If you are looking to place your toddler into a child care center, one of the factors that you need to look at is whether the child care center offers play-based learning or academic learning. Academic learning is structured more like school. The day is structured and your child may learn through books and worksheets. A play-based center allows your child to learn through play and toys. Instead of completing a worksheet on shapes, they may learn about shapes by playing with a shape sorting toy. There are pros and cons to each option. Here are a couple of the pros and cons of a child care center that offers play-based learning.
The Cons of a Child Care Center That Offers Play-Based Learning
Play-Based Learning is Loosely Structured
One of the downsides to play-based learning is that it is loosely structured. The child care center may have a loose schedule for the day, such as when snack time or lunch time is, but for the most part, they don't say, we will do this activity from this time to this time. Instead, they let the children dictate how long they want to do one activity and then move onto the next as the children are ready to. This can be beneficial to some children, but others need more structure. If your child has always thrived on a tight schedule, the lack of structure may not be right for them.
Transitioning Into School Can Be Tough
The other downside to a play-based learning child care center is that it can be tough for these children to transition from play-based centers to academic school settings. If you enroll your child in a play-based facility, it is important to look for one that offers a gradual transition to academic learning as your child ages, so your child is ready for kindergarten.
The Pros of a Child Care Center That Offers Play-Based Learning
Your Child Gets to Be a Child
One of the biggest benefits to enrolling your child in a play-based learning center is that your child gets to be a child. Children need time to play and interact with other children. They often learn by exploring, playing and interacting. Play-based learning allows them to do all of this in a safe and supervised setting.
Helps Develop Imagination
The other advantage to play-based learning is that your child develops imagination. Playing pretend or make-believe is not something that occurs in academic-based learning centers. Being able to imagine is important in early childhood and this type of facility allows that to happen.
Every child is different and every child learns differently. Some may thrive in a structured, academic center, while some are more hands-on and learn better in a play-based center. Sitting in at a child care center or letting your child test out different centers for a brief period may help you determine which center offers a learning program that your child is comfortable with and thrives in.
For more information, contact a center such as Rainbow Montessori.