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Playing is a natural and enjoyable way for children to keep active, stay well and be happy. Freely chosen play helps children and young people’s healthy development. To have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, they need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they’re teenagers.

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Playing is a natural and enjoyable way for children to keep active, stay well and be happy. Freely chosen play helps children and young people's healthy development. To have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, they need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they're teenagers.

Freely chosen play

Freely chosen play is when a child decides and controls their play following their own instincts, imagination and interests. They play without being led by adults.

There's no right or wrong way to play. Freely chosen play improves children's health, well-being and development.

Why play is important

Play improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and young people.

Through play, children learn about the world and themselves.

They also learn skills they need for study, work and relationships such as:

confidence

self-esteem

resilience

interaction

social skills

independence

curiosity

coping with challenging situations

Developing physical health through play

Physical play such as running, skipping and riding a bicycle helps children develop:

good physical fitness

agility

stamina

co-ordination

balance

Developing social skills through play

Playing can help children develop their social skills with others. By listening, paying attention and sharing play experiences, this helps a child:

explore their feelings

develop self-discipline

learn how to express themselves

work out emotional aspects of life

Playful parenting

Through play, parents can connect fully with their children and have fun.

A parent or carer can support and take part in their child's play activities but they shouldn't direct what happens.

It's important they give their children time, freedom and choice to play. If an adult makes all the decisions about how, what and when their child plays, the child won't enjoy their play experiences.

Play and challenge

Children often want to create challenge and uncertainty in their play. Through risky, challenging play, children test themselves and find out their own limits. They learn how to deal with risk through play and can use these same skills later in life.

Parents should encourage their children from birth to extend themselves. Teach them basic skills including:

riding a bicycle

swimming

road safety

Explain that it's important to learn from mistakes, to try again and to believe in themselves. Help them understand their limits and their boundaries. Allow them to have fun in their play.

Play and digital technology

To make sure children have time for unstructured, freely chosen play every day, parents should limit screen time. The younger the child, the less time they should be using digital devices.

Keep certain times and areas in the home technology-free zones such as:

Don't use digital devices to distract your children or keep them quiet. Talk to your children, play games or look at a book together. Join in your children's screen time and talk about their online activity.

Show your children good example by limiting your own screen time.

More useful links

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Playing is a natural and enjoyable way for children to keep active, stay well and be happy. Freely chosen play helps children and young people's healthy development. To have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, they need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they're teenagers.

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Play in Early Childhood: The Role of Play in Any Setting

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Play in Early Childhood: The Role of Play in Any Setting

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Play in Early Childhood: The Role of Play in Any Setting

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How to Promote Cognitive Development: 23 Activities & Games

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How to Promote Cognitive Development: 23 Activities & Games

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How to Promote Cognitive Development: 23 Activities & Games

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Cognitive development activities and games that can help children develop.

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Want preschooler play ideas? Get all you need with articles, videos and resources on indoor and outdoor play, literacy, learning, starting preschool and more.

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Scroll

The videos and resources below illustrate the important role that early childhood providers play in supporting children's cognitive development. By carefully preparing materials and the environment, thoughtfully planning learning experiences, providing scaffolding as needed, and taking advantage of teachable moments, adults can help children develop the skills to understand the world around them and eagerly approach learning opportunities. Some of the concepts covered in these videos include:

Encouraging problem-solving in the classroom

Making planful choices when arranging the classroom environment

The value and importance of play

Using active music and play experiences to support infant and toddler thinking

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videos and resources on supporting young children's cognitive development

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Scroll The videos and resources below illustrate the important role that early childhood providers play in supporting children's cognitive development. By carefully preparing materials and the environment, thoughtfully planning learning experiences, providing scaffolding as needed, and taking advantage of teachable moments, adults can help children develop the skills to understand the world around them and eagerly approach learning opportunities.

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Cognitive development means how children think, explore and figure things out. It is the development of knowledge, skills and dispositions, which help children to think about and understand the world around them. Fostering your child's cognitive development as soon as he/she is born provides the foundation for success in school and later in life.

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A child’s cognitive development is just one part of their holistic development, along with their social, emotional and physical growth. As with all skills, the best way to boost cognitive development in childhood is through play.

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26 Fun Cognitive Games and Activities for Preschoolers

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Boost preschoolers’ cognitive development through play with these fun games & activities. Play I Spy, memory games, Hopscotch, & more. cognitive games for kids

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Supporting Cognitive Development Through Daily Interactions

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Supporting Cognitive Development Through Daily Interactions

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Message in a Backpack™. Asking Questions to Stretch Your Child's Thinking

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Families can support their children's language development and critical thinking by asking big, open-ended questions.

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Play Helps Kids Improve Cognitive Abilities | The Genius of Play

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Play Helps Kids Improve Cognitive Abilities | The Genius of Play

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Play Helps Kids Improve Cognitive Abilities | The Genius of Play

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Cognitive development refers to the change in children's ability to think, reason, and explore. As children grow, they develop cognitive skills to understand their world better.

You can help preschoolers further their cognitive development with activities that improve their pattern recognition, literacy, memorization, and other cognitive skills. These skills are the foundation of the advanced concepts they'll learn in kindergarten, elementary school, and beyond.

Types of cognitive activities for toddlers

Cognitive development activities for pattern recognition

Developing pattern recognition skills helps preschoolers recognize differences between items and make predictions. You can help toddlers build pattern recognition skills with blocks, toy towers, and beads.​
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Polygon pattern blocks

This activity helps children develop their motor skills, differentiate between colors and shapes, and identify and continue patterns.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Create simple patterns with polygon blocks and have the children choose the correct block to complete the pattern. As you build your pattern, say the color and shape of each block, then prompt the child to complete the pattern. For example, you can prompt the child by saying, "G reen triangle, orange square, green triangle " and ask them what comes next.

Snack patterns

This activity helps children develop their hand-eye coordination and motor skills while creating patterns.

At mealtimes, have preschoolers organize small snacks such as pretzels, cereal pieces, goldfish crackers, or fruit into patterns, then have them recite the pattern to you.

Bead threading

This activity helps children develop hand-eye coordination and motor skills, identify colors, and create patterns.

Instruct children to thread beads onto a piece of yarn or string to create necklaces and bracelets. Next, ask them to make patterns with different colors of beads. Once they have completed the pattern, have them recite it while pointing to each bead.

Cognitive development activities for language skills

Developing language skills helps preschoolers communicate emotions, analyze ideas, develop the ability to rationalize, and make sense of the world around them.

You can help toddlers develop their language skills using rhyme scavenger hunts, picture books, and tongue twisters.
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Rhyme scavenger hunt

This activity helps children recognize rhymes and strengthen their problem-solving skills.

A rhyming scavenger hunt asks toddlers to interpret simple prompts to find objects that rhyme. Tell your children a word and ask them to search your classroom for an item that rhymes with the word. For example, if you ask the children to find something that rhymes with "star," they may bring you a toy car.

Picture books

Reading picture books with preschoolers helps them build phonological awareness, learn to use context clues, and increase their vocabulary.

When reading to toddlers, ask them questions that lead them to infer about the story and pictures. Questions like, " How do you think this character feels?" and " What do you think will happen next?" encourage children to use cause-and-effect reasoning skills and draw conclusions.

Tongue twisters

Reciting tongue twisters such as Fuzzy Wuzzy Was A Bear, Peter Piper Picked A Peck of Pickled Peppers, and How Much Wood Could A Woodchuck Chuck? with your toddlers can help them strengthen the muscles in their tongues and improve their pronunciation skills and vocabulary.

Cognitive development activities that improve toddlers' memories

Developing memorization skills helps toddlers remember sight words, understand cause-and-effect, and improve their attention and concentration skills. You can help toddlers improve their memorization skills with memory games and sing-alongs.

Zoo story

This activity helps children recall memorized information and identify animals. For this activity, you'll need a bag and toy zoo animals.

Start the activity by saying, " I went to the zoo, and I saw a..." then, remove a toy animal from the bag and say its name. Next, pass the bag to a child and have them repeat the phrase, " I went to the zoo, and I saw a..." and say the name of the animal you pulled from the bag.

Have the child remove another animal from the bag and add it to the sentence. For example, "I went to the zoo and I saw a penguin and an elephant." Then, continue with the next child (" I went to the zoo, and I saw a penguin, an elephant, and a tiger.") Continue until each child has pulled a toy from the bag and added to the story.

Sing-alongs

Singing repetitive songs and nursery rhymes like The Wheels on the Bus, Old MacDonald, and Where Is Thumbkin? with your preschoolers helps them recognize routines and improves their working memory.

The missing item

This activity helps toddlers identify objects and recall memories.

Place a few small objects on a tray. Name each object with your preschoolers, then ask them about its color, shape, or function. These questions will make the items more memorable.

Cover the tray with a towel, then ask the children to close their eyes. Remove the towel from the tray and have the children reopen their eyes. Ask the children to identify the item that you removed from the tray.

Help your preschoolers develop with these cognitive activities

Cognitive activities help children learn how to think, reason and problem solve as well as develop language skills, creativity and self-expression. Engaging in cognitive tasks also helps build a foundation for future learning experiences by fostering critical thinking skills and developing memory retention abilities. With proper guidance from educators and families, these activities can be beneficial for young children's growth and development both now and into the future.

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Promoting Positive Development With Cognitive Activities for Toddlers

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Try these simple cognitive activities for toddlers to promote pattern recognition, literacy, memorization, and other skills.

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Children love to play because it's fun-but it's also vital to healthy development. During different types of play, children practice key social, cognitive, physical, and emotional skills.

Play activities- like rolling a ball or dressing in a costume-teach kids firsthand about problem-solving, cause and effect, creative thinking, communication, and proprioception (awareness of the body in space). They also encourage the development of fine and gross motor skills. The benefits of play are progressive, meaning that your child's skills will build upon each other.

"Play is how young children make sense of the world," says Lauren Starnes, EdD, a child development expert and chief academic officer for The Goddard School. "It's through play that young children reenact social situations and take on different roles and perspectives." For example, kids might imitate their parents' behaviors and emotions to understand society (don't be surprised if they pretend to cook dinner or argue about household chores!) These lessons also contribute to a greater sense of self.

Keep reading to learn about 11 common types of play for babies, toddlers, and children. Note that each child will develop at their own pace, and there's no right or wrong way to play. Although the stages of play occur linearly, some children will backtrack-and this is usually normal, notes Dr. Starnes.

Lauren Starnes, Ed.D

The Different Stages of Play

Children will participate in many different types of play as they grow. This includes the six stages of play outlined by sociologist Mildred Parten in 1932: unoccupied play, solitary play, onlooker play, parallel play, associative play, and cooperative play.

According to Parten's research, children progress through these six stages before they're 5 years old. Once they master them, they'll try out other types of play that fall into those categories, including competitive play, dramatic play, and more.

As kids progress through the stages of play, you'll know they're advancing physically and cognitively, says Dr. Starnes. They're gaining confidence and knowledge while remaining challenged, which demonstrates evolved thought processes.

Every kid develops at their own pace and may engage in these various of play earlier or later. While the stages of play are progressive, they often occur simultaneously. A child may not leave one type of play behind when they move on to the next one.

Unoccupied Play

Newborns from 1 to 3 months old will participate in unoccupied play. Think of it as their first attempt to learn about the world. They'll observe their surroundings and make random body movements out of curiosity. Unoccupied play might not actually look like playing, but it sets the stage for future development.

How to Encourage It: Though newborns will engage in unoccupied play by themselves, it doesn't hurt to encourage exploration. You could lie them on a playmat, for example, or show them colorful pictures. Interaction with caregivers helps babies gain awareness about their new life.

Independent Play / Solitary Play

From birth to around 2 years old, children don't pay much attention to playmates in social settings. They'd rather keep themselves entertained through independent play. By engaging in solo play, kids learn about their surroundings, build confidence and independence, practice creativity, experience cause and effect, and fine-tune their motor skills.

How to Encourage It: Young kids can entertain themselves with a wide range of objects, such as push toys, drawing tools, stuffed animals, books, musical instruments, and more. Give your child freedom to play however they wish-and remember that creativity is important for development! Note that some preschoolers and older children may still prefer independent play, depending on their personality and interests.

Symbolic Play

Around 18 months, toddlers may experiment with symbolic play, using one object to represent another. For instance, they may use a marker as a cell phone or pretend a ball is an apple. They may also start to engage in one or two simple acts of pretend play, like stirring a pot on the stove in a play kitchen or pretending to drink from a teacup.

How to Encourage It: When playing with your toddler, use different objects to represent common items. For instance, if playing with their farm animals, have the hens lay eggs but use small blocks as the eggs. Or if you're playing alongside them in their toy kitchen, use other toys to represent the food, like a green brick for celery or a yellow brick for a banana. As your child observes you, this will spark their creativity to use other toys and objects as symbols in their play, too.

Onlooker Play

Around 2 years old, toddlers engage in onlooker play. This involves watching others playing but not participating themselves. Parents might be quick to discount the benefits of onlooker play, but experts say it helps kids gain the confidence needed to join the fun. They'll learn how to play and interact with others.

How to Encourage It: Because onlooker play is inactive, it's easy to incorporate into your daily life. Let your toddler watch you complete interesting tasks like solving a puzzle or playing piano. Even better if they could observe older siblings around the house or neighborhood children at the park!

Parallel Play

Have you ever noticed a group of toddlers playing side-by-side but not together? They're engaging in parallel play. Kids might use the same toys and mimic each other, but they won't directly interact with their peers. Parallel play is common in those ages 2 to 3. It indicates they're almost (though not quite) ready to connect with others, and they're on their way toward social interaction.

How to Encourage It: Provide toys and activities for children to engage in parallel play; toddlers usually enjoy things like stuffed animals, blocks, sticker books, sandboxes, and play dough. You might offer multiple of the same toys to prevent tantrums (toddlers don't like to share!) and demonstrate how to use the items. Encourage kids to play near each other, but don't force them to interact. They'll still learn valuable lessons about cooperation and socialization.

Associative Play

Around ages 3 or 4, children become more interested in the actions of others. They'll begin engaging with their peers while playing, but they'll still do things mainly on their own. For example, kids might draw on the same paper without commenting on each other's designs Or they might exchange clothes while playing dress-up. Because kids won't be working toward a shared goal, there's little organization involved with associative play. This type of play helps with social skills, cooperation, language, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.

How to Encourage It: To promote associative play, your child should regularly be in a social setting with peers (like daycare, preschool, playdates, etc.). "Other children help spark wonder and curiosity," says Dr. Starnes. Make sure the kids have plenty of toys and activities that interest them.

Cooperative Play

This is when children finally start playing with others! Kids first participate in cooperative play around 4 or 5 years old. It lets them practice skills they've gained through other stages of play, such as verbal communication, teamwork, and sharing. They'll also learn new skills like kindness, empathy, and compromise. Through cooperative play, kids work toward a common goal, whether it's building a block tower together or playing duck-duck-goose. It's essential for social and emotional development.

How to Encourage It: Show your child examples of cooperative play in daily life. Maybe it's trying a family game that involves taking turns or planting the garden together. You can also encourage activities that require cooperation, such as raking leaves, building a fort, or organizing toys.

Dramatic or Fantasy Play

Dramatic play focuses on your child's most impressive tool: their imagination. Any type of fantastical activity falls into this category, such as dress-up, pretend house, or make-believing you work at a restaurant. "They're trying out behaviors to mimic what they see in the real world," like holding conversation and cooperating with others, says Dr. Starnes.

How to Encourage It: Dramatic play is easier with the appropriate props! Give children costumes, accessories, and other items that fit their role-play games. For example, stuffed animals can double as students in their fantasy classroom, while plastic dinnerware makes their pretend restaurant more realistic.

Competitive Play

As its name suggests, competitive play consists of organized activities with rules and winners. Some examples are family board games and sports. Not only do children learn about teamwork through competitive play, but they also gain experience with taking turns, following rules, and coping with failure-all important lessons for navigating society.

How to Encourage It: Very young kids can participate in friendly competitions (like racing in the backyard), but competitive play mostly happens in elementary school. To encourage it, host family game nights or enroll your child in sports. As your child becomes familiar with the activities, you might notice their resilience and confidence growing!

Physical Play

Physical play involves body movement, but not necessarily in a competitive setting. Some examples are playing tag, throwing a frisbee, dancing to music, and riding scooters. Physical play can develop fine and gross motor skills in children. It also helps with balance, hand-eye coordination, muscle development, and more.

How to Encourage It: Don't be afraid to let your kids get active! They build strong and healthy bodies through regular physical activity. If you notice the play is becoming too violent, you can redirect it, suggests Dr. Starnes.

Constructive Play

Through constructive play, children create something with materials in an organized way (think building with Legos or making a sandcastle). They're relying on their ideas to navigate the world around them. Constructive play teaches about persistence, planning, creativity, and logical thinking. Kids also get real-world experience with scientific and mathematical concepts, which often fuels their natural curiosity.

How to Encourage It: Constructive play is very hands-on. Provide materials that can be used for construction, like wood, sand, craft supplies, train tracks, Legos, etc. You can also guide their curiosity: Can they build a bridge for their race cars? What about a tunnel from recycled materials?

Key Takeaway

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As your child ages, they'll participate in many different types of play. Here's how each contributes to their growth and development.

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What is play and why is it important for learning?

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What is play and why is it important for learning?

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What is play?

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What is play?

Play is multi-faceted, complex and dynamic, eluding easy definition. It is usually felt to be a universal activity and children are often portrayed as having an inherent desire and capacity to play.

Play has been defined as an activity that is:

characterised by engagement and engagement, with high levels of involvement, engrossment and intrinsic motivation

imaginative, creative, and non-literal

voluntary or freely chosen, personally directed (often child-initiated) and free from externally imposed rules

fluid and active but also guided by mental rules and high levels of metacognition and metacommunication (communication about communication) which give it structure

process-driven rather than product-driven, with no extrinsic goals

Play can take different forms, with common categories that can and do overlap within an given episode of play. These include exploratory play with objects, physical play, pretend, fantasy or dramatic play, games and puzzles and other play involving explicit rules, constructive play (including artistic and musical play), language play (play with words and other features of language such as rhyme) and outdoor play.

Play can also be categorised in relation to the relative amount of power and control afforded to the players:

Free or 'pure' play: Children have all the control, and adults are passive observers

Guided play: Teacher-child collaboration, with the child's interests foregrounded

Playful teaching: The teacher is in charge

These three kinds of play are associated with different outcomes and are relevant to teachers in determining the kinds of play, or combinations of kinds of play, to offer within school and early childhood settings.

What is free play?

Free play is child-initiated and child-directed. Children choose their activities and focus, enabling unconstrained freedom of expression and open-ended interactions with their environment. Play is initiated, sustained and developed by children, free of adult influence, although this does mean that it focuses on ideas, content and language that are already familiar and known to children. Some researchers question the extent to which free play is truly free, as children's choices about what, how, where and with whom to play may be influenced by the play environment and its associated rules and boundaries (which are controlled by adults), and the choices of others about what to play. Gender, ethnicity, social class and disability may also affect their patterns of participation.

What is guided play?

Guided play (also called 'scaffolded play' or 'mutually directed' play) is child-centred and goal-directed. Guided play invites children's active engagement, free exploration and direction of play, but also has clear learning goals so that play behaviours are limited in useful ways and distraction is reduced. Children's initiatives, reflections, choices, and creativity are important as a context for teachers to extend children's knowledge, understanding and skills. They allow teachers to naturally integrate desired learning outcomes with children's play and infuse play with new and unfamiliar content and ideas. Teachers are sensitive and responsive to children's interests and interactions while maintaining a focus on learning goals through deliberate, purposeful, and intentional teaching strategies. These might include commenting on discoveries, offering feedback, demonstrating use of equipment, reinforcing specific vocabulary or helping the child explore new strategies for problem-solving, within the context of the activities that children are constructing.

Teachers also initiate and co-construct play with children. They might design a learning activity that incorporates a child's specific interest, or choose themes and contexts for dramatic play that is based on children's interests or significant events and links to specific learning objectives. Teachers and children collaboratively design the context of the play, including the theme and its resources, and then children develop their play within the rules and actions of that context.

What is teacher-directed play?

Teacher-directed play involves teacher-determined activities, outcomes and modes of engagement. Teachers use a playful, engaging manner to develop children's academic skills and knowledge, focusing on playful learning processes, fun and enjoyment, and the use and development of children's creativity to invite children's active engagement. However, unlike free and guided play, teachers retain tight control over what occurs, outlining specific rules of play for children to follow, specifying how children are expected to engage in the activities, and generally structuring activities within a given time frame to ensure specific learning outcomes.

The development of play

During early childhood, children's play becomes increasingly complex, involving high levels of organisation and requiring increasingly sophisticated social, physical and cognitive skills. Although all children engage in a range of different play types, some are more prevalent at different ages. Infants and toddlers engage in exploratory and social play (such as 'peek-a-boo'). Exploration precedes play, and is a time of gathering information and discovering the properties and attributes of an object, situation or idea. Toddlers develop 'functional play' involving the repetition of particular physical actions and early pretend play.

With the development of imagination, older children engage in constructive play, pretend play and language play. They demonstrate increasing problem-solving skills, language, and collaboration, and show increased attention to processes, structures, and outcomes. They are highly intentional in their activity, and better able to combine and use materials in more complex ways. Sociodramatic play, involving cooperation and the coordination of play between two or more children, usually begins when children are 4 or 5 years old, and is cognitively demanding as children simultaneously hold in mind what they have negotiated for their role and character, the other children's characters and what has been agreed as the plot, as well as what different objects represent.

Does play lead to effective learning?

Research into the effectiveness of play for supporting children's learning is complex, given contrasting definitions and conceptualisations of play and its different types, the overlap between play types, and outside influences on play such as the environment or structuring and involvement of adults. Play is a complex activity with many integrated dimensions that each have a potential impact on children's outcomes, making it difficult to separate out play as an influence on learning. Play may include particular kinds of adult interactions, or engage children in specific content, and it may be these features of children's play that are responsible for learning gains, rather than play itself.

The current research does not make it possible to determine whether play is crucial to development, whether it is merely one way to promote development alongside others which may work as well or even better, or whether play is a byproduct of other capacities that are the actual source of children's learning and development, such as social intelligence or language skill. Many studies of the impact of play on learning are found to have methodological weaknesses and there is a lack of replication of findings between studies that have small and relatively homogeneous samples. Some of the research findings directly conflict each other, and lead to opposing recommendations for practice.

However, much of the research concludes that play is a powerful learning mode and central to children's learning. Play integrates children's experiences, knowledge and representations in order to help them create meaning and sense and to understand the world. Pretending requires children to think of things that are not actually present, a skill required in many learning and life situations. The impact of play is multifaceted, supporting cognitive, emotional, social and physical development including:

Benefits for well-being, including higher self-efficacy, higher expectations for one's success, intrinsic motivation, and positive attitudes towards the early childhood setting or school.

Academic/cognitive benefits: play supports exploratory skills and discovery, the use of abstract thought and symbols, communication and oral language skills, verbal intelligence, imagination and creativity, and reading, writing and mathematics. Play also encourages important learning dispositions, engagement and participation and the integration of different cognitive processes. Play develops self-regulatory executive function skills (such as controlling attention, suppressing impulses, flexibly redirecting thought and behaviour, and holding and using information in working memory), metacognitive skills and problem-solving.

Social and emotional benefits including social skills such as making friends, empathy, expressing emotion, and conflict resolution. Play can also build resilience.

Physical benefits in terms of the development of large and small body muscles and motor skills, while the physicality of play is associated with improved cognitive function, behavioural and cognitive control, and academic achievement.

Is one kind of play pedagogy more clearly linked to positive outcomes?

Both free play and more guided and directed approaches are found to foster achievement. In general, research that focuses on developmental outcomes finds free play significant, whereas research that focuses on academic outcomes finds guided and teacher-directed play more effective. However, some research comparing play-based approaches finds no significant difference in children's learning through free play, guided play and teacher-directed play.

Free play has been found to support a number of more general learning outcomes. It supports:

socioemotional development, particularly self-regulation, and social skills

creativity and imagination

problem-solving and persistence

engagement in literacy activities (where literacy materials are embedded in play scenarios and environments)

general cognitive development (through activities such as planning, problem-solving and comprehension)

Free play may be less useful for learning content, developing key concepts, or for supporting children to focus on important dimensions of new learning. Free play can vary in quality, lack challenge and limit learning opportunities. The research suggests that free play, while still important for a range of less measurable outcomes, is best complemented by high quality scaffolded and guided play in which teachers are involved.

Research indicates that guided discovery approaches are more effective than free or unassisted play for supporting more specific learning outcomes. Guided play is found to

better support science learning, and language, literacy and mathematics outcomes

improve vocabulary and support greater engagement in social interactions

foster literacy and mathematics skills and general learning of content

support higher levels of creative and flexible exploration and more effective problem-solving

improve self-regulation skills such as inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility

Teacher-directed play in the form of carefully designed and challenging activities that include free choice, practical and intrinsically motivating tasks, and peer interactions is consistently associated with positive outcomes. Research reports that teacher-directed play:

supports literacy skills, mathematics and general academic learning

improves children's mathematical learning gains (with greater gains for children learning through card and board games than children experiencing more formal training)

increases children's affect and engagement through the addition of a play component to learning experiences

Overall, child-centred and playful learning approaches are more likely to foster academic improvements that are sustained than traditional, formal approaches, but some research finds that children are more likely to learn content in teacher-led contexts. It is important to consider the information and skills to be learned when determining the most effective approach for learning through play.

A note of caution: Critical views on the use of play pedagogies

While there is much rhetoric around the importance of play for young children's learning, in these discourses play can sometimes be romanticised, while descriptions of play in curriculum documents can be reductive and fail to acknowledge the complexity of children's play experiences.

Some researchers critique the elevated status of play as a pedagogy for learning. They argue that:

Learning can be supported in diverse ways, and play need not form the only catalyst for learning. Play is a cultural phenomena that is highly dependent on adult mediation and engagement. Where adults encourage pretending and other playful forms, children engage in these behaviours, but in other contexts where pretending and play are not encouraged, children learn in other ways, such as through real life tasks, storytelling, and organised games.

Children's play repertoires and experiences vary, and richly resourced, free play environments that reflect Western perspectives on play may not resonate with culturally diverse families. Children may be disadvantaged by approaches that emphasise independence, self management and free choice if these are inconsistent with home expectations, or if they have limited prior experience of play themes or the complex social processes required.

Children may not be able to express their interests and needs through play activities. The freedom to choose may offer some children an advantage over others.

Play is not value-neutral. Because of the unequal power relations between teachers and children, play can never be 'free'. The use of play as pedagogy for the early years privileges particular (Western) constructs about children and ways of learning, in terms of ideas about appropriate play, which are then used to regulate children's behaviour. In these ways play reinforces children's positioning within social hierarchies including those of gender and race.

Play can be cruel, involving teasing, pranks and playing tricks. It can also be characterised by self-interest, and exploitation and manipulation of situations, which is another way in which some children can experience loss of agency.

Further Reading

Gray, P. (2017). What exactly is play, and why is it such a powerful vehicle for learning? Top Language Disorders, 37(3), 217-228.

Hirsch-Pasek, K. & Golinkoff, R. M. (2008). Why play = learning. In R.E. Tremblay, M. Boivin, & R.D. Peters (Eds), Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Development. Quebec, Canada: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development and Strategic Knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Hirsh-Pasek-GolinkoffANGxp.pdf.

Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K. & Golinkoff, R. M. (2013). Guided play: Where curricular goals meet a playful pedagogy. Mind, Brain and Education 7(2), 104-112.

White, J., O'Malley, A., Toso, M., Rockel, J., Stover, S., & Ellis, F. (2007). A contemporary glimpse of play and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Journal of Early Childhood, 39(1), 93-105.

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What is play and why is it important for learning? - THE EDUCATION HUB

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An overview of the research on the importance of play for learning and development.

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Simple music and movement activity

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Activities to promote preschool cognitive development.

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Activities to promote preschool cognitive development

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Find examples of activities to build cognitive skills for preschool students to help toddlers and infants with their development.

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Research studies show that all students―young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural―benefit immensely from classrooms filled with art, creativity, and laughter. Fun, playfulness, creative thinking, and individual expression reinforce positive experiences, which in turn lead to more engaged students, better classroom environments, and successful learning outcomes. Designed for K-12 educators, The Playful Classroom describes how teachers can develop a playful mindset for giving students meaningful, relevant and fun learning experiences. This unique real-world guide provides you with everything you need to incorporate engaging, hands-on lessons and creative activities, regardless of the level and subject you teach.

Building on contemporary and seminal works on learning theory and play pedagogy, the authors explain how to inspire your students by bringing play. into your classroom. This clear, user-friendly guide supplies practical strategies and effective solutions for adding the missing ingredients to your classroom culture. Access to the authors' companion website provides videos, learning experiences, and downloadable teaching and learning resources. Packed with relatable humor, proven methods, and valuable insights, this book enables you to:

Provide meaningful experiences that will benefit students both in school and later in life

Combine the principles of PLAY with traditional curricula to encourage creative learning

Promote trust, collaboration, and growth in students

Develop a playful mindset for bringing the arts into every lesson

Foster critical thinking in any school community

The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for All Ages is a must-have resource for K-12 educators, higher education professionals, and readers looking for education-based professional development and training resources.

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The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for All Ages

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The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for All Ages [Dearybury, Jed, Jones, Julie P.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Playful Classroom: The Power of Play for All Ages

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Play is an important part of children's learning and development. Find articles on how to intentionally connect play and learning, ideas to share with families, and the latest research about learning and play.

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Play is an important part of children's learning and development. Find articles on how to intentionally connect play and learning, ideas to share with families, and the latest research about learning and play.

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The Power of Playful Learning in the Early Childhood Setting

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The Power of Playful Learning in the Early Childhood Setting

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Playful Learning: A Powerful Teaching Tool

Despite its efficacy in supporting learning, play in early childhood settings has often suffered a bad reputation.

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The Power of Playful Learning in the Early Childhood Setting

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This excerpt from Developmentally Appropriate Practice illustrates the ways in which play and learning mutually support one another and how teachers connect learning goals to children's play.

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Find research-based resources, tips and ideas for families—from child development to reading, writing, music, math, and more!

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Find research-based resources, tips and ideas for families-from child development to reading, writing, music, math, and more!