Free play is an important aspect to a child’s development and parents are encouraged to provide imaginative play activities at home. However, we know that in the right environment, preschoolers are eager learners and need to explore and practice in order to learn. Compared to traditional daycare centers, Montessori preschool students are surrounded by different opportunities to develop both academic and practical skills. These activities include practicing opening and closing containers; learning to button shirts, identify objects by touch; sort things by color, put puzzles together, learn to cut with scissors, learn to pour water, sew with laces, string beads and many other activities. These learning opportunities help build the child’s confidence while practicing both fine and large motor movements. These activities are a welcome change from what a child typically finds at home and thus can be more engaging to the child. Typically, in daycare settings the shelves are filled with similar toys they have at home- legos, blocks, noisy plastic toys, wooden trains, dolls etc. While these toys have their place in developing they offer little to no academic or practical value to the child.
