When children have mastered skills such as learning to use scissors, knowing the alphabet or how to tie their shoes before they start kindergarten, they will enjoy greater success in school.
And Sally Towers believes that an occupational therapy approach within a pre-kindergarten program can help identify your child’s strengths and engage them in tasks which match their abilities.
The owner of Little Oak Learning Centre, Towers uses her skills as a therapist to help children master the skills they will need to have success in their first learning experiences and once they begin elementary school.
“We do this by looking at the demands of the task and factors that influence performance within the learning environment,” said Towers, who is qualified as an early childhood educator assistant and operates her program under an occasional child care licence. “I ensure a good match between the ability of the child and the difficulty of the task.”
Little Oak’s pre-kindergarten program has a child-centred approach where the leader looks at each child’s strengths, developmental skills and interests.
“Providing a good fit between the child and the demands of the task will build the child’s self-competence,” said Towers. “Using my skills as a therapist, I can find areas that interest the child to find what helps them to excel and grow, and I am able to adapt the program to the students’ needs.”
Central to the belief of occupational therapy is that play is an important part of a child’s learning. Children learn by exploring their surroundings and interacting with materials to learn how the world works, said Towers.
“Children practise social roles through pretend play. In this program, they learn the social rules of a learning environment such as listening and respect for other children. This helps to ease the transition as they enter the larger school system in kindergarten, the following year.
“When children spend time with other children, they begin to experience social relationships which provide meaning, develop empathy and build connections. Being among other children, they also experience joy and laughter.”
Towers is knowledgeable about the importance of physical activity and how it can enhance mood and boosts focus and attention for learning tasks. Physical activities can also provide sensory input to help some children function at their best. Theme-based circle time activities with a focus on action songs, music and books strengthen each child’s language concepts and vocabulary.
Little Oak Learning Centre will hold an open house on Wednesday at the school, 1802-45th Ave., Vernon, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, please e-mail sally.towers@gmail.com.
