According to teacher Sarah Fritz, essential life and learning skills of young children are being built during play. These skills won’t show up as perfect worksheets, but they will show up as confident readers, flexible thinkers, and children who love to learn. Here are the skills that parents should know are being built during play:

1. Oral language and vocabulary through songs, stories, and conversation

2. Early literacy awareness through rhymes, sound play, and storytelling

3. Math and spatial skills through block building, puzzles, and sorting

4. Social and emotional growth through naming feelings, practicing empathy, and learning routines

5. Independence and confidence through choice-making and problem-solving

With KidsOnline, teachers can make the value of play visible to parents by documenting and sharing daily learning moments through photo albums and teacher’s comments. Instead of only showing test scores or worksheets, using the KidsOnline app, teachers can highlight how play activities—like building with blocks, role-playing, or singing songs—are nurturing the very skills parents care most about: language, numeracy, creativity, and confidence. Through the app’s assessment tools and regular reports, parents receive concrete evidence that play is not “just play,” but a powerful driver of holistic growth. This helps build trust and strengthen the home–school partnership.

Reference article: Communicating With Parents About the Value of Play in Preschool