Playpen Preschool

Playpen Preschool
Open Your Preschool

Thursday 20 September 2012

Make-Believe Play


Have you ever observed your child play “House” or “doctor-doctor?” You definitely must have, because make-believe is an extremely important part of children’s lives.  They try to make sense of the world around them by imitating what they see at home and the varied experiences they have outside home. Through make-believe play (or role play) children express their concerns, interest and feelings. If you look back and think about it, the very first make-believe game your child played was probably “house”…that’s simply because it was his or her first experience with “life.”   

Make-believe play is a very valuable activity because it helps children develop socially and emotionally. It encourages children to play together so they learn to share and take turns. It also teaches them to cooperate. For instance, when playing “house” you could see two children preparing “pretend” food, while another one sets the table and the third pours out tea! It teaches them the “give and take” that is needed when interacting in a group.

Part of developing self control is learning how to express feelings in socially acceptable ways. Make believe games provide opportunities for children to understand their feelings in ways that are safe and acceptable. Role play also helps children use their initiative and develop creativity – they can choose what games they want to play, they can then decide how they will play it and they begin learning how to use initiative in getting other children to follow their ideas…that is the beginning of showing and developing  leadership skills!!! As aptly expressed by eminent educationist Lev Vygotsky, “In play the child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself.”

For all those young parents who are looking for a good preschool for their child, check if your chosen school has the facility for children to indulge in role play. If they do, you would see things such as a housekeeping area with miniature kitchen sets, a puppet theatre, doctor sets, an art corner and the like.

At home, children will indulge in role play indoors or outdoors. It is not uncommon to see them take a bed sheet and use it to make a tent! Encourage such play…it’s doing your child good.  Some suggestions on what you can make available at home to create opportunities for role play for your child and his/her friends are:

  • Child size utensils – which are easily available and not very expensive
  • Child size furniture – small chairs, tables, wardrobes with hangers
  • Teddy bears, dolls, doll’s clothes, bedding (blanket, sheet, rug etc) These can easily be made from waste cloth around the house
  • Toy telephones
  • Play money (encourage your child to come up with substitutes such as leaves or bottle caps that can be used as play money)
  • A white board (or anything with a smooth surface that can be used to write on), chalk, duster
  • Hats of different kinds
  • Empty plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, paper bags, toilet rolls, bottle caps, styrofoam glasses etc.


The scrap material mentioned above encourages symbolic thinking in make-believe play, so don’t throw these – save them for your child’s toy box! By using symbols in their play, children develop the ability to understand that pictures, letters and numbers stand for objects and ideas – a fundamental concept for success in school with reading, writing and math!

So encourage role play as much as you can. In doing so, you are helping your child develop his or her thinking skills – especially problem solving skills. For instance, they’ll figure out a way to keep a rug falling off a chair when trying to make a house…or solve the problem of everyone wanting to be the “teacher.”

As always…..at the end of play, ensure that your child knows that all play material has to be put back in its place.

Happy parenting!

Playpen Team


Wednesday 19 September 2012

How Children Learn

The series of articles I am writing refers to different areas of child development and learning. I kept these in mind when putting together the curriculum for Playpen preschool. In doing so, several areas of child learning have been addressed in order to engage children in self learning, and more importantly, self-paced learning. 

1. A child must be developmentally ready to learn. No matter how stimulating an environment we provide to a child, he won't learn unless he is ready for it. On the other hand, if the environment limits learning opportunities, children will not reach their potential - so both are important. 

2. Children are naturally curious and motivated to learn.......unless we stifle their curiosity or deprive them of a stimulating environment.

3. Early childhood i a critical period of development of communication competence i.e. development of self-expression as well as understanding others. This is the best time to help them learn a language and children who have the exposure to any language pick it up fast and well. 

4. Learning is enhanced when children are engaged in interactive processes. They develop intellectually, as well as socially, which at this stage is a very important developmental milestone. 

5. Children develop not through rote learning, but active exploration and manipulation of their environment. Play and activity, thus form the best medium for their learning. 

6. Individual differences exist in any group. The uniqueness of a child must be recognized and celebrated. So, should also be recognized the right of a child to follow his or her unique learning style.

More in next!

Playpen Team

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Brushing Teeth


Hello, all you lovely young parents!

Parenting is one of the toughest jobs on the planet! There are a million things to attend to while raising a child - and each aspect is as important as any other. Today let's talk about "toothy issues."

All baby teeth appear by the age of two and a half and it is imperative that your child learns to care for these despite the fact that they will fall off and be replaced by permanent teeth at a later stage. If they are able to establish key oral hygiene routines at this stage, rest assured, they will follow it even as they grow up. 

It's important that children brush their teeth twice a day. Initially you will have to help you child while he or she brushes. Use a soft brush and remember to change it 3 to 4 times a year. Please make sure that there isn't too much toothpaste on the brush - they may not be able to spit it all out. Encourage them to rinse and spit out all or as much as they can because too much flouride in the system will make their teeth discoloured and brittle. 

Take your child to a dentist regularly. Statistics tell us that 8% of two year olds have one or more cavities, and this increases to a whopping 60% by the time by age 3! Now, that's scary isn't it? Do all you can to prevent this happening to your child. At mealtimes, rinse well after eating so that your child learns by imitation. Ensure you serve nutritious and well balanced meals.

Lean more about healthy teeth the fun way! You kid is sure to enjoy the animation and there are experiments the whole family can participate in. 

Until the next post....take care!