While preschool is fun for kids, teachers at this level might find it just a wee bit difficult to teach them a second language when they are still trying to familiarize themselves with their mother tongue and are yet to learn to read. But the fun part is that when they do learn languages, they do so really quickly and are very enthusiastic about doing so. Preschool games are the best way to interact with kids and make them learn the important aspects of life. This way kids shed their inhibitions, which they already had when they just entered the classroom, when they are right out of the comfortable zones of their homes.
Preschool games comprise activities, songs, stories and worksheets. Here’s how preschool games help kids learn:
Through activities: At this stage, kids have a very minimal attention span and so it’s best that teachers keep any learning short and easy to grasp. Also, anything teachers try to interest them with should be able to capture their attention and keep them riveted.
They are often restless at this age and so you won’t find them sitting in one place for long, so teachers should plan their activities and preschool games in a way that they can freely move about the room. Some good activities that they can learn from include:
Alphabets: On a page of a scrapbook, paste a large capital letter, say ‘A’. Each child can be asked to look around the room and point out objects beginning with that particular letter. Later, the teacher can teach the letters of the alphabet in sequence.
Counting: Children should be allowed to host their dolls’ tea party where they dole out a piece of cake to one doll, one more to another and yet another to a third. Then, each child should be asked altogether how many pieces of cake she gave to her dolls. There are many preschool games that can teach kids to count numbers and this is one of them.
Scribbling, coloring and doodling: Children love scribbling, coloring and doodling, especially if teachers watch what they do. While it keeps them happy, the benefits of these activities are that their hands are kept busy and their minds are sharpened to a great extent. By playing such games, kids learn to develop motor skills.
Riddles and puzzles: Kids love solving puzzles, so teachers should give them puzzles with just a few pieces, not more than five or six. As they achieve mastery over these pieces, the teacher can increase the number of pieces.
Beads: Kids can be given beads of various shapes, sizes and colors and asked to make simple bracelets.
I Spy: Among all preschool games, this is by far the most enjoyable and educational of all games. All you have to do is to pick a letter of an object present in the room and say, “I spy with my little eye something beginning with ____” and encourage the kids to find that object.
Learning preschool games can bring a lot of benefits to your kid, such as:
- They teach preschoolers to learn a variety of things they are exposed to. The ability to learn develops now through several means, such as songs, stories, games and observation.
- Kids learn to think out of the box with preschool games. Since we know that learning takes place subconsciously too, learning through activities can be enjoyable and interesting too. For instance, if the teacher is making sandwiches for the children, she can demonstrate it to them and then ask, “What did we put after we spread the butter?” By this, kids learn the need to be observant and to learn in a step-by-step method. This helps organize their thinking.
- Through preschool games, kids learn to be amongst kids of their age and learn to communicate with them, share, cooperate and listen. These basic social skills will teach them to be in a social atmosphere as they grow up.
- A preschool environment teaches kids to be away from home for some time each day. When a child is at preschool stage, all the attention at home is focused on him—how he eats, walks, talks, etc. However, when he is enrolled in a preschool program, he will be with kids of his age, and by being happy in the preschool environment where he learns through preschool games, he will learn to be away from home for a while each day and enjoy it.
