“I’ve done somersaults and jumped and climbed a lot!” states Nella, six years, energetically. “We can wiggle and waggle there”, calls out another preschooler. Children explain that they have performed puppetry with LeaDo – and have occasionally found surprises from LeaDo’s pocket compartment.
These preschoolers have clearly welcomed the Learning Centre with open arms in their classroom! Their teacher Paula agrees. She has been using the learning centre about four months and has so far found it very useful in her classroom. “To create structure in learning, to build a step-by-step learning process, to support daily physical activity, to practise numbers…” Paula lists the ways to use LeaDo in teaching. One of her favourite aspects of the learning center is the pocket compartment – with the numbered pockets children have learned the numbers quite fast. The bell that comes with the learning centre is also in good use: it’s the “clean up -bell”. Whenever it is played, children know it’s time to clean up and organise the toys – a great example how to create structure in the preschool day and enhance children’s agency in classroom.
Paula’s preschoolers embrace the learning centre as part of their classroom and have found innovative ways to create different kind of games and free play around LeaDo – whenever they aren’t exercising their motor skills on it. Great examples of child initiative and creativity are the different building and construction activities that started immediately when the colourful soft mega-blocks arrived in the classroom. Children have spoken of LeaDo at home with such enthusiasm that some families have already got themselves gymnastic rings at home, too, to support their child’s daily activity!
From Paula’s perspective, LeaDo fits well in the context of Early Childhood Education and Pre-School. In addition to developing children’s activity and motor skills, LeaDo Learning Centre supports firmly learning by playing and developing children’s transversal competence. With the pocket compartment, for example crafting projects can be instructed step by step. The colour coded pockets can also be used to create individual learning paths for children when teaching requires differentiation. Meanwhile, children develop their learning to learn skills in an active way and the have the chance to participate and affect their learning process – exactly according to the curriculum.
