Learning Through Play!

What exactly does “learning through play” mean, and why is it important for young children?

Learning through play is exactly what it sounds like, when children are free to play either alone or with their peers, there is a variety of skills that they are able to acquire which will set them up for lifelong success. That is why at Alliance, we believe in a play philosophy, that gives children the opportunity for independent play often and for significant amounts of time. This doesn’t mean that teachers are not engaged with the children, in fact often they are helping with prompts to extend a child’s knowledge or creativity. It does mean though, that not every moment of the child’s day while at childcare, is pre-planned and fully coordinated by an adult. Teachers are able to play with children without intervention, allowing the children to use their creativity and imagination to create scenarios on their own and see what happens, and learn as they play.

What do children learn through this independent play or play with their friends?  SO many things!  Children learn communication and negotiation skills, self-regulation, patience, cooperation, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive skills.  They learn to take turns, ask questions, be curious and explore. They learn and build self-confidence and learn how to effectively express themselves and their own emotions. They learn problem solving and strategic thinking skills. They build and develop their imaginations, curiosity, and creativity. They learn to take risks, and how to handle rejection. They learn to develop empathy and so many other things! In short, play is the way that children learn to be effective, talented, and competent learners. What we can do as adults and teachers, is provide ample opportunity for them to practice play. Sit back and watch sometime and you can just see all these skills developing as children explore the world around them. Their imaginations will blow you away!