Classroom Activities at Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool
At Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool (OCP), activities are based on each child’s interests and are designed to stimulate the child’s imagination. This practice fosters motivation for further exploration and cultivates a love of learning and a peaked curiosity. There is an emphasis on the process of the activity rather than the finished product. When possible, the making of materials such as play dough, “goop” and paint becomes an activity itself. There also is an emphasis on the child’s involvement in the daily tasks of family and community life – cooking, preparing snack, cleaning up after snacks and meals, and cleaning up toys. These hands-on activities reflect life experience and help to promote the child’s independence and interdependence.
Some examples of the stimulating activities that the children are involved in at OCP are:
- Story telling
- Puppetry/finger plays
- Creative play (toys, books, imitation and pretending)
- Music and movement
- Games
- Dabbling in art, science and nature discovery
- Outdoors: free play, nature walks, sand and water exploration.
Classroom Materials at Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool
The Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool classroom provides a prepared environment in which children can safely explore, work at their own pace and rhythm, and according to their own capabilities. our goal is to choose materials for the classroom that nourish each child’s imagination and his/her creativity. The materials are accessible, diverse, and multi-sensory. Many are made out of nature-based materials. Adapted from the teachings of Waldorf, we also prefer simple, unfinished toys. The less finished and less suggestive a toy is, the greater its educational value as it allows for open-ended imaginative play.
