Play-based Learning as a Key to Success
/When you enter an Early Learning classroom at CYC, there’s a good chance you’ll find children playing! What you may not see at first glance is that every classroom is intentionally designed so that children are building important skills through play. Research shows that young children actually learn more when they are actively engaged in play and making discoveries for themselves!
By encouraging children to make choices and purposefully explore their surroundings, teachers tap into a child’s natural curiosity and sense of wonder. Playful learning occurs when children gain knowledge through free play (self-directed play), guided play (teacher-supported play), or structured games.
“[Playful Learning] engages what has been termed ‘active learning’ that is also developmentally appropriate and offers a more equitable way of engaging children by increasing access to participation. When topics are important and culturally relevant to children, they can better identify with the subject, and the learning becomes more seamless.” (NAEYC 2022).
While CYC Early Learning programs operate year-round, summer is the perfect time to discover more about topics like gardening, animals, and sports! Continuing our Early Learning programming throughout the summer supports ongoing growth in children, helps maintain academic momentum, and strengthens skills for the next school year. Each week, teachers select a new summer camp-style theme to serve as an exciting yet familiar starting point for lessons. These classes focus on topics such as movement and dexterity, literacy and speech, writing and drawing, teamwork, social-emotional development, and much more. Let’s take a peek at what our little campers have been up to this summer!
Children dance while challenging themselves to balance a toy on their heads.
It’s time to boogie! Rhythm & Rhyme takes music to the next level by exploring sounds, rhythm, and movement all at once. This week highlights how music and movement support greater learning capacities and builds children's understanding of vocabulary.
Teamwork makes the dream work! Sporty Champs Week brings the World Cup right to our playgrounds. These tiny superstars work together on and off the field to reach goals as a team while developing coordination through active movement.
Cartoon Week gives children a familiar face or storyline to make lessons more engaging and memorable. By connecting concepts to children’s interests, teachers can introduce more complex subjects like social-emotional learning in ways that feel natural and fun.
Children try some fancy footwork while playing soccer during the world cup!
Barnyard Week and Under the Sea Week give children a chance to explore the natural world through play. Kids discover all types of animals and plants, as well as different environments and climates.
Lastly, Junior Chefs Week helps little learners understand healthy eating, improve dexterity, and offers new sensory experiences like taste tests, encouraging their explorative side!
As you can see, play is a powerful tool for helping children grow, explore, and develop new skills while having fun. Through this playfully structured curriculum, CYC early learners grow into confident and creative kindergarteners! Last year, 100% of 3–5-year-olds enrolled in CYC advanced to the next grade level, with 106 5-year-olds transitioning to kindergarten.
Does play-based learning sound like the right fit for your preschooler? CYC is now enrolling for fall! Learn more about our program HERE or CLICK HERE to apply to a center near you!
