Skip to main content

The Transition from Parallel Play to Social Play

Children naturally seek company. Here in our classroom, we have proudly enjoyed observing how the preschoolers have transitioned from parallel play to social play. This milestone was accomplished through nurturing, educating and, most importantly, respecting and understanding each child for their individual personalities and development levels.

At this time of the year, we can visually see the children make this transition with each other. They are no longer playing alongside each other. Instead, we see many groups playing among themselves and hear conversations filled with expressive and descriptive words. The preschoolers also give and take turns with little to no teacher support.
 
 
Taya pushes Ava on the swing – a plan the girls worked out after trying to pump their legs on the swings!


 Lily and Emma are working out how to sit on the swing. Emma holds the swing, while Lily jumps on.


Tiffany pushes Aleah on the swing.



Matthew, Cade, Anthony and Kai have a friendship connection while hanging from a bar - socializing while hanging upside down!


A little surprise for  Father's Day!


The staff at Maple Lane plan an animal bingo for the preschoolers and guide them through the game.


Our last social visit with the seniors paying a bingo game! Thank you residence of Maple Lane, we have enjoyed visiting you throughout the year and making such a special connection in the community.


Preparing to paint – Charlotte, Samuel and Chantel have a group discussion to decide on a colour. A lot of conversation and negotiations went on in the dramatic play area among the children.


Cade and Anthony come up with a plan to balance the arches so that they can ride cars on them.


 
The arches are stacked and Cade drives the car.


Big buddies help the children roll or braid bread! Thank you to our big buddies, for being caring, kind and helpful throughout the year.



 
As we share time together during our last class, the discussion seems to be about the grass! Why is the grass so prickly?


Thank you families for sharing your children with us, we truly have enjoyed every moment with them! We look forward to seeing our returning families in September and wish all the best to our preschoolers going onto kindergarten. Have a great summer!


~Jess and Barbi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MWF 4 Hour Class When I’m writing a documentation, one of the hardest things for me is to decide what pictures, stories and reflections I’ll share with you. There are so many joyful, meaningful moments and every day’s learning experiences! As I was selecting some of the class’ photos I found myself wondering: if we consider the classroom’s environment, the third teacher, what is mother nature’s role in a child’s learning and development? The exploration of natural environments nurture children’s curiosity and holistic learning as much, or even more, than a classroom. Some of the benefit of connecting children with nature include: supporting creativity and problem solving, increasing physical activity, reducing stress, promoting social emotional development. We see children as innate scientists, artists, builders… full of wonders and curiosity they can nourish and experiment while they are playing in nature. Exploring the snow  Olivia tested her movements in designing sno...
Post a Comment
Read more
3 Year old class - T/Th In our 3’s class, we had a conversation about using kitchen appliance and some safety rules around the grater the children were about to use. Luca, Victoria and Carter rushed to the bathroom to wash their hands. I think it must feel like a new experience. They  children watched me assemble the grater eagerly waiting to have a turn to operate the appliance. Everyday life is full of challenges and children need to test themselves in order to make decisions that is right for them as educators we need to show we are trusting them to follow the safety rules we have informed them. We feel from giving children these experiences they handle appliances safely and with a purpose, understand consequence to action.     Victoria places the lid on the Grater  Luca pushes the potatoes        Victoria scraps the grated potatoes.        Luca is placing the potatoes i ...
Post a Comment
Read more

3 and 4 Year Old Classes – Holiday Time

The preschool 3 and 4 year old morning classes have been busy preparing for the holidays over the past few weeks. Along with many other activities, each child has made a gift for their families. These gifts are now wrapped and ready to be sent home, and we are sure they will be well received! We also showed the children our Preschool Donation Box and spoke about the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate than us. We have decorated a Christmas tree and created two very large snowman (which will be on display at the family potluck!) It was fun to stand back and watch the children strategize and work together as a team. The preschoolers have also been practising the songs they will sing at the family potluck and for the Hugh Boyd Seniors. In the coming week they will be decorating a gingerbread cookie with their big buddy - this always makes for a fun day! Inspirational Paintings     ...
Post a Comment
Read more