Why Isn’t Play Enough?
I’m not gonna lie, terms like play-based, playful learning, and guided-play irk my nerves. They imply that true play, child-driven, unstructured, free play, is not enough. That real learning only happens when the activity is play-based, playful, or when the teacher guides the play. Well, the truth is, play is enough, and these activities aren’t play. If the teacher came up with the idea, it’s not play. If the activity has external rules or goals created by the teacher, it’s not play. And if the teacher has to ask questions and push the child to do something they aren’t doing, it’s not play.
Look, I get it. Most schools serving young children are pressured to provide proof that students are learning. They are drowning in calls for accountability and rigor and besieged by endless assessments. So when these early childhood educators have an opportunity to make an activity playful, insert a play-based game, or do a guided-play activity, they jump at it. They know that play is essential, but it isn’t valued, so they take what they can get and make do with the limited opportunities they have. I get it, but I refuse to accept it.
I’ve seen the power of play and understand the science of play (there really is a ton of research on the importance and effectiveness of play), so I can’t accept the myth that play is not enough. Play is the leading activity of development, meaning it is the primary way young children develop critical cognitive, physical, language, and social/emotional skills. Play is how young children learn. It’s not a break from learning or a reward for learning. Play is learning. Play is how children learn essential skills for thriving in society, including perspective-taking, empathy, collaboration, persistence, and much more. We don’t need to make learning playful; we need to let children play and trust that they are learning.
Trust is key, and I believe it is the lack of trust that keeps us from fully understanding the power of play. We don’t trust children. We don’t trust that they want to learn and grow. We don’t trust that they want to be good and do the right thing. And we don’t trust that when they are playing, they are doing precisely what they need to do to further their development. Because we view children through a deficit lens and focus our energy on what they don’t know and what they can’t do, we don’t trust them. And yes, children need us, but not because they aren’t trustworthy. They need us because they are young and developing and need our protection, love, guidance, and nurturance. But they also need us to trust them. Trust that their body is telling them what they need, and it’s our job to help them get it. Trust that their play is not only beneficial but their right.
Teachers who lead with play trust children. They have to trust in them and their capabilities if they are to truly let them play freely. I saw this in Anji, China, and other places where play is the pedagogy and the curriculum. And when teachers trust children enough to follow their lead, they realize that play is enough. Instead of trying to guide play or make learning more playful, they observe child-driven free play. They reflect on what children are learning and doing. They engage the children in scaffolded conversations that help to extend the learning already happening in the play. They create invitations and provocations based on what they would like to see children experience. They provide the time, space, and permission needed for play to flourish.
And I want more teachers and parents to get to a place where they trust children and their play. Play is more than enough. Play is freedom. Play is liberation. Play is the way to free the children and ourselves. Trust in play, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.
