Children learn specific competencies related to academic and social success through play.

The development of representational competence through pretend play, children develop the ability to use their imaginations to represent objects, people, and ideas.

WHAT YOU SEE:
* A toddler flaps her arms, pretending to be a butterfly.
* Another picks up a banana, holds it to his ear, and says, “Hello.”
*A preschooler builds a firehouse with blocks.

HOW IT PROMOTES SCHOOL SUCCESS:
This ability to use one object to symbolize another is the essential foundation for literacy and numeracy—the ability to understand that numerals represent quantities and letters represent sounds and words.

The development of oral language and narrative understanding through dramatic play with objects, people, and imagined situations, children develop their oral language skills and capacity for narrative, or “thinking in stories.”

WHAT YOU SEE:
*Children act out scenes in the “housekeeping corner.”
*A child makes her stuffed animal “talk,” telling a story.

HOW IT PROMOTES SCHOOL SUCCESS:
Oral language skills and narrative capacity form the foundation for reading comprehension, the ability to produce coherent writing, and the ability to understand subjects such as history, social studies, and science.

The development of positive approaches to learning when children are engaged in activities they have chosen, learning is enjoyable because it is based on their own curiosity and connected to a sense of mastery.

WHAT YOU SEE:
* Classrooms organized with various activity centers (blocks, dramatic play, painting and drawing, writing, reading, science, etc.), with children encouraged to work in areas and in ways they choose.

HOW IT PROMOTES SCHOOL SUCCESS:
Research indicates that children’s attitudes of curiosity, motivation and sense of mastery are key to success in the grades.

The development of logic through play with blocks, clay, sand, water, and other materials, children develop skills in logic. They begin to learn scientific concepts such as cause and effect and mathematical concepts such as quantity, classification, and ordering. They practice inventing strategies for solving problems.

WHAT YOU SEE:
* Children experiment with blocks to figure out how to build a stable structure.
* Children compare blocks, discovering that two squares are the same size as one rectangle.
* Children pour sand into different size containers.

HOW IT PROMOTES SCHOOL SUCCESS:
This practice in experimentation, observation, comparison, and work with shapes, sizes, and quantities forms the basis for understanding math and science and higher-order thinking in all subjects.

The development of self-regulation and social negotiation as children interact with each other, negotiating the sharing of materials or planning imaginative play, they learn concepts and skills in cooperating, advocating one’s own ideas and listening to others, handling frustration, and empathizing with others.

WHAT YOU SEE:
* Children plan dramatic play together, negotiating over roles and situations. “We can both
be pilots if we have two seats.”
*One child cries and another says, “Don’t worry, your mom is coming soon.”

HOW IT PROMOTES SCHOOL SUCCESS:
Numerous studies have shown that children with better social skills and emotional health succeed academically—and are more likely to avoid high-risk activities as adolescents.