When I Play, I am Learning!

I love to watch and to interact with little children when they play and the older I get the more I appreciate the value of play. For kids, play is work. I believe this with my whole heart, but it was great to see this list of the different things kids learn when they are playing, which I have reprinted with permission from The Explorium of Lexington, www.explorium.com .

When I examine nature objects, I am learning:

new vocabulary
concepts of color, weight, texture, size, etc.
to group objects into categories, and observe likenesses and differences
to appreciate nature and develop a sense of wonder

When I play with puzzles, I am learning:

about the relationships of the parts to the whole, a basic math concept
eye-hand coordination
concepts of size, color and location
vocabulary related to the subject of the puzzle
problem solving
about negative and positive spaces, seeing something against its background (math and reading concepts)
self-confidence as I learn more difficult puzzles
independence as I use the puzzle without help

When I play with water, I am learning:

that some things sink and some float
to observe changes as water takes different form in different containers; about different temperatures
about wet, dry, and evaporation
eye-hand coordination as I learn to pour
concepts of empty and full, volume and weight, relevant to mathematics

When I look at books and hear stories, I am learning:

that learning to read is important and enjoyable
that letters on a page represent words, or talk written down
the meaning of more and more words
to express my own thoughts, feelings and ideas better
to exercise my own imagination
to interpret pictures to represent ideas
to listen well to spoken language; to make up my own stories
to handle books with care
aesthetic values from well done illustrations; to recognize words when I see them in print
to use more and more complex language patterns in my own speech
to follow the development of thought and ideas in the plot of the story

When I play with puppets, I am learning:

to express ideas with words
to take on the role of someone else
to communicate with voice tones as well as words to use my imagination
to act out fears/concerns in healthy environment

When I play with blocks, cars, and trucks, I am learning:

concepts of shape, size, length and location, all relative to learning to read and mathematics
to create and repeat patterns, a math skill
to exercise imagination
to express ideas
to cooperate with others
to problem solve
the concept of scale

When I play on climbing equipment, I am learning: