Why Playtime Matters

Playtime is one of the main ways in which small children learn. At Miss Sue’s, we stress the importance of learning through playtime, enriching children’s lives daily with challenging, fun and creative activities. At this age, learning should be fun as it helps your child build a sense of self-worth and develop necessary skills. Here are some ways to promote learning through playtime:

• Playing with clay, drawing and painting pictures can encourage creativity, expression and help your child tap into their imagination. Developing self-expression and imagination are the keys to success and are highly essential in any environment.

• Building blocks and puzzles will help with shape and size recognition, teaching children how to put things in order. Teaching this essential step is important since it will help develop organizational skills, such as cleaning their room.

• Sand and water play can be an early introduction to science and math; they will learn that water is a fluid, not a solid, and that it can be measured in different sized containers. This will also play a large part when it comes skills such as cooking!

• Lace up cards or stringing macaroni to make a necklace is a great way to improve a child’s fine motor skills. These hands-on activities will be of great use when your child learns to tie their shoes, turn a key and more!

• Physical games, such as playing ball or running and climbing will help with coordination, strength and flexibility. In addition to helping with these important skills, physical games are a great a form of exercise, too!

• Playing instruments and singing is a great way to develop listening skills and rhythm. This will not only be a great way to introduce and teach these skills, but it will also develop an appreciation for music; your child might want to take instrument/voice lessons if they're a fan of this art!

So the next time your child wants to bang on pots and pans, or build something with sticks outside -- let them! You will be contributing to their success in the classroom and then later in life!

Looking for nursery school on Long Island where your child can learn through play? The dedicated staff at Miss Sue's Nursery School focuses on the individual needs of each and every child. We invite you to visit our school and see our program in action. For more information about Miss Sue’s, give us a call at 516-938-0894 or visit us on Facebook or Twitter.