Children learn by playing.
We plan it.
A joyful morning and a serious education are the same morning. Here is how that works at Hummingbird, how it compares with other approaches, and what the research does and does not show.
Purposeful play
Play-based does not mean unplanned. Our days have a curriculum, learning goals, teacher demonstrations, small-group activities and direct instruction. What they also have is a two-year-old who wants to know what happens if the tower gets one more block.
Three things hold together:
- Children choose, explore, imagine and ask questions.
- Teachers introduce concepts, demonstrate skills and extend what a child has started.
- Goals cover language, early math, creativity, independence, movement and getting along with other children.
An ordinary morning
Examples of the kind of thing that happens here, not a script every classroom follows.
Blocks
Counting, comparing shapes and sizes, testing balance, and trying again after it falls. A teacher might ask: What could you change at the bottom?
The pretend shop
New words, counting, taking turns at being the one in charge. A teacher might ask: How could we make sure everyone gets a turn?
Stories and sounds
Vocabulary, listening, guessing what happens next, hearing how words begin. A teacher might ask: Can you find another word that starts like sun?
What the research says about learning through play
Play-based preschool is sometimes described as the soft option. The evidence does not read that way.
39 studies reviewed, 17 in the meta-analysis, 3,893 children aged 1 to 8. Children learning through guided play did better than children taught by direct instruction on early math, shape knowledge and task switching, and better than children left to free play on spatial vocabulary. Skene et al., Child Development, 2022.
NAEYC, the field's main professional body, supports the same mix: self-directed play, guided play and direct instruction.
If you are told only one method is research-backed, ask which studies, and what those studies compared. Several approaches have evidence behind them, and no study has yet put a well-run play-based preschool head to head with a well-run alternative.
These studies looked at teaching approaches in general. None of them studied Hummingbird.
If one preschool costs much more, what is the difference buying?
A higher price can pay for real things. It can also pay for a brand. Ask what the money goes to, and whether your child will touch it:
- Teacher qualifications, and how long the staff have stayed.
- Class size, and how much individual attention that allows.
- Hours, meals, extended care and every additional fee.
For the difference in tuition, what will my child get, and can you show me that in an ordinary morning? Ask it on every tour, including ours.
Questions parents ask us
Does play-based mean they just play all day?
No. There is a curriculum, there are goals, and teachers teach. The difference is that a lot of the teaching happens inside something the child is already absorbed in.
What is the difference between guided play and free play?
Free play is the child's own. Guided play has a learning goal the teacher is holding onto while the child leads. In the 2022 review, guided play beat free play on spatial vocabulary.
Will my child be ready for kindergarten?
That is what the four-to-five year is built around: early reading and math, listening, explaining, and doing things without an adult standing there.
How do I compare you with another preschool?
Visit both and watch a morning in each, and ask what your child would actually be doing at ten o'clock on a Tuesday.
Come and watch a morning
Tours run every weekday at 11:00am, take about 20 minutes, and children are welcome. Bring the tuition question with you.
Sources
- NAEYC, Developmentally Appropriate Practice
- Skene et al. (2022), guided play review
These sources describe educational approaches and support the practices discussed here. Neither studied, endorsed or evaluated Hummingbird Preschool.