Essay On Preschool Observation

Words: 676
Pages: 3

During my observation at Cornerstone Christian Preschool, I found that one of their strengths is the physical environment. When I first entered the classroom, I noticed that the space was bright and open. One of the walls was covered in the children’s artwork, and there were plenty of toys and activities for the children. Each area was well defined and organized, materials were arranged at children’s eye level encouraging group or solitary play. As the children enter the classroom they can put their jackets and lunch pails in their cubbies. The cubbies have their name on them and are low enough for the children to reach. On top of the cubbies is a big white board that has a calendar with the date in big bold letters and the activity …show more content…
Open- ended materials are important because they offer children the opportunity to use their imagination as well as their senses. These materials can be transformed into anything that a child can imagine. They stimulate the child’s senses by how they smell, how they feel, and how they look. As explained in our text on page 93 “children learn through their senses”. The classroom that I observed did not have a water or sand table. Having a sand table would give children the opportunity to use their sense of touch while playing and building with sand. I believe that adding more natural materials to the environment would allow children to explore and use their imagination by turning household items into something new and unique. Simple natural materials like paper towel tubes, popsicle sticks, rocks, leaves, ribbons, and sand are better for inspiring artistic creativity. It is great to have adequate amounts of toys for children to play with however, it is also beneficial for children to be inspired to create, invent, and design anything that their imagination allows. I would have preferred to see the children playing with more natural open-ended materials. I feel that the children would benefit from the use of these materials if they were exposed to them. Dramatic play provides the opportunity for children to dream and expand their imagination and open-ended materials are a big part of that. Open-ended play can help teachers see and asses a child’s