| All Star Room |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| At the beginning of every school year the pre-kindergarten children take over the All Star Classroom. Their goal and our goal is to get ready socially, psychologically, and academically for kindergarten. One of the strengths in a child's development that helps is that children have moved into "Cooperative Play" somewhere between the ages of four or five. Cooperative play takes place between two or more children. In cooperative play, children exchange ideas about the game or the toy they are playing with at that moment in time. Rules tend to still be very loosely constructed, but children know who is playing which role in their game. Play may last only a few minutes or it may stretch out for longer periods of time. Gradually they learn to respect the property rights of others. This is a clue that they are gaining social skills; at this same time they begin to understand that they need permission to play with certain materials and certain people allowing for more structure and direction when needed. They are also more willing to share their toys for the sake of the game. Communication about the play is the critical point of cooperative play. These developmental changes in play are parallel to the increased abilities in classroom therefore making fun and academics a priority in the All Star Room. |