n a sunny autumn day a three-year-old runs to the front door of a playhouse on the grounds of the McPhaul Human Development and Family Science Center.

“I want to come into your house,” she tells another little girl. The house’s current resident holds tight to the door, contemplating whether she’s ready for company.

A few feet away, a younger child struggles to get his hands around a bright green plastic ball before carrying it proudly to a teacher sitting on the ground nearby.

“Thank you,” the teacher says, as he half throws, half pushes the ball into her hands. “What color is this ball?” she asks, listening closely as he exclaims, “Eeen!”

“That’s right,” she says, “Green.”

For the 114 children who participate in programs at the McPhaul Center similar encounters are constantly occurring as they learn — without even being aware of it — colors and shapes and sounds and the myriad of other things that are a part of normal growth and development.

“The thing about children is they’re always learning,” according to Rebecca Olson, director of the McPhaul Center. “When they’re playing house, they gradually learn how to mimic the role of a mom or dad. When they’re younger, their play may be parallel — two children playing at the same activity, but not interacting with each other. Later they learn to play together and to develop scenarios as part of their play. All of that requires learning to take turns and to share.”

As Olson describes the many things children learn from activities as seemingly simple as playing house or riding a scooter, the knowledge and skills gained in early childhood sound overwhelming.

“The first thing a child learns about riding toys is how to sit on them,” she says. “Gaining the strength and balance for that is the first step.”

The next step is usually learning to push the scooter backwards before a small child eventually learns to maneuver the toy forward and sideways and all around.

“But he still has to learn how to stop. And he has to decide when someone is standing in his way, whether to go around that person or try to go through him or her,” Olson says. “So in addition to the physical skills, that child also is learning a wide range of cognitive and decision-making skills.”

Specialists in early childhood development emphasize child-directed play as being the best way for young children to learn successfully.

“What’s important is providing the opportunity for children to learn,” Olson says. “Here, it’s important that we provide a variety of activities and allow the children to take it from there. We’re constantly watching what activities the children choose and how they’re interacting with their environment.”

If too many options are provided, children can become overstimulated and are unable to concentrate. If too few opportunities are available, they can become bored and find their own — less desirable — activities.

“If a child is dumping everything on the floor, she’s probably bored,” Olson says, acknowledging that she’s encountered both overstimulation and understimulation with her own 3-year-old.

“I realized he has too many toys,” she says. “Some were too challenging and some weren’t challenging enough. We’ve given some away and others are in storage until he’s ready for them. And, I’ve started looking for more puzzles because that’s something he’s really enjoying right now.”

At least as important as the activities is the role of adults, Olson says.

“When a child is playing in the sand, it’s important that during some of that time, a parent or teacher or other caring adult is there, talking about how the sand feels as it trickles through your fingers, what color it is, pointing out whether the sand is warm or cool, grainy or smooth. Children aren’t going to learn those things by themselves. They need adults to talk to them and tell them information over and over, until eventually you can ask the child questions and she can answer them.”

While Olson occasionally encounters parents who want a more “academically oriented” environment for their children, she explains that the learning going on at the McPhaul Center each day goes far beyond reading, writing and arithematic.

“Our children are learning motor skills, socialization skills, and cognitive skills all day, every day,” she says, smiling. “Once they’ve conquered those skills, academics are a breeze.”