Addressing the learning disadvantage at the reception? ‘Just let the kids play there’

On Thursday, the House of Representatives will debate the possibility of tackling learning disadvantages through childcare. But the Brache organization Childcare does not fully support this. They believe that the children should be able to play there.

If childcare becomes too much like a school, children up to six years old will miss a great opportunity to develop themselves. That is the opinion of Emmeline Bijlsma, director of the Childcare Sector Organization. But she does emphasize that it is not playing instead of learning, but learning through play.

To perform

According to Emmeline, children learn by playing because they practice skills that they will need at school later on. Playing in childcare is therefore the basis for being able to perform well at school. As far as she is concerned, you should certainly not deprive the children of that. Because when you do, everything else collapses too. She also sees this happening too often on behalf of the trade association.

Initiative

Certain parties in the House of Representatives want to set learning objectives for the children in childcare. But Bijlsma doesn’t like that. According to her, then you take away the essence of playing. That a child takes his own initiative and enjoys playing. Then there is no need to test or standardize. According to her, there is an inner drive in children to discover the next phase, which they are ready for on the basis of their own initiative.

sandbox

By playing together at childcare, children learn in a different way than at school. Emmeline takes the sandbox as an example. She explains that by playing in the sandbox, children begin to recognize structures. They see the different shapes that the sand can take. And then they start building. And when their beautiful structure collapses, it’s a disappointment they have to deal with. Then they have to try it another way. As a result, they learn to work focused. It is also a good way to learn to work together and to listen to each other. These are all skills they should use later in school.

Source: NPO Radio 1

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