January 10, 2025

A guide to the importance of play-based activities for preschoolers

You probably hear this often as a parent: children learn through play. But what does it really mean? 

In the context of early childhood education in Singapore, play is more than fun. It’s among the building blocks of holistic development. At My Little Campus, we’ve also found that it’s among the best ways to support well-rounded growth in children aged 2 to 6.

Today, we’ll show you what play-based learning in Singapore means and what it offers. You may be surprised by its ability to nurture children’s potential as joyful, curious learners!

What is play-based learning? 

Play-based learning is a teaching approach where play is the main medium. That means it’s used both to engage little ones and facilitate their learning. 

A good way to understand it is to compare it to structured learning. That other approach involves following rigid instructions on the rails, usually in a traditional classroom setting. 

Play-based learning diverges from that by allowing children to explore “off the rails”. It even allows them to make new discoveries at their own pace and self-direction. 

This doesn’t mean play-based learning is directionless. Indeed, gentle guidance and supervision are still provided by teachers in it, to help guide children’s curiosity. 

However, it’s typically more engaging and immersive than structured learning. The latter might try to teach numbers through memorisation, for example. Play-based learning would be more likely to do it using numbered blocks that the child uses to build a tower. 

What are the benefits of play-based learning for preschoolers?

Play-based learning has a host of benefits. Here are the most significant ones you may want to know about when it comes to early childhood education in Singapore.

Enhancing cognitive and creative development

Play is a surprisingly good medium for cognitive growth. That’s because certain kinds of play are based entirely on cognitive abilities. 

Puzzles are great play activities for stimulating problem-solving abilities. Role-playing can do the same while building your child’s creativity. 

Children taking on certain types of imaginative play can even build decision-making skills. They also learn the meaning of roles and the concept of narratives.

Even building blocks can be good at teaching a child to grasp the concept of spatial and numeric concepts. A child building structures with toy blocks is learning more than you may think. He/She may be discovering concepts like balance and weight!

Building social and emotional skills

Social play is a particularly useful activity if you want to hone interpersonal skills. When children play collaborative games, they discover things they’ll use even as adults!

Say your child plays a tag-team game, for example. He’s not just having fun: he’s also learning about how teamwork and trust can lead to success or achievement.

Or say your child decides to assemble a LEGO model with friends. He’s now learning how to communicate and cooperate with others to get closer to a shared goal.

Role-playing games are also especially effective here at developing emotional intelligence. They teach children to step outside of themselves and into others’ shoes or roles too. 

The interactions from these games can help a child learn to manage his/her emotions. Among other things, he/she can also start figuring out how to express himself/herself or respond politely to others.

Supporting physical development

A lot of children’s play is physical – and that’s a good thing. It helps develop their motor skills, muscle strength, and coordination. 

It goes beyond conditioning a child’s body through exercise, of course. Some games can also build fine motor skills, such as ones involving arts-and-crafts tools like clay. 

What’s more, the games that build fine motor skills can even build focus at the same time as dexterity. That’s one more skill that can benefit any child far into the future!

Boosting language and communication

Engaging in conversations is a natural part of play. That benefits children too – it expands their vocabularies and communication abilities. 

Role-playing games are obviously very good for this. Other games that support it are storytelling ones and ones requiring coordinated teamwork!

Fostering independence and self-confidence

This is such a rewarding part of play! It essentially gives your child a taste of autonomy in a safe, engaging setting. 

By doing this, you can help your child build more than a momentary independence in entertaining himself/herself. You can also develop his/her confidence as well as his/her resilience. 

That means giving him/her two of the greatest tools for future success. Children who believe in themselves and know they can make mistakes as well as try again can achieve a lot. 

That’s because they believe enough in themselves to be willing to take on challenges even after failing them the first time. This resilience is key in the growth mindset as well as in many parts of life. 

At My Little Campus, this is actually one of the tenets of our teaching. We encourage children to embrace their own growth without fear of failure or censure. 

From what we’ve seen over the years, it leads to faster recovery from setbacks, as well as a deeper sense of accomplishment when they succeed. This carries over into other areas of life and many other challenges besides those in preschool.

Discover play-based learning in the preschool environment

Modern preschools like My Little Campus now integrate play into daily routines. We have activities like tactile exploration and interactive storytelling in our own curricula, for example.

Our dramatic play sessions provide ways for children to discover and explore others’ roles. Meanwhile, our outdoor play sessions strengthen their physical condition and skills. 

And we’ve designed all activities of this type to align with the principles of Singapore’s Early Childhood Development Agency in its learning-through-play guide.

You yourself can play a part in this phase of your child’s learning journey. Encourage your child to explore and play even at home! Engage him/her in play, even, and take part in the adventure. 

You may be astonished at how well this supports your little one’s development. If you’re keen on learning more, reach out to us. We can take you through our own programmes and curriculum to support your child’s growth.