PROJECT APPROACH FOR PRESCHOOL

What is the Project Approach?

Is an investigation of a subject in the real world of children. A topic for investigation must be something that the children can readily find in their here and now world and field trips are planned to further their learning on the topic. For instance a Rain Forest would not make a good topic for preschoolers living in the Washington DC suburbs, but a study of the plants grown around their school would be. The topic needs to be something of natural interest to the children involved. The Project Approach has three phases

Phase I initiates the project by having the children share what they already know about the subject in question and finding out what they want to learn more about. At this point questions are formulated by the children.

Phase II is the investigation where children observe, read, experiment, explore, draw, and ask experts to help them answer their questions.

Phase III is the culmination of the project where the children and teachers decide how to complete the study and document their learning. The event can be a book, a "museum", or a gallery. Sometimes others are invited to come and see what the group has learned.

Through all of these phases of learning,standards for preschool children are addressed. With careful documentation using pictures and notes, children are exposed to personal and social development, language and literacy, mathematical thinking, scientific thinking, social studies, the arts, and physical development.