FEATURES OF THE RAINBOW PLAYSCHOOL PROGRAM

• Quality programming with a focus on each child's individual needs and interests

• Low Teacher to Student ratio

• Whole child development wherein each child is nurtured emotionally, socially, physically, creatively, and intellectually

• Multi-age groups that promote family-like relationships and offer children opportunities to develop and practice social skills

• A Learn through Play approach with monthly thematic units

• Opportunities to express creativity. We follow a philosophy of child-centered art rather than adult-directed crafts. We focus on the process rather than the finished product.

• Encouragement of problem-solving, decision-making and sharing of Ideas

• Community Field Trips & Guest Speakers

What Happens Each Day at Playschool?

At Rainbow Playschool our routine will look quite similar each day. Although the activities and interests will change throughout the month, in playschool we like to ensure a consistent routine every day.

Each class will consist of free play, group meeting (story, song), group discovery (show and share, projects), snack, quiet activities (books, quiet bins) crafts, gross motor play, and outdoor activities.

Rainbow Playschool is a Learn through Play program.

What is Learn through Play?

Learn through play is a term used in education to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments. Key ways that young children Learn through Play include being with other people, being active, exploring, new experiences, talking to themselves, communication with others, meeting physical and mental challenges, being shown how to do new things, practicing and repeating skills and having fun. [1]

The Link between Play and Learning

• Play nurtures children’s creativity and problem solving capabilities.
• Play is health promoting. It builds children’s strength and coordination and is beneficial for children’s emotional health.
• Play stimulates the healthy development of children’s brains.
• Play allows children to acquire competence and skills that help them feel good about themselves.
• Play provides the context in which caring adults teach children how to behave, how to treat others, and the social conventions of the community.
• Play provides the opportunity to learn essential social skills: to take turns, to share and to cooperate.
• Play helps children develop friendships with their peers good interpersonal skills are essential to children’s lifelong success.
• Play environments produce natural opportunities for children to learn self-respect and how to treat others with respect.
• Play promotes a child’s development and their development enhances their play - creating an upward spiral.[2]

Why Use a Learn Through Play Approach?

There is a well-established consensus among early childhood professionals that play is an essential element of developmentally appropriate, high-quality early education programs.[2] Play provides benefits for cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and moral development.[3]

• Children learn more when they are playing.
• Play develops children’s creativity and problem solving skills.
• Play prepares children better for school learning.
• Play is healthy. It promotes strength, coordination and brain development.
• Play teaches new skills and builds children’s self-esteem.
• Play teaches children social skills that help them develop friendships.
• Play is a right of children (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child).[4]

To provide these benefits, play must be consciously facilitated by skilled teachers, who are well-trained in observing children and in understanding how play contributes to the children’s mastery of concepts and skills. A play-centered preschool is not a laissez-faire approach. It's not the same as giving children "free play" separate from "teaching". Rather, teachers use the power of children's developing ideas, interests, and competencies to promote learning— through play, circle-time, and small-group activities. This power is most evident in children's play, as play is the central force in the development of young children.[5]

Special Activities

In addition to the variety of activities in our regular classes, at Rainbow Playschool we typically have a special event each month.

We have parties and activities for Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, Easter and Mother’s Day, etc.

Our field trips vary each year based on our themes and have included visits to a farm, grocery store, library, zoo, and fire hall.

We also have guest speakers from the community such as a dental hygienist, police officer, FCSS and school bus driver.

ALL ABOUT ME

My name is Kim McNaughton, and I am the teacher for Rainbow Playschool. I have a Level 3 in Early Childhood Development from MacEwan University. I have been working in many roles with children since 1998. I took some time off to start a Mobile tire business with my husband Barry in 2011. In 2017 I returned to working with children here at the Rainbow Playschool. I took a year off for health reasons, but I'm back and ready to explore and learn with a bunch of students.