BUILDING BLOCKS

The block area provides children with various opportunities to learn and develop

(3.4).

Cognitive Skills:
Children working with blocks are able to use their ideas to produce real structures.
Through block construction play childrens imagination and creativity can be extended.
Building complex block structures requires children to understand a variety of math
concepts, including: size, shape, number, order, area, length, pattern, symmetry and
weight. Children can practice comparison, measurement and classification skills (2.5).
Children will also be involved in problem solving and scientific skills, such as
experimentation and prediction

(1.1).

Physical Development:
Kindergarten aged children can refine their gross and fine motor skills by building
complex structures that require balance, a steady hand, and hand-eye coordination

(1.1).
Social & Emotional Skills:
When working together in the block area, children begin to practice negotiation. They
get experience following rules, sharing their ideas and insights, and looking at the
world from the perspective of others

(1.1).

Language Development:
The block area is an ideal place for children to practice new vocabulary by using words
to describe types of buildings, shapes, and structures. When planning a structure
together, children must use verbal communication skills

(2.5).

HOME CORNER
The home corner encourages dramatic and imaginative play which engages children in
both life and learning. Its real value lies in the fact that it increases their understanding of
the world they live in, while it works to develop personal and social skills that are vital for
lifelong learning.
Social & Emotional Skills:
When children come together in a dramatic play
experience, they have to agree on a topic, negotiate
roles, and cooperate. By role play and through recreating
some of the life experiences they actually face, they
learn how to cope with any fears and worries that may
accompany these experiences. Children who participate
in dramatic play experiences are better able to show
empathy for others because they have tried out being
that someone else for a while. They also develop the
skills they need to cooperate with their peers and learn to control their impulses

(1.1).

Physical Development: Role play helps children

develop gross motor skills, fine motor skills and hand eye
coordination (1.1).
Cognitive Skills:
When children are involved in make-believe play, they
make use of pictures they have created in their minds to
recreate past experiences, which is a form of abstract
thinking. Setting a table for a meal, counting out change
as a cashier, dialling a telephone, and setting the clock
promote the use of math skills (2.5). By adding such things as magazines, road signs,
food boxes and cans, paper and pencils to the materials included in the area, we help
children develop literacy skills (2.5). When children come together in this form of play,
they also learn how to share ideas, and solve problems together (1.1).
Language Development:
In order to work together in a dramatic play situation, children learn to use language to
explain what they are doing. They learn to ask and answer questions and the words they
use fit whatever role they are playing. Personal vocabularies grow as they begin to use
new words appropriately, and the importance of reading and writing skills in everyday life
becomes apparent by their use of literacy materials that fill the area (2.5).

BOOK AREA

Early exposure to books can be an important component

of a childs development, and will provide a solid
foundation for the expansion of reading skills

(3.4).

Language Development:
Through regular experiences with story books children will learn and practice sounds.
Childrens vocabulary will also be likely to increase as they are introduced to new words
in a meaningful context, often accompanied with pictures. Specific types of books can be
used to focus on different areas of learning

(2.5). For example:

Alphabet Books: Reading alphabet books to children helps introduce

them to alphabetical knowledge and letter recognition. Being able to
identify letters within text is an essential step in the reading process.
Rhyming Books: Books that include rhymes can be helpful in building
childrens early understanding of sounds in relation to letters.
Word Family Books: As with rhyming books, books that focus on specific word families (for
example, at words such as mat, cat, sat) give children important practice with hearing
letter sounds.
Phonics Readers: Books that focus on a particular letter sound can also support a childrens
familiarity with sounds.

Social & Emotional Skills:

Reading conjures up different emotions and ways of expression,
and the more variety in reading material, the greater range and
depth of your child's social and emotional development

(1.1).

Cognitive Skills:
Story books can stimulate childrens imagination and creativity; ideas, characters or
themes from books may be adopted in their play. Childrens knowledge and interests
may be extended through exposure to a range of books. A space for reading books with
children may provoke curiosity and lead to meaningful discussions. Daily experiences
with books will also increase childrens understanding of print concepts, such as reading
from left to right

(2.5).

ART & CRAFT

Art and craft activities can provide children with a range of learning and developmental
opportunities (3.4).

Social &
Emotional Skills:
Young children feel a sense of emotional satisfaction when they are involved in making
art. This satisfaction comes from the control children have over the materials they use
and the autonomy they have in the decisions they make. Deciding what they will make
and what materials they will use will allow children to make independent choices and
decisions. Making art also builds children's self-esteem by giving them opportunities to
express what they are thinking and feeling. Participating in art activities with classmates,
will build self-esteem through the feedback they give to each other. It helps children
learn to accept criticism and praise from others. Small group art activities also help
children practice important social skills like taking turns, sharing and negotiating for
materials (1.1).
Cognitive Skills:
Exploring art materials is important because it is through exploration that children build
their knowledge of the objects in the world around them. Activities centring around
making art also require children to make decisions and conduct self-evaluations. As
children grow and develop, their art-making activities move beyond exploring with their
senses and begin to involve the use of symbols (2.5). Children begin to represent real
objects, events, and feelings in their artwork. Drawing, in particular, becomes an activity
that allows them to symbolize what they know and feel. It is a needed outlet for children
whose vocabulary, written or verbal, may be limited. This early use of symbols in
artwork is very important because it provides a foundation for children's later use of
words to symbolize objects and actions in formal writing (2.5) (1.1).
Physical Development:
While making art, young children develop control of large and small muscle groups.
Therefore developing and refining their gross and fine motor skill development. With
repeated opportunities for practice, young children gain confidence in their use of tools
for making art and later for writing. Making art also helps children develop eye-hand
coordination. As children decide how to make parts fit together into a whole, where to
place objects, and what details to include, they learn to coordinate what they see with
the movements of their hands and fingers. This eye-hand coordination is essential for
many activities, including forming letters and spacing words in formal writing (2.5) (1.1).

SENSORY PLAY

Sensory play facilitates exploration using the senses which helps

children develop cognitively, linguistically, socially and emotionally,
physically and creatively.
Cognitive Skills:

Sensory play sharpens both problem solving and decision making skills. In addition,
children can build math skills such as comparing size, counting and one-to-one
correspondence, timing, matching (same sizes and shapes), and sorting and classifying
materials, and science skills such as cause and effect, gravity and states of matter (2.5).
Without realizing it, children grow into amateur scientists by making predictions and
observations, and even develop analysis skills. Sensory experiences also provide open
ended opportunities where the process is more important than the product. This
encourages children to think creatively in order to solve problems or engage in
imaginary situations, which helps them to express their creativity and build self-esteem.

Language Development:

Children cant define parts of language until theyve experienced the true
meaning of the word. Sensory play encourages children to use descriptive and
expressive language, and to find meaning behind essentially meaningless
words or gibberish (2.5). Children also develop prewriting skills as they pour,
spoon, grasp and work on eye-hand coordination tasks while using various
materials

(2.5).

Social and Emotional Skills:

Sensory play allows children to be in complete control of their actions and experiences,
which boosts their confidence in decision making and inspires their eagerness to learn
and experiment. Sensory play can also teach kids about cooperation and collaboration.
As children work together or side by side, they can learn to understand someone elses
viewpoint. The children also have the opportunity to express themselves and become
confident in sharing their ideas with others

(1.1).

Physical Development:

Sensory play can benefit the development of fine motor skills by

encouraging manipulation of materials, such as mixing, measuring,
pouring and scooping, while other examples, such as exploring
surfaces, lifting, throwing, rolling and water play, help develop gross
motor skills

(1.1).

PUZZLES
Puzzles are an important educational learning tool for young children as they provide
many skills and mental learning benefits and opportunities

(3.4).

Social & Emotional Skills:

Puzzles are a great educational tool to enhance and

promote cooperative play. As kids work together to
complete a puzzle, they will discuss where a piece
should go and why, take turns and share and
support each other when handling frustration, then
sharing the joy of finishing the puzzle. The
accomplishment of achieving a goal brings so much
satisfaction to a child. Overcoming the challenges
involved in solving a puzzle really gives them a
sense of achievement and pride within themselves.
It provides a boost to their self-confidence and selfesteem as this prepares them for other challenges in
life (1.1).
Physical Development:
Puzzles are a fun way for children to develop and refine their fine motor skills. When
engaged in playing with puzzles, children are required to pick up, pinch and grasp pieces
and move them around, manipulating them into slots, sorting them and fitting them into
the correct places. Playing with puzzles requires a trial and error process which involves
a lot of hand and eye manipulation(1.1).
Cognitive Skills:

Puzzles come in a whole range of themes and topics such

as alphabet letters, shapes, vegetables, numbers, pets,
transport and colours. It increases their visual spacial
awareness and develops a deeper understanding of
these themes and topics (2.5). Completing a puzzle,
even the most simplest of puzzles sets a single goal to
achieve. Children must think and develop strategies on
how to approach in achieving this goal. This process
involves problem solving, reasoning skills and developing
solutions which they can later be transferred into their
personal life (1.1).