To Play or Not Play?

“Preschool classroom” by montessori toolkit is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers. (Ginsberg, 2007)

What is Play?

Play, according to Kid Sense, is the “… voluntary engagement in self-motivated activities that are normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment. [It] may consist of amusing, pretend or imaginary, constructive, interpersonal (play with others) or intrapersonal (solitary play) interactions” (Kid Sense).

Why is Play Important?

Play is important in our early childhood classrooms because it gives our students the opportunity to learn in a stress-free way. By engaging in play with each other, our students are developing their collaboration skills. Using art supplies helps boost their creativity and imagination. Building blocks, outside of being a world of fun for our students, can also help them “… develop skills in design, representation, balance and stability” (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1993).

With an abundance of research identifying the benefits of incorporating play in early childhood classrooms, why is it absent from many? Based on my [brief] experience as a full-time teacher, the time I have spent as a substitute teacher, and the research I did for this post, play is absent from classrooms due to the push for making our students more competitive. In my opinion, this desire, while rooted in good intentions, does not take into account the actual students being impacted.

Last week, I was the substitute teacher in a first grade class where play was a priority. Through a discussion with the classroom teacher she explained the following:

“I have started incorporating play into our classroom schedule for the past few years and I have seen a major difference in how my students respond to school. They seem more excited about the school day because they know that once they come into this classroom the first thing they get to do is play.”

Options for centers that I found within this classroom include: building blocks, LEGOs, a pretend kitchen, drawing, and reading. She did not require her students to rotate after a specified amount of time, or even to choose a center that was different from the center chosen on the previous day. These decisions were left entirely up to each student.

What are your thoughts on play in the classroom? Does you school allow a designated period of time for play? Let me know in the comments!

Resources

Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Pediatrics, 119(1), 182–191. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-2697

NAEYC. 1993. Block Play: Constructing Realities (video). Washington, DC: NAEYC

Play and Social Skills: Social Skills In Children. (2019, September 27). Retrieved from https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/play-and-social-skills/.