Is it okay for preschoolers to learn nothing?

Question

I am a teacher assistant at a preschool center and I will be going to college to become a preschool teacher. Shouldn't 3-5 year old learn in preschool? The lead teacher where I work says that playing is the most important thing for kids this age. I understand that they need to play, but we don't teach the kids anything! We have an hour to do centers (snack, art, pretend play, fine motor)... but like for fine motor, they play in the sandbox or play with legos. And it is only 15 minutes for each center... They play for almost the whole day! Most of them can count and they know the alphabet almost... shouldn't we be preparing them for kindergarten more? What kinds of things should be learned at preschool? I want to suggest things to the director...

Answer 1

At that age, playing is learning. imo, the playing may not effect how well he or she will do in kindergarden, but will, more importantly, effect the overall intelligence and socialization skills of the child, which will be what will ultimately help them succeed when they are adults.

btw, I learned the basics of physics by building towers with legos and making paper airplanes.

Answer 2

"Play starts at birth and early childhood environments that promote play for all children and allow children to feel motivated, esteemed and appreciated are cause for celebration." (Elspeth Harley 1999)

It is by playing that children explore and make sense of the world around them. Formal teaching can be a lot less effective for preschool aged kids, than learning through structured play. Research indicates that when children play, they learn social, emotional, and physical skills as well as academic content. So a preschool program that promotes learning through rich play experiences is a good preschool. Perhaps you should do some more research on play based preschool and see what kind of activities you guys can incorporate in the classroom to enhance learning.

Answer 3

Learning 'nothing' is hardly even possible ---

Children this age are little sponges, they soak up everything, so why not provide them with all kinds of learning experiences. Learning doesn't have be drudgery.

The simple repetition of the alphabet song is fun and you remember it forever !

Answer 4

although im only 17, i worked at a preschool for 4 summers. playing is part of the learning, little kids learn from just about any experience they go through. even reading them books is teaching, they learn the importance of reading. also, you could do cooking with them(i made chocolate balls with them), its fun and shows them how mixing bland things together can make something really tasty. the key is to not teach as literally as teaching goes in a grade school/high school classroom, teach through doing things that are fun. puzzles are great! at one point , someone came in to test the kids to see if they were on target with how they should be at their age. if they couldnt figure out how to do a puzzle, there was a problem. so at some points like that, something more than play should be done.

Answer 5

NO -- it is not ok for a preschooler to learn Nothing.  Humans are learning from the moment they are born.  Even when we think that young children are just watching us, they are learning from us.  Children in preschool can not only be learning how to socialize with other children while they are in preschool, which is a huge skill that must be learned but they can be being taught how to eat at a table with others, how to function in a class with other children (raising their hands to be called on etc), how to wait in line (as their will be times that when they are in school in the future they will be waiting in lines, etc.), taught their alphabet, taught their colors, taught how to write their name, etc.  

Don't underestimate the mind and the abilities of a young child.

Answer 6

To be kindergarten ready all they need is two things:

1) Write their name

2) Draw within the lines

Answer 7

In all honesty, preschool is really for kids to learn about socialization. It is not necessary for 3-5 years olds to learn theoretical work. The alphabet and learning to count from 1-20 is possibly all that's needed for kids at this stage, but emphasis should not be placed on academics. Allow the kids to learn and practice skills important for self-development, as well as development amongst peers and respect for themselves and those in authority. At this stage, kids 'pick up' on the things happening around them very quickly, so why not try to help them 'pick up' on the skills that will get them through life as human beings. Education is not life; it is a part of life. Education does not lead to intelligence; it only compliments it.

Answer 8

pre-k is for kids to get used to school and learn how to get along with other kids .it's not even required for kids to go.

Answer 9

The most damaging thing the teacher seems to be doing is not letting them build up concentration.  15 minutes then they change stations?  What if a child wants to do something for an hour...or longer?

Yes...they should be learning things.  Children at this age enjoy learning if it's done properly.  

However, realize that you can't do a lot to step on someone's toes in their classroom if you're the assistant.  Find ideas and make suggestions, but I had a good friend who ended up getting a teaching job in a school such as what you're describing.  Even if the children asked to learn stuff, she was not allowed to teach it.  She didn't stay there long, thankfully!

Learn what you can from this experience and recognize that this is not how you will want to run your classroom when you become a teacher.  I do agree that maybe you can seek out jobs at another school that you really like.  It will be helpful to work with a teacher and program that you want to be similar to so you can learn how they do it.

Matt

Answer 10

No, it is not okay for students to learn nothing. I really hope that you just feel they are not learning anything, and in fact they are learning skills needed in daily tasks.

I work in a preschool program that it seems all students do is play. But one must realize, it is through play that children learn to socialize, speak, and express their feelings. I am the lead teacher in my room, and at first it felt funny not actually putting a four year old at table and giving him a task after teaching third graders for three years. But through reasearch, I have seen why it is so important to allow students to play. Your lead teacher should have activities lined out for the centers to help students meet skills. You and your lead teacher should be in the centers talking with the students, playing with the students, and socializing with the students. If your lead teacher is not initiating little task and skills, maybe you should take it upon yourself to do so. There are many little lessons one can teach students.

I have carpet time, or whole group, for 15 minutes a day, I know its not much, but is allows time to talk about the task that are at hand that day, sing songs, ect. As far as you thinking that one hour is to much time to play, try working at the program that I am affiliated with. We allow students to play outside for 1 hour, we sleep 1 hour, we eat 1 hour, and the other 4 hours we spend in "learning" centers (blocks, dramatic, art, music, ect).

You have to realize that students are learning through interaction, but you have to add to that learning through meaningful center lessons and interactions. I also wanted to get my students ready for kindergarten when I first started teaching pre-k, but majority of my students were not ready to do "kindergarten" tasks. Yes, some could write their name, count, "sing" their alphabet. Those students I took beyond that. Those that were not ready, I worked on what they knew and built upon that. You can not push a child to learn before they are ready. All you will do is help that child hate school.

In kindergarten, teachers want students to come to them with social skills and knowing how to solve problems on their own. Yes they would like them to know their alphabet and their name, but that is something students grasp in their mid to later 5's for most. I say you design lessons for centers, to help them learn more. That way you feel you are preparing them more for kindergarten and you are not pushing away from the learning experience.

I hope this has helped you. Good luck.

Answer 11

While preschool is optional, most parents enroll their child in a nursery program in order for their child to have some sort of education experience before starting kindergarten. That said, students SHOULD learn fundamentals in preschool so that they can be REINFORCED (rather than bypassed) in kindergarten. This gives children who did not attend preschool a chance to learn the skill, but for the majority of kids who attended pre-K, the skill is re-taught and expanded upon. The basics in preschool varry in different areas, but the core includes the following technical and social skills your kids should learn:

TECHNICAL:

Recognizing ALL/writing MOST of alphabet

Numbers (reciting 1-20 and writing 1-10)

Recognizing the composition/writing part of first names

Naming everyday items (around classroom especially)

Types of weather, seasons, days of week, months (geared towards the older children)

Knowing the primitive shapes and colors

Reciting/recognizing the date

and displaying general fine motor skills (consult curriculum for your town's kindergarten and go from there...)

SOCIAL:

The children should understand the concept of ....

sharing

classroom rules (single file line, raising hands, etc)

listening to teacher

following directions (basic art projects are good to asses this)

responding to open questions (focus on shy children)

and basically adjusting to being in a class setting and interacting with other children

Now, in support of your lead teacher, playing IS certainly a large part of the pre-K experience. However, instead of changing his/her entire play schedule, suggest that you and the teacher work together to INTEGRATE learning into their play. For example, as children eat Goldfish for snack, ask them to count all that they have. As they build with legos during centers, ask what shape and color each block is. This type of learning style is preferred in most pre-K and kindergarten classrooms, rather than "sit-down learning," because the children are more focused and willing to participate.

If none of these techniques work for your class (and for your lead teacher) , there is really nothing you can do about it as a teacher's aide, becaue the lead teacher is the one who calls the shots! Just apply your knowledge from all these answers when you have your OWN classroom.... Good luck and have fun with your future classes!

Answer 12

It's important to know that at the preschool age students are learning through play.  And they are learning a lot of skills that will prepare them for kindergarten, such as taking turns, social interaction, following directions, participated in teacher led activities, and other related things.  So don't underestimate play.  Centers that promote fine motor develop prepare students for correctly holding pencils, cutting with scissors, and handwriting skills.  Dramatic play teaches kids social skills and how to be creative.  There are lots and lots of things that are learned through play.  Way too many to list here.

But, with all of that said, these things need to be fostered by the teacher.  If the teacher just says "go play" and sits in a corner, then these skills are probably not developing the way they need to.  The teacher needs to be involved and know how to ensure that these skills and being infused into the children's' play.

I also think that preschool is a perfectly fine environment to learn concepts of print skills (not learning how to read--they will do that in kindergarten).  Students need to understand that reading takes place from left to right and top to bottom.  The need to understand the difference between a letter, a word, and a sentence.  They need to understand that letters correspond to sounds and written words convey meaning.  These are just some examples.  And they seem very simple, but young children do not automatically know these things.  And they must be mastered before they can read.  

So in preschool I think there should be a lot of reading time with discussion about print concepts, talk of letter names and sounds, recognizing and writing their own names, counting and recognizing numbers, one-to-one correspondence, and sorting and classifying objects, to name a few.  But these things need to be taught informally, through play and interactive activities--not formal instruction.  Preschoolers are not ready for formal instruction.  They have very short attention spans and developmentally are not prepared for that type of learning.

Answer 13

Three is a bit early to be thinking in terms of curriculum.  They're learning all the time.  They're exploring their world, and figuring things out for themselves.  

If children were ready for a formal education at age 3, then that's when Kindergarten would begin.  If you start a formal education at this age, you have to have measurements for how well they're doing.  Are you going to tell a 3-year old that they're failing colors?  

They have a 3-minute attention span so all we should be doing is letting them learn at their own pace about the world around them.

Answer 14

no, never

Answer 15

Yeah, my friend skipped preschool through kindergarden

Answer 16

I disagree with the responder who says all you need for Kindergarten readiness is write name and draw within lines.  I've been an elementary school teacher for 10 years.  It's the demands placed on kindergartners that caused me to place my (now 5 year old) in a preschool that focuses on academics.

The most important thing for a child entering kindergarten to be able to do is sit through a 30 - 45 minute circle time.  This is a skill they need to practice and develop.  My son's preschool started at a 10 minute circle time when he started the 3 year old program, and by the time he finished the 4 year old program, they were sitting for 45 minutes.

At 4 1/2 my son could count and identify numbers to 100.  Identify by sight and know the phonetic sounds of all letters - both upper and lower case.  He's had much practice with cutting, and sorting.  He has begun simple addition and subtraction and can read easy readers on his own.  During his open house they demonstrated a circle time which included calendar, weather, Letter of the Week, and naming and identifying the location of all 50 states.

And guess what?  They had PLENTY of time to play each day, too!  He socially adept, has excellent fine motor control, great character skills AND academics.  It doesn't have to be one or the other.  With State Standards they way they are today, academics are important too!

Answer 17

Yes,I think the Preschool center should teach there ABC's And One,two,Three ETC.....Plus how to weight in line and not to cut.It would give them a brighter look on things.Maybe to learn there name ETC.... There mom and dad are always at work so I think it's time.

Answer 18

I also work at a child carecenter,and preschoolers do learn, yes they may not be learning to write there names or other educational aspects but they are learning to problem solve on there own, learning to count by playing for example with blocks. they are expanding their knowledge of the world through dramatic play areas. children are small and young for such a short time, children should be allowed to grow at their own pace and just be a 3 or 4 year old. I personally would be a lot happier if my child brought home a paper he fingerpainted than a worksheet where he wrote his letters. all the conferences that I have attended have said that the best way that a child can learn is through play.

Answer 19

Teach the children to write on the paper that children first learn to write on with the alphabet. Make the letters dotted starting with the letter A and do that for a week and then go through the alphabet that way and also do the numbers that way.

Make flash card of the alphabet with bubble letter stencils and the numbers so the children can reconize the alphabet and numbers.

Make lines on the paper that are straight,zigzagged,

circle,square,rectangle,and then have the children cut them on the line.I have found out that some children do not how to hold the scissors the right way and it affected them in school.

I had children who did not know how to hold them in their hand they were even in 1st grade.

I have worked in a preschool for a long time and I have gone through what you have gone through and I made a difference for the children. I taught the children to write their names and numbers and they learned the alphabet and learned to cut the right way. I hope this will help.   Good Luck.

I worked with children for 20 Years.

Answer 20

In my daughter preschool she was taught the following things:

to write and spell her first and last name

learn her address

learn her phone number

to count to 100

In my opinion socialization and learning by playing are the most important things about the preschool experience.  Back when I was in school, all we were taught in preschool was our colors, numbers and shapes.  All the other stuff was taught in kindergarten.  Times change though.

Answer 21

Many teachers get confused about a "learn through play" philosophy. I think this teacher is confused about the difference between "play" and "free play". Children need time for "free play" every day and they learn from that, but they also need some directed play.  She is really selling the children short if she's not doing that.  Every time they are playing, she should also be able to tell you specifically what they are learning from that play. It sounds as though she either isn't capable of doing that or is not willing to.  

Directed play also isn't the same as "direct teaching". I believe children will learn things like counting, numbers, ABCs, etc. without being directly taught. Children should be singing songs and playing games that involve ABCs and numbers, for example.  In pretend play, teachers can become involved and do some indirect teaching as well. For example, if children are pretending to cook, the teacher could suggest opening a restaurant.  She can help the children create menus, take orders, etc.  All of this will involve the teaching of math, reading, and writing and the kids won't even know it! (LOL)  Because they're too busy playing!!!

When I taught a pre-K class, we had a full day program. They had free play in the morning, but centres in the afternoon.  We had a language centre where children did things like write their own stories or dictate them. We had a math centre where children played math games I made or measured things in the water table.  We had a science centre and did many interesting experiments.  That's the only ones I can remember right now.  

Children can play and learn through projects on topics they are interested in as well.

Some good sources on what a good "learn through play" program should be:

http://woub.org/kids/learn_through_play....

http://home.sprintmail.com/~peggyriehl/p...

http://www.playingforkeeps.org/site/docu...

http://www.freewebs.com/childrensjourney...

http://www.projectapproach.org/

Answer 22

Call some other preschool centers in your area! Pose as a parent and ask about the program for that age group. Ask what instructional activities are included. Then you can go to your director and say "ABC School does this and Little Kiddies School does that." Tell them you want to see them remain competitive and give parents the best deal for the money. If the director won't listen, maybe you should go work at one of those other schools! I agree with you, the kids should be learning something.

Answer 23

i have been working with children for 10 years and i can assure you that playing in a sandbox or building with legos is a sufficient learning source for fine motors. it helps with hand-eye coordination. although this is acceptable in child care facilities, that is what i do with my 2 year olds. 5 year olds should have more 'desk time' to prepare them for the structure in kindergarden. they should know counting, abc's, and the pledge of allegence but they should also be tracing letters, spelling their names and a slight bit more of paper work. you should either confront the teacher, or if you're more comfortable ask your boss about his/her expectations to see if the teacher is doing his/her job correctly.

Answer 24

What's your center's education philosophy? Some presch center do promote much play and less work for the young. If parents have been complaining about it, i assume that yr sch operator would have known of the matter already.

Children learn best through play actually. Though play is an important part of children's lives, it is still essential for them to have some work to do. The type of activities that's suitable depend on the children's age.

For example 3 yrs old, it is not encouraged for them to learn how to write yet. But the teacher can have some reading or storytelling sessions with them to promote their interest in reading.

For 4 yrs old, the teacher can start to expose them to simple writing activities, eg. tracing.

For 5 yrs old, children do need to be provided with adequate opportunities to learn writing and other skills.

Depending on what kind of play the children at yr center have. If the play is just leisure play, then they may not be able to learn anything.. but if there's purpose in the play, the children can learn certain skills (ie. there must be a learning outcome defined)

Answer 25

This is a difficult argument.  I think play is the most important thing aswell.  And i think any learning should be incorporated in that play.

  Like. If there is a story time hour or something, the person reading the book when they show the pictures to the children should say "And what is this animal... a Lion. And what colour jumper is the lion wearing? purple" etc etc.

  I think Sesame Street is a good basis for kids this age.  The show was fun and it taught things like, counting, colours, the alphabet etc etc.  I think these things are the most important essentials.  I mean I dont think we need to teach the kids much more than that at this stage.  Some of them are really still babies.  I think its more stimulation and encouragement thats more important than teaching.

Answer 26

Preschoolers should learn by playing.  They can play games like alphabet bingo to teach them the alphabet.  There are puzzles that involve putting pictures in order.  They should be learning to write and count as well.  Craft projects can help them learn to follow directions.

It is not ok for them to learn nothing.