Starting the licencing course - eek!

Hi all,

Just spoke with my daycare license course coach on the phone and I am so excited. She is going to help me every step of the way as I go through the license process. We will coming up with daily schedules, parent manual, health and safety procedures, floor plans and so much more.

I am also still reading as much as I can about playbased learning. I am finding it all very fascinating. Both the Reggio and Montessori philosophies are about play! This is how children learn and socialize.

Importance

Play is sufficiently important to the United Nations that it has recognized it as a specific right for all children.^[18] Children need the freedom to explore and play. Play also contributes to brain development. Evidence from neuroscience shows that the early years of a child’s development (from birth to age six) set the basis for learning, behavior and health throughout life.^[19] The child’s neural pathways are influenced in their development through the exploration, thinking, problem-solving and language expression which occur during play episodes.^[20] According to the Canadian Council on Learning, "Play nourishes every aspect of children’s development – it forms the foundation of intellectual, social, physical, and emotional skills necessary for success in school and in life. Play 'paves the way for learning'”.^[21]

Learning occurs when children play with blocks, paint a picture or play make-believe. During play children try new things, solve problems, invent, create, test ideas and explore. Children need unstructured, creative playtime; in other words, children need time to learn through their play.^[3]

According to researcher Charles E. Pascel, "Play is serious business for the development of young learners. This is such an important understanding. A deliberate and effective play-based approach supports young children’s cognitive development. When well designed, such an approach taps into children’s individual interests, draws out their emerging capacities, and responds to their sense of inquiry and exploration of the world around them. It generates highly motivated children enjoying an environment where the learning outcomes of a curriculum are more likely to be achieved”.^[22]

^{From - Wikipedia}