ONE ORANGE COUNTY Catholic school is rethinking preschool — trading screens and worksheets for something 3-year-olds do best: play.
La Purísima Catholic School in Orange spent the summer reimagining its preschool program, eliminating electronic devices and worksheets and instead implementing a curriculum designed to meet the unique needs of its young students: play-based learning.
SAINT ESCAMILLA SMILES WHILE ASSEMBLING A PAPER CRAB ART PROJECT AS SCHOOL STAFFER DIANA ADAN SUPERVISES.
The preschool now utilizes station rotations to give its students hands-on, investigative learning opportunities in pre-literacy, pre-numeracy, science and social studies. The Orange school’s preschool hosted an open house on Aug. 10 for new students to meet their teacher and see how the program has changed. It was also an opportunity for prospective parents to learn more.
“The research shows that with play-based, that’s really where children learn,” said Claudia Danzer, Pax Christi Academies’ head of instructional excellence. “They’re able to play with each other and able to experience the world around them. We have all the different play areas for them to experience life like they would as a grown-up, but at their age-appropriate level.”
FOUR-YEAR-OLD ISABELLE CADMAN SITS INSIDE A PLAY GROCERY STORE SET AS HER EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BROTHER, JACOB CADMAN, AND MOTHER, ANA CADMAN, POSE WITH A MINIATURE SHOPPING CART DURING THE OPEN HOUSE.
The class will utilize The Creative Curriculum and serve as a pilot program for Pax Christi Academies, a coalition of five O.C. Catholic schools. Principals and educators from other local Catholic schools also came to the open house to learn more about the new play-based model.
“It’s a new wave of the Holy Spirit doing great things here at the school, and I’m fortunate enough to be a part of it and to witness what the good Lord will do for our school,” said La Purísima’s principal, Aaron De Loera. “Because ultimately, it’ll be for the benefit of our families and our students.”
The decision to eliminate electronic devices was in response to the increasing usage and dependence on technology that has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Dr. Christina Arellano, president of Pax Christi Academies.
“Devices are not bad; they are just not developmentally appropriate in this classroom,” added Danzer.
A new teacher, Samantha Larios, was hired to fulfill the new program’s mission. Larios is a recent graduate who completed her teacher training in a play-based program. She spent many years working in La Purísima’s daycare and was excited at the opportunity to spearhead the classroom.
“When they offered me the position and they told me about The Creative Curriculum and about it being play-based, I was super excited because I’ve seen it in the works,” Larios said.
The biggest benefit to play-based learning Larios sees is children learning from real-life situations and how to solve problems, she said.
La Purísima parent Ana Cadman brought her TK daughter and third-grade son to the open house. Cadman said she likes the change to play-based learning and delaying introduction to technology.
“I think children should stay away from devices as long as they can,” she said. “Eventually, yes, because that’s how society’s working right now. Everything’s on a device, a phone. But I think that hands-on, play-based is good for children.”
Parents interested in enrolling their students in La Purísima’s preschool class or finding out more can call the school at (714) 633-5411.