Maple Bear Global Schools Ltd.

loading please wait...

A Parent’s Guide to Play

Posted in Education on Tuesday, September 12th, 2017

Play in the Maple Bear Early Childhood Programs

All Maple Bear Early Childhood programs emphasize play and play-based learning as a critical component. Whether children are learning a language, developing literacy, exploring numeracy or discovering the natural world, they do so through activities and experiences that are play-based.

two children water-play learning

Understanding Play

Any activity or experience can be considered play, or play-based when…

  • It is naturally motivating – no external reward is required
  • There is enjoyment and/or positive affect demonstrated
  • There is opportunity to self-direct and make some choices
  • There is opportunity to be creative and/or imaginative
  • There is full engagement – both physically and mentally
  • Repetition and practice are common

Although a toddler’s play will look and sound different from a kindergarten child’s play, a teenager’s play, or even an adult’s play, these characteristics will be the same.

Maple Bear teachers understand that young children learn best through play. In fact, young children are naturally effective learners if they are allowed to explore, discover, experiment, pretend and create in play-based environments. Teachers therefore plan and provide activities and experiences that nurture and develop these natural learning responses.

What does play or play-based learning look like in the classroom?

  • You will see children being active, both physically and mentally.
  • You will see children engaged in activities and experiences that are meaningful and interesting to them.
  • You will see children using all their senses to explore and discover.
  • You will see children engaged in hands-on activities.
Children outdoor exploration and learning

Specifically, this might look like…

  • A toddler filling containers with water and dumping them out repeatedly (fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, beginning understanding of cause and effect, an understanding of the properties of water)
  • A nursery child making “pizza” with play dough and sharing it with teachers and friends (fine motor skills, social language, numeracy concepts such as bigger than, smaller than, same as, divide, equal)
  • A junior kindergarten child building a ship with Lego (hand-eye coordination, patterns, sequencing, problem-solving, creativity)
  • An intermediate kindergarten child doing the “Hokey Pokey” dance (balance, oral language, right and left, co-operation)

Learning Through Play

Through play and play-based activities and experiences, children will…

  • Learn to understand and speak a new language
  • Acquire literacy skills that will help with reading and writing
  • Develop physical skills – balance, gross motor, fine motor and hand-eye coordination
  • Explore numeracy and mathematical concepts
  • Refine observation skills as they discover the natural world
  • Express themselves artistically
  • Develop critical emotional and social skills such as self-regulation, negotiation, and the ability to empathise

View More Stories...
Maplebear parents with children
Hear from a Maple Bear Parent at Maple Bear Bukit Bintang, Malaysia
Looking for the right preschool for your child? Hear from fellow parent, Ashraf Madina, why his family enrolled their son, Aylan, to Maple Bear Bukit Bintang after moving from America…
Maple Bear Celebrates 20 Years of Global Educational Excellence
Maple Bear Global Schools recently marked a significant milestone with its 20th anniversary, hosting an unprecedented global conference at the scenic Niagara-on-the-Lake. This first-ever global conference saw an expanded list…
maplebearmothersday2022
In Celebration of Mother’s Day 2022
As we loved celebrating Mother’s Day last year with stories of motherhood from our Maple Bear community, we invited mothers again this year to share a special memory or moment…
child psychology talk by dr vivien yang
Supporting Children’s Learning Needs: A Talk by Dr Vivien Yang, Child Psychologist
Every child has his or her own developmental needs. If children are struggling with learning, emotions or behaviour, there are ways we can support and help them overcome these challenges.…