Why Playing Games Helps Little Ones!

Making Learning Fun! 

Choosing an online Montessori preschool for your little one can be tougher than it seems sometimes. When you’re in the process of finding an education program that works for both you and your little one, something to look into is how the online preschool program will help your little one continue their love of learning. Knowing a subject is one thing, but making sure your little one is enjoying the learning process is crucial! How can you be certain that a program’s curriculum will help your little one feel passionate and excited about learning? One of the best pieces of advice we can offer when researching online Montessori preschools is to look for programs that use game-play as a part of their curriculum. 

Wait–what? Playing games as education? It may seem counterintuitive at first, but there are actually many good reasons to seek out an online preschool that encourages your little one to play games. Research has proven that there are tons of benefits, and remember: part of the basis for any early learning educational program is play! Beyond that, though, many studies have shown that preschool games work really well towards engaging the brains of little ones, making them interested and excited about learning, and reinforcing the information being taught to them. The benefits of game-playing continue on, and any online Montessori preschool or homeschool preschool program worth considering will have opportunities for your little one to learn and have fun. Here are some more benefits of having your little ones enrolled in an education program that values games as a form of teaching:

1. More Motivation: Have you ever tried to push yourself to learn something that just seemed boring? Well, just like you, your little one may not love every school subject they come across. That doesn’t mean those subjects aren’t important, but it does mean that your little one’s online preschool has to work a tiny bit harder to engage them and make sure those key concepts are making it through to their brain—even when it might not be a totally compelling subject. One of the best ways any online Montessori preschool can do this is through playing games! In addition to individual motivation, playing games as preschool activities can help encourage students who might have a harder time involving themselves to pay attention and participate along with their peers! 
2. Controlling Competitiveness: As your little one gets older, you might notice them getting more and more competitive with each passing day. That’s a-okay! A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, so long as it stays that way. As such, games are an amazing way to foster friendly or positive competition in any online preschool classroom or homeschool preschool. Games will help push little ones to do their best work, but will also help encourage little ones to support and help one another in between the competition. By allowing them to explore competitiveness in a safer, mitigated environment, preschool games allow them to develop a healthy enjoyment of competition!
3. Strategy Simulation: The best and most educational games for littles ones to play usually include some kind of planning and problem-solving skills, something that may be new to your child at such an early stage in their learning experience. By finding an online preschool that encourages these kinds of preschool activities, your little one will have a chance to work on increasing their cognitive powers by using strategy and memory to solve those tougher problems. They won’t even realize how hard they’re thinking because of how much fun they’re having with preschool games!
4. Positivity Among Peers: As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, making sure your little one enjoys, loves–or at least is interested in–learning is half the battle to making their online Montessori preschool experience the best and most useful in preparing them for future schooling. Preschool games are a wonderful way for any educator to create a positive attitude surrounding learning new subjects or skills, which will really allow for your little one to build up an enjoyment for learning. It will increase cooperation amongst little ones and will generally help create a positive attitude towards learning! 
5. Less Stress: A rigorous curriculum is important… at certain parts of your little one’s life, that is! At such a young age, even things like worksheets can be tough when they aren’t properly integrated into your little one’s online Montessori preschool experience, and can really set your little one down a path towards an unhealthy relationship with learning, even within homeschool preschool. Games step in as a much less stressful, far more engaging and fun manner of ensuring your little one is learning all that they need to. By reducing your little one’s stress level surrounding learning, they will feel more free to remember and share all that they know about a topic, and continue to have a positive relationship with learning. 
6. Making Memory Last: When your little one has so much curriculum to learn, it can be tough for them to retain it all! No worries, though, that’s where games come into play! These fun preschool activities require little ones to think and act fast, which really helps to jog their memories! It’s a great tool to use when your little one needs a little extra practice in a certain subject. A good way to integrate this tool into your little one’s online Montessori preschool learning is actually to let them make up the game themselves! By letting them create and construct the game, your little one gets to stretch their creative muscles while also making them use their memory of a subject to play and lead the game! It’s a win-win!
7. Cooperation Counts: One of the best ways any online preschool educators can help build community within a classroom is by having little ones play preschool games! There’s a reason even adults will play team building games on their work retreats; games have so many benefits for making group relationships stronger. Little ones will have to work together to solve a common goal, and by being put into groups, large or small, they’ll learn how to respect one another, work together, listen to their peers, and play fairly within these preschool activities! 
8. Increased Attention: We understand—sometimes little ones just have a tough time focusing, and that’s ok! The important thing to note is that playing games as a part of an online Montessori preschool program can actually help improve attention! Games tend to move pretty fast. So, it becomes important (and maybe a challenge to your little ones!) to stay focused and to pay attention to what is happening in order to succeed in the game! Then, after the game is finished, this skillset can be applied to other learning opportunities in the classroom or homeschool preschool.
9. Friendly Fun: Ideally, playing games is also just a super fun activity! The excitement and the challenge really help make your little ones excited about their online preschool learning in ways that other teaching methods may not at first. Scientifically speaking, games also help to produce endorphins, which will help stimulate and engage your little one’s mind and provide a feeling of joy or happiness for the classroom. This benefit of these preschool activities will only help as time goes on!
10. New Knowledge: Sometimes there are subjects that are just too tough for your mind to work its way around right away–even adults take time to learn subjects that are harder. Preschool games are actually an amazing workaround for those sticky pieces of online Montessori preschool curriculum that are just too tricky to grasp at first. When a new, tough subject is taught to little ones, try playing a game with them about the subject afterwards. This preschool activity will help them build connections with what they have just learned and will work to consolidate their knowledge!
11. Exploring the Outside: One of our favorite things about games is that there is no limit to location. We love and encourage playing outdoor games! Not only is this an amazing opportunity for little ones to look into and explore the outside world, but there’s nothing a little fresh air can’t solve. It gives your hardworking online preschool students a quick brain break, and if they’re feeling a bit fidgety, they have an opportunity to get their sillies out and release some of that pent-up energy that happens when they’ve been sitting and learning for a bit. 

Trying to hunt down the ideal online Montessori preschool can feel tough when there are so many factors to think about. However, one of the easiest ways to decide is to seriously consider game-play! Try Our Online Preschool for FREE! Playgarden Prep offers numerous educational videos from real teachers, and numerous DIY projects that support early learning and development with homeschool preschool.