
• Are you reading any books about school? (Such as "The Kissing Hand")
  
• Are you practicing/pretending what it will be like at school? This helped my son a lot last year. I would pretend to be his teacher and we would practice meeting each other for the first time. We also practiced saying good-bye and I told him "mommy goes away, but mommy will always come back!"