Structured Play

As I observed structured play in the afternoon preschool the other day, I realized that preschoolers change so much in a short period of time. I think that just since last semester a lot of them have matured a lot and are much better in these structured situations. Many people probably wouldn't consider circle time a play time, but I think it really is because if you sit through one, you will definitely see how much the children are really using their imaginations. Each day as we listen to stories I am amazed at the questions that these kids can come up with. They think of things so differently than adults do and it's really neat to see first hand. I think the children that really show this imagination are ones that are then able to take that into non-structured time or outside time and really let their imaginations soar. Some of the children that you really notice not focusing on the book or not being able to sit that long are the ones that are just doing what is told of them during centers and not going anywhere with it to show their own creativity. I think a lot can been seen about a child just based on structured play time.