The Power of Play
How Children’s Museums Can Influence Kindergarten Readiness
Starting Kindergarten is one of the most memorable life experiences for many children. The transition to formal school requires skills children need to know before they start Kindergarten. These Kindergarten Readiness skills vary, but researchers and teachers often include a child’s emotional, cognitive, social, and physical development in determining if a child will be successful in Kindergarten and beyond. Social, emotional, and behavioral skills are essential for learning. Students who enter Kindergarten with deficiencies in these skills are typically impacted in their quality of life and economic self-sufficiency in adulthood (Bettencourt et al., 2017).
Only 26.8% of the students tested in August 2021 were categorized as "Demonstrating Readiness," meaning they entered Kindergarten with sufficient skills, knowledge, and abilities to engage with kindergarten-level instruction. Of the students tested, 40.4% were at the Approaching Readiness level and would need support to engage with Kindergarten-level instruction. Lastly, 32.9% of students tested would need significant help to engage with Kindergarten-level instruction due to the Emerging Readiness level testing. Among the students who tested at the Demonstration Readiness level, 17% identified as African American, 13% identified as Hispanic, and 35% identified as While. About 18% of Pupils in Poverty (PiP) tested at the Demonstrating Readiness level, and 44% of students not in poverty tested at the same level (WestEd, 2021).
Parental interactions that are sensitive, consistent, and responsive in the first five years of life are one of the strongest predictors of social-behavioral competence and developmental well-being for children (Bettencourt et al., 2017). Children’s museums offer parents the opportunity to learn new skills, practice, and help children develop social and cognitive skills through play (Luke et al., 2021). This positive environment allows children to learn from active adult guidance and hands-on learning.
Parents and caregivers often need examples of school readiness activities to better help their children build necessary skills to succeed academically. Home-based activities such as making books, telling stories, singing songs, and reading books increase literacy-related skills and reading performance (Puccioni et al., 2018). The Children’s Museum of the Upstate- Spartanburg offers programs and opportunities for parents and caregivers to practice these skills and a safe space to ask questions.
Children's museums offer a unique environment for parents, caregivers, and children to interact and play. The design of the museums is for children to have interactive, imaginative, and fun experiences through play, learning, and discovery (McInnes & Elpidoforou, 2018). It is through these experiences that The Children’s Museum of the Upstate-Spartanburg can assist children in preparing for school. One program that we offer is our summer Pop-Up Classrooms.
Qualifying participants will participate in an eight-week Pop-Up Classroom program designed to prepare the child and caregivers for the start of kindergarten. The curriculum is based on data collected from The South Carolina Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and The South Carolina First Steps Profile of the Ready Kindergartner. Applicants will be evaluated on a point system to ensure an equitable process based on zip code, race/ethnicity, age, previous education experience, primary language spoken in the home, school attending in the fall, and age. The program is designed to be easily replicated in schools, libraries, and other community centers.
Each week is based on a different domain and follows a consistent schedule, reinforcing classroom behavioral skills for students. Students practice a “Morning Meeting” with a read-aloud and a Social-Emotional Lesson, structured play with centers and transitions, and unstructured play to practice independence and communication. Parents and caregivers observe how the teacher asks questions of the students throughout the story and lessons, when they intervene with conflict, and how they answer students’ questions. A copy of the read-aloud is sent home with several follow-up activities and materials to be completed before next week’s class.
Children’s museums offer a unique opportunity for hands-on learning for children, parents, and caregivers. The Children’s Museum of the Upstate-Spartanburg allows children to play, grow their skills, and prepare for school, which in turn supports our community’s future leaders, thinkers, creators, and change-makers. Parents and caregivers are equipped with the tools needed to encourage their child’s educational growth in the home environment. Through play, we are reinforcing our community’s early childhood development efforts and helping prepare students for success in kindergarten and beyond.
About the author
Catie Davis, TCMU-Spartanburg's Director, draws from her prior experience as an educator and current doctoral studies in Education Systems Improvement Science to oversee dynamic content targeting relevant aspects of early childhood development.
Under her leadership, the museum has enhanced its efforts to reach our community’s methods for tracking and reporting data reflective of the museum’s target populations. The museum successfully launched its Pop-Up Classroom programming this summer, where children were able to experience a structured classroom environment for the first time and practice skills related to kindergarten readiness. Families committed to coming to the museum once a week for 8 weeks, and with participation being mandatory, caregivers had the opportunity to observe and learn how they could help facilitate their children’s educational development.
Each week families received a book to keep to grow their home library and reinforce these lessons at home.
The curriculum design was based on EDI and Spartanburg County Kindergarten Readiness Assessment data, with intentionality in selecting high-need families as the target demographic. 26 out of the 30 families that participated in the program came from priority zip-codes and/or Title I schools.
