The first kindergarten had opened in the year 1837, and since then, every kindergarten school across the world has served as a place for telling stories, building toy castles, doodling pictures, making friends, and learning how a child can start communicating.
Kindergarten is that time of a child’s life during which the child starts discovering the world and realizes that he or she can interact with it in all kinds of ways.
As a training ground, a kindergarten classroom offers multiple ways in which any child can try and interact with his surroundings.
The biggest feature of any kindergarten is that there are other children who have come to engage in the same set of activities. This becomes a learning experience in itself.
Extracurricular activities for kindergarten students are also what directly contributes to how much fun will be involved in the entire learning process.
Do Kids Really Need Extracurricular Activities?
So, what really stands out in any good kindergarten? As kindergarten students playfully form stories with one another, they develop and sharpen their abilities to think differently and work collaboratively.
These are the very abilities that are most needed to achieve success and security in the 21st century and beyond.
Kindergarten activities can, essentially always be traditional in nature regardless of how futuristic learning methodologies become.
At the end of the day, kindergarten teaches the basics of everything.
For instance, through the habit of using blocks, finger paint, or other materials, children play with their creations, share their ideas and thoughts with others, and reflect on their learnings.
These very experiences lead them into concocting new ideas and new hobbies.
This essential and intriguing learning process is an ideal kind of preparation for today’s fast-changing society, in which people continually pop up with innovative solutions to unexpected events in their lives.
Now, if we talk about the ideal kindergarten, one might get numerous understandings. However, it is not that difficult to list down certain key drivers that justify an ideal kindergarten life.
● An ideal kindergarten expands the student’s ability to learn about (and from) the world, assimilate information and find ways to solve problems if the answer is not apparent.
This increases the child’s self-worth and confidence, his ability to cohort with others, and his overall interest in challenging tasks.
● It provides a mix of co-curricular activities for kindergarten through formal (teacher-directed) and informal (child-initiated) activities.
This kind of a mix allows the children to get a mix of both delegated and independent learning.
● There is minimal use of large group activities that require only sitting in one place. Instead, most activities feature play-based, hands-on learning that requires ample locomotion in small groups.
As the study years progress, group activities become larger in preparation for 1st grade or primary school.
● Kindergartens also instill a love for reading and writing. The books are stocked in a kindergarten and particularly designed to trigger the reading habits of any child.
What Do Children Learn From Extracurricular Activities?
Firstly, let’s understand the goal of an effective kindergarten program at international school in Tokyo.
It provides your child with an opportunity to learn and practice the necessary social, emotional, problem-solving, and comprehension skills that will be used throughout any child’s schooling.
The development of self-esteem is one of the most important learnings through kindergarten.
This helps your child feel good about what their personality dictates and develops confidence in order to tackle the challenges of learning.
Kindergarten teaches cooperation over groups: the former being the ability to work, learn, and get along with others while the latter being more individualistic in nature.
A year in a good kindergarten school provides the child with the opportunity to practise patience, as well as the ability to take turns, share, and relate to others — across all social and emotional learning skills that would be used throughout one’s school years and in one’s professional career.
Most children are inherently curious but do not know how to control their curiosity and make the best of that gift.
Kindergarten, again, becomes a place that sparks and nurtures this very curiosity into usable skills through extra activities for students.
Also Read: How to Help Your Child Excel in School?
How To Get Children Interested In Extracurricular Activities?
It is quite an automatic process. However, most of the time what children need is a push to try out one or two activities.
It is possible a child might have an inclination towards a particular kind of activity over the other.
This is exactly why students should be exposed to different kinds of activities so that they can be the best judge of their own selves.
Kindergarten is that very place where anything can be tried, regardless of whether a child might seem or might not seem to be interested in it.
As a teacher, you ought to understand what sparks that child’s eyes and use it as a fulcrum to expose him to new kinds of activities.
Kindergarten Extracurricular Activities For Children
1. Language Learning
Due to the heterogeneity in the backgrounds of students coming over to a kindergarten, the possibility of getting exposed to different languages is high.
Guiding a child in understanding any language sharpens their ability to comprehend not just words but emotions as well. They also recognise gestures more effectively.
2. Craft Making
Precision and particularity are what a child learns through craft making.
It teaches them patience along with behavioral skills that involve dealing with anything in a delicate manner first instead of losing patience.
3. Singing
This helps better communication skills through vocal modulation. Every class day could start with a song instead of allotting a separate singing class.
This would also help start the class on a positive and happy note.
4. Dancing
Everyone loves dancing! It helps improve confidence and helps teach children the idea of exercising one’s body from early on.
5. Indoor or Outdoor Sports
Something as simple as a coordinated game of catch-and-throw can teach the children how to control their movements and help develop muscle memory.
6. Painting or Doodling
The idea of using colors to add life is something that can be developed in any child from as early on as kindergarten.
Art, after all, does not answer to any age, but only to perception.
7. Mild Combat Arts
Apart from staying physically sound, combat or martial arts also teach students the basics of protecting themselves.
8. Reading
The epitome of any health education is what reading is! At the kindergarten level, reading can involve going through coloured storybooks.
This would eventually grow into more mature reading.
9. Non-Fire Cooking
Cooking teaches children the importance of being self-reliant in terms of daily sustenance. This is important because it also teaches them the importance of food in general.
10. Board Games
Strategising and co-ordinating is an essential aspect of any form of education and board games help achieve that skill in a fun manner.
Conclusion
So, you see, there are numerous extracurricular ways in which a kindergarten education can be made extremely effective.
Thus, being aware of the benefits any child can get through kindergarten education can help any teacher or parent streamline the child’s journey in the most beneficial way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you entertain kindergarten kids?
There are many ways to entertain kindergarten kids. Some ideas include:
1. Storytime: Reading books or telling stories aloud can captivate their imagination.
2. Arts and crafts: Provide materials for drawing, coloring, painting, or crafting simple projects.
3. Music and dance: Play music and encourage them to dance and sing along.
4. Outdoor play: Let them run, jump, and play games in a safe outdoor area.
5. Sensory activities: Set up sensory bins with items like rice, beans, or water for tactile exploration.
Why are extracurricular activities important?
Participating in extracurricular activities helps reinforce classroom lessons by giving students a chance to use academic skills in real-life situations. That’s why they’re seen as an essential part of a comprehensive education.
What is creative art for kindergarten?
Creative arts involve activities that stimulate children’s imagination through music, visual arts, movement, dance, drama, and storytelling. These activities engage children in various areas, including cognitive, language, social, emotional, and physical development.
