A local preschool utilizes playing to teach young minds.
Precious Grundy | The Lima News
LIMA — A local teacher is using a new curriculum to teach the new generation.
The “Wild Child Play School” teaches young children ages 2 through 5 through play. The playschool currently only takes six children at a time to better focus on the development of each child. The in-home school opened at the end of January with four children already enrolled.
“It is a preschool format, but it is all learning through play,” owner Sarah Helton said. “I do have a curriculum, but I use it more of like a suggestion. I see if the kids are interested, and then I follow their lead. This month for the curriculum, we are learning about the universe. We just keep going until they lose interest, and then we move on. When they are exploring the materials in the classroom, I am close by, and they learn through that process.”
Helton previously worked as a preschool teacher as a teenager and young adult. While working at OSU as a research manager, she learned the importance of emotional intelligence. Helton said the research showed children with higher emotional intelligence and children who learned through play were better prepared for school.
“It’s called Reggio Emilia,” Helton said. “In the Reggio Emilia Approach, the children are the center of their learning and the initiators of the process. They have ingrained and natural interests that both inspire them to learn but construct the best way to learn on their own.”
Helton also said the students gather with the teacher at the beginning and end of the day. The indoor portion of the classroom utilizes everyday items including pots and pans, a wooden kitchen and a cozy corner. The school also has some fish and a gecko as classroom pets.
“There are so many things we learn as adults after going through really tough times,” Helton said. “Sometimes, it takes most of our life to learn how to navigate our emotions, figure out how it all works and develop our sense of belonging. Those things are not beyond a child. They can understand and learn them if they know how to create boundaries, and they know how to label their feelings. It can absolutely change the world.”
For more information, visit Wild Child Playschool’s Facebook page at bit.ly/4aiEXAc.
Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.
