Preschool Curriculum
At the Lake County Office of Education Preschools, we believe Play is the foundation of effective learning for young children.
Play-based learning is not just about having fun; it's a powerful educational approach that nurtures cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.
Through Play, children explore their environment and develop problem-solving skills and resilience. By engaging in a variety of playful activities, children develop a deeper understanding of the world around them and are better prepared for future academic and life challenges.
Our play-based approach provides a safe, stimulating, and supportive environment where every child can thrive and grow.
Play Based Learning
Play is essential to optimal child development, and it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child (Ginsburg et al. 2007, 183).
Our LCOE preschools are engaging and fun! We work very hard for all children to have choices and build independence and social skills using play! We lean on recommendations from the California Department of Education for research-based strategies on play.
"Play is a critical and defining feature of childhood, particularly early childhood. Play is a young child’s world, and that world can be observed in an infant’s first exploration of an object through mouthing or a toddler’s attempts to climb tall steps and scoot down a slide at a neighborhood park. The child’s world of play can be seen in a preschooler’s fantasy world, built with blocks for small plastic animals, or school-age children racing across a playground in a game of tag. Early childhood educators, philosophers, and researchers have for centuries recognized the important role that play has in the development and growth of children. Play is an innate need and biological behavior not just of children, but of all humans and animals. Just as humans have a biological need to sleep and eat for health and well-being, we also have a biological urge to play (Davis and Panksepp 2018; Maguire-Fong and Peralta 2018). Play is an innate way to learn and explore the world and a meaningful and authentic way for young children to develop an understanding of themselves in relation to their families and communities," - Powerful Role of Play in Education, CDE, 2021.