Mirela Voicu, Upper Primary Coordinator, explains the role of the game in the process the children go through when they make the transition from nursery to school in the Pregatitoare grade.

“To ensure a good start for the students from Pregatitoare, we, the teachers, adhere to Edouard Claparède’s statement – “The game is the best introduction to the art of working”. Thus, the full development of the young school-age student requires an integrated way of approaching teaching-learning-assessment activities through play.

Through play, the child discovers the world, manipulates objects, and acquires knowledge and self-confidence. The game provides children with a pleasant environment in which to express their curiosity and spontaneity, in which creativity and personal experience are the main element. The child’s development depends on the opportunities offered by the daily routine in school, the interaction with others, the organisation of the school environment or the specially designed learning activities and situations.

Pregatitoare grade removes the brutal transition from nursery to school, having the role of getting the children used to socialising in an organised environment, which contributes to the development of their personality. This will ensure the gradual transition from the interactive nursery programme to the school environment, with a fixed schedule representing for the 6-year-old a universe of stories, learning through play, and not a rigid space of knowledge, of constraint. The child learns by playing and at the same time becomes familiar with the atmosphere in school.

Children have a new, age-appropriate curriculum, and the classroom is tailored to their age, so that it allows them to learn through play and to prepare for Grade 1 using modern learning resources. Children will develop their ability to communicate, strengthen contacts with the world of numbers and letters, learn to observe the environment and interact with other children and adults through teaching games, team activities, discovery activities, drawing or music.”