Play-Based Versus Academic Preschools

Caring adults raising children want to give them the best possible start in their academic lives. There may be a lot of talk in neighborhoods and communities about the best approach to early learning. And there may be a lot of confusion.

While an academic program might seem to make sense on the surface, the research clearly shows otherwise. Evidence shows that children who participate in play-based programs perform better not only in kindergarten, but also later in school. In fact, one five-year study found large achievement gaps in the fourth grade. Children who participated in play-based preschools outperformed children from academic preschools. The difference was most pronounced in math.

Pine Lake Co-op Preschool is a play-based early-learning program. Children incorporate new ideas and concepts through play. Teachers and adults acting as assistant teachers facilitate this play and guide children to help them better understand the ideas they're exploring. In this way, play is their work.

In study after study, researchers have found that by offering children developmentally appropriate activities, children's young brains develop in a way that facilitates learning. 

All of this new research serves to validate what Pine Lake Co-op Preschool has been doing right for years.

To learn more about why play-based programs work, please see the following articles: