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Preschool/Kindergarten Gaming
In New York, and in many other states, the traditional kindergarten curriculum of sand tables, blocks, and exploration has been replaced with advanced geometry. But this doesn't mean that there isn't still room for play in the instruction of our youngest students. We just have to make sure that the games and toys we select for play are aligned with the curriculum standards for preschool and kindergarten. For example, math standards at this level focus a great deal on shapes; the properties of a circle, the idea of a sphere as a 3-dimensional circle, etc. Most preschool and kindergarten classrooms already have plenty of geometric solids to support instruction....we just have always called them blocks.
In the same way, we can select games to support instruction. Gone are Candyland and Chutes and Ladders; this is the age of critical thinking games for young children that support constructivist learning principles and 21st-century skills. Max challenges students to work together in a team to save woodland creatures from Max the cat. Players have to think strategically and be ready to pass on their turn for the good of the collective; hard concepts for a four year old! In Monza students have to work with color matching and sequencing to move their race car along a multi-colored track. These games, and many more gems for preschool and kindergarten students available from the School Library System Game Library, are highlighted in the attached handout.
