Home ◼︎ Children ◼︎ Study Guides ◼︎ Book Reflections ◼︎ Learning Stories ◼︎ Topics ◼︎ Essays
About
A child-centered approach to education where play is not a break from learning—it is the learning. Through play, children explore ideas, test theories, solve problems, and make meaning in ways that are joyful, active, and deeply engaging.
Play-based learning is grounded in the understanding that young children learn best when they’re doing something they care about. Whether building with blocks, pretending to be animals, making mud pies, or negotiating roles in a game, children are developing cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills all at once. The role of the adult is not to direct the play, but to observe, join, extend, and document—creating a responsive environment where learning can emerge organically.
This approach is supported by developmental psychology, neuroscience, and progressive education models. In Reggio Emilia–inspired classrooms, play is viewed as a language of expression. In Waldorf and Montessori settings, materials and rhythms support imaginative and purposeful play. Across traditions, the message is the same: play is serious work.
Play-based learning doesn’t mean anything-goes chaos—it means trusting that play itself carries deep intelligence and honoring it as a vital mode of exploration and growth.
Why It Matters
When children are given time, space, and trust to play, they develop creativity, resilience, empathy, and critical thinking. Play builds the foundation for literacy, numeracy, scientific reasoning, and social understanding. For educators and families, supporting play-based learning means slowing down, letting go of rigid outcomes, and seeing the world through the child’s eyes—curious, imaginative, and alive with possibility.
References & Further Reading
- Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. Einstein Never Used Flashcards
- Gray, P. Free to Learn
Teacher Tom - Bodrova, E., & Leong, D. J. Tools of the Mind – Play and executive function
- NAEYC: Play and Children's Learning
- The Alliance for Childhood: www.allianceforchildhood.org
Glossary
Play-Based Learning – An educational approach that uses open-ended, child-directed play as the primary context for learning and development.
Open-Ended Play – Play without fixed outcomes or instructions, allowing children to create, explore, and imagine freely.
Symbolic Play – Play in which objects or actions represent other things, supporting abstract thinking, language, and storytelling.
Scaffolding – Support provided by adults during play that helps extend children’s thinking and deepen engagement without taking control.
Emergent Curriculum – A planning approach that builds on children’s interests, questions, and discoveries as they arise naturally through play.
Articles and Resources on This Site
A tribute to Bev Bos and the living legacy of Roseville Preschool—celebrating trust, play, presence, and the radical act of letting children tumble freely into becoming.
Children run for no reason but joy. In their motion, they reclaim learning as instinctive, embodied, and whole—beyond adult framing or institutional control.
A bold challenge to conventional schooling, Free to Learn argues that children thrive best when trusted to play, explore, and educate themselves through freedom and community.
External Links
Related Topics
Would Love to Hear From You!
Education Pages
