Why I Don't Like Play Based Learning
Homeschooling / Unschooling

Why I Don’t Like Play Based Learning

afflinkWhy I Don't Like Play Based Learning

The term ‘play based learning’ now evokes in me a much different feeling than it once did. Something like nails on a chalkboard perhaps? Not because I don’t believe in children learning through play, no. But because it appears that the term has been hijacked.

Most times that I scroll through my facebook feed I am confronted with countless new, ‘fun’, ‘amazing’ ideas of what people are calling ‘play based learning’. But I fear we have become a little confused. With the push for kids to be learning more and more at even younger ages, and more real play time being sacrificed in the pursuit of ‘keeping up’ or ‘getting ahead’, it infuriates me to see people calling clearly adult directed activities ‘play’. Why? Because play, real play, is IMPORTANT. I’m not sure how many times we have to say this. Study after study after study has confirmed it. And when we start twisting the word play to mean something adult led, then we lose our understanding of what children truly need. We stop advocating for play because we’re told schools are doing ‘play based learning’ now. And that’s what kids need right? Well, that obviously depends on your definition.

Why I Don't Like Play Based Learning

The other day I came across one of these activities, purportedly mixing ‘play’ with learning. A set of cards with actions on them to do while you read. The child picks one like ‘stomp your feet’ or ‘clap your hands’ and does the action while reading. People were loving it! They commented about how ‘fun’ it was for the kids. How great it was to combine play with learning! And of course about how it was a great idea for ‘play based learning’.

Let me unequivocally say, this is not play based learning.

Play is not something you do to a child.

If you have an agenda, if you are requiring them to do it, if you have to make it ‘fun’ to get them to comply, if they are not free to stop at any time, then it is not play.

Why I Don't Like Play Based Learning

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” -Kay Redfield Jamison

What is play?

Play is self-chosen. Children were born to play. They love to play. They will play all day if they’re allowed. If you have to coax them into doing something, then it’s not play. Play never feels like work or an obligation.

Play is enjoyable. Play is fun! Play has no agenda. Play is not for the purpose of meeting adult goals.

Play is inherently valuable. All play is learning. No matter what it is. Whether you can clearly see the skills being mastered or not. There is no hierarchy of play.

Play is unstructured. In play, children make the rules. They decide how long they play for and what direction their play takes.

Why I Don't Like Play Based Learning

“Perhaps play would be more respected if we called it something like “self-motivated practice of life skills,” but that would remove the lightheartedness from it and thereby reduce its effectiveness. So, we are stuck with the paradox. We must accept play’s triviality in order to realize its profundity.”

– Peter Gray, Free to Learn

It seems we have rightly latched onto the idea that play based learning is what is best for children. But, instead of recognising the obvious value in free unstructured play, we have twisted it into a way to get children to learn what we want them to learn. Instead of making more time for play, we’re defeating it’s purpose by pushing adult agendas and requirements. Need 5 year olds to learn their letters? Make a ‘fun’ playful activity and call it ‘play based learning’. But that’s not how it works. We do such a disservice to children by trying to use their natural inclinations for self-education against them, as a way to get them to conform to what we want them to do.

I’m not saying don’t play with your kids, don’t make suggestions, or don’t set up things for them to explore. But, be mindful of your agenda. Children should feel free to play and use what is available however they like, with no expectations. Maybe Johnny paints a picture of a flower with the paints you left out for him. Maybe he experiments with mixing colours. Or maybe he just wants to squirt the paint in his belly button. It doesn’t matter, because it’s his choice. He is learning through play, and that is always surprising and beautiful to watch.

Why I Don't Like Play Based Learning

I believe so strongly in the value of free unstructured play for children. This is where true learning is found! Let’s stop confusing the meaning of play based learning. Let’s leave play to the experts, children. It is not ours to control or influence.

Play is not something you do to a child.

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Comments

Linda
March 20, 2016 at 5:55 pm

Yes yes and yes! It’s funny though, because when I tell people my kids learn by playing all day, they dismiss what we do as ” neglect ” yet I see so many posts on how they are making their ” learning playful ” all the time….( to me it sounds anything but!)

And by the way, I have two who would be totally squirting that paint in their belly buttons hahahahaha



March 20, 2016 at 8:45 pm

I really like this. Thank you for the wake up call.



Minette
March 20, 2016 at 8:55 pm

I just love this post! Ive always disliked the term play based learning because it felt to me that I am still making sure that what they “need” to knoe at their age is being disguised with cute little eggs to match up or matching colours cards with the balls in the bag. And I will be honest Ive set up those activities before just for them to be “played” with once, the one time I show them what to do!!!! So Ive left those activities, instead I here them catch animals, and hear being injected with venom cause thats what they learnt from watching Steve Irwin today!
Thank you for finally saying that play based learning is just hidden agenda presented all colourful!



Amanda M.
March 20, 2016 at 9:48 pm

I am sitting here reading this with my 4 year old on my lap. I love and whole-heartedly agree with you! It drives me batty when I see those posts and articles and I can never convey that is a thoughtful way! My daughter would also like to know, what is that last photo? “Are they doing an experiment? The colors are really mixing with the clear liquid! Maybe we should do that!” I love unschooling! I see the advantages everyday!



    March 21, 2016 at 8:14 am

    Yes, she is doing an experiment! There she was colouring the water with food colouring. Then she added some yeast to see what would happen. She had cold water, warm water, and hot water to see if temperature would make a difference. I won’t tell you what happened because you might like to find out for yourself! If you do, be sure to share a photo with me! xx



      March 21, 2016 at 10:33 am

      This reminds me of a related pet peeve: I hate the overuse of the word “experiment.” They’re all over pinterest, too: science “experiments” for your kids to do. As in “do this, just like this, and this will happen.” That’s not an experiment, it’s following directions. Yours sounds like a true experiment. And play. (Isn’t it all the same thing?)



March 20, 2016 at 10:15 pm

This is really inspirational. I love play based learning and totally agree with your philosophy here.





Julie
March 20, 2016 at 11:39 pm

Language have to ask ourselves why is the language changing is it yet again adults ,adults leading the way ,adults get lost in the language .
As we as we add a adult logic an adult language I think we loose somthing of the innocents of play natural play exploration discovery wonder as educators I see them getting lost in the language trying to keep up I feel it drags us away



Jessica
March 20, 2016 at 11:54 pm

Amen! Thank you for writing this! I feel like I unsuccessfully try to convey this message to friends of mine all the time. The friend who wonders why their child isn’t having fun in preschool, where “playtime” means rotating from station to station every 15 minutes to complete structured (but FUN! 🙂 learning activities. “But it’s so fun,” they say, “they just get to play all day.” Not quite!! Or the friend who wonders why their elementary school child is struggling when they “get” to spend their afternoons having so much “fun” at soccer class or science club or gymnastics. “That’s all play, right?” WRONG! Or the teacher I recently argued with over the value of homework, her saying that a good teacher provide “meaningful and relevant” activities for the students to do for homework, so it’s important to have (“meaningful learning” is what the term “play based” becomes as they get older). UGH! I’m even hard pressed to find homeschool families in my area who will just get together to play with us! A “fun and educational” field trip to the museum, maybe, but to meet at the park at ten in the morning to just play? Sorry but that get’s in the way of learning time. Anyway, sorry for the rant! 🙂 Thanks for another great post!



    March 21, 2016 at 8:17 am

    Ugh! It’s so frustrating. Sometimes I wonder if anyone gets it. But I am happy to see some do!



      evitabanana
      August 8, 2017 at 7:47 pm

      I love the article and it is such an important message. But is structured learning so bad? I have a four year old who has been at home so far and has an awesome life of free play, with me, by himself, with other kiddies. He’s asking to go to school now! We went to visit a pre-school last week and he loved it. The owner/teacher explained that they are very child-led (as child led as it goes in a pre school i suppose) and do not force them into a routine, say if my son got engrossed in play with another kid and were having a blast, she wouldn’t dream of breaking that to get him into the next activity, so they seemed loving and flexible. I worry about the issues you describe in the article, but 1) do I not follow his lead and say he can’t go to school, i’m not going to do that and 2) i’d love to start working part-time again and in this silly world we can’t bring our children to work with us, so have to leave them somewhere, and also more philosophically, how do you get rid of school without having fifty percent of adults at home with their children, the economy would collapse, certainly there might be something we can do to bridge the gaps, have free schools based on collaborative learning, or something like that? It my belief that children are driven to learn by themselves through play but also from their elders and that they would take a great deal of satisfaction to be involved in meaningful projects led by adults, school could provide that too right in some way? I’m so torn right now but cannot ignore his desire to start school!!



        Poobum
        February 25, 2018 at 7:44 pm

        These are thoughts I have too sometimes! I think democratic schools are a pretty good middle ground.. then you could unschool and use the school as another resource



Bee
March 21, 2016 at 12:03 am

I am SO WITH YOU on this! I mean, I’m with you on most things, but if your blog were a book this is the section I would underline 500 times ;).

My 2,5 year-old niece is in preschool (in the US) and she’s already learning her ABC’s and memorizing the months of the year. She’s not even three yet! It worries me so much that she’s pushed to learn at such an early age, when really she should just run around playing. To be fair, she does like to engage in imaginative play, too. But if she already has to learn and memorize things at age 2, for how long will she be able to enjoy this “much” free play time? Ah, it drives me crazy.

Also, I noticed a lot of kids’ picture books and story books are meant to be didactic (in the US at least…not so much in Europe, where I’m from). If a child is interested in, say, animals and picks a book about animals, then of course there’s no problem there. But if every. single. book. you read has some kind of moral or “teaching moment,” then I’m afraid kids get the message that books are for learning only, not for fun :(. So sad.

Anyway, I was happy to read this…I think when you say “play has no agenda,” that really sums it up.



Maria
March 21, 2016 at 2:04 am

Thank you for putting into words my thoughts exactly. I work as an early childhood educator in kindergarten where our board has embraced “play-based learning”. This has become a term for teacher-directed, agenda-driven learning centers disguised as fun, playful games. This is not real play. We are robbing our children of meaningful learning that comes from rich, deep, child-led play.



marisol ruelas
March 21, 2016 at 2:13 am

I agree that play is not something you do to a child. Play should be everything you stated and even more. But, for many play has to be taught. Based on research play is usually learned/molded through older siblings, peers and adults. Adults mainly teachers have taken on the role of teaching children how to play due to the many changes in technology, parents working, not having a safe environment to explore and play. So as a result adults such as teachers need to create these play based learning opportunities for children. Certain vital skills which they would of developed playing with their siblings such as problem solving, sharing, language etc. Teachers/other adults are now having to do teach those concepts. Also, it’s a great time to create these play based learning opportunities to scaffold new skills that they may need support in, language, vocabulary, second language support, or behavioral problems. I think play is the best way to teach.



    JT1962
    March 21, 2016 at 5:15 am

    Play isn’t taught. It’s doing what a child wants to do, be it chasing a bug outside in the summer, stripping the petals off a daisy, running around in the yard with the dog, rolling down a hill like a log, or just sitting and staring into space. Go outside with your child and see where they go first. Let them decide what to do. It’s time to let them use their imagination. Turn off the tv and computer and let them use their brains. I have a grandnephew who will be one in late May. I can’t wait to have some time with him this summer, to let him go outside and discover all the cool things that nature has in our own backyard.



      March 21, 2016 at 8:20 am

      I can’t agree that play needs to be taught either.



        sara
        March 26, 2016 at 1:12 am

        You don’t teach children to play because it is natural, but what teachers are trying to do is to teach in fun ways that play is involved instead of being at a structure classroom. The problem is not teachers using the play method to teach, the problems that unfortunately want little genius, otherwise would not be so much demanding on those preschools to have a child reading before kinder.



        Marisol Ruelas
        March 26, 2016 at 3:21 am

        Children learn certain skills through play. Let’s take pro-social skills such as sharing, turn taking, etc. Without play children would not be able to learn these skills. These skills are learned in social settings and play is usually done in a social setting with others siblings, teachers, parents and other adults. When children are not having these types of learning experiences which play offers then an adult, caregiver and or teacher can facilitate these experiences through their play. If I child is having a challenging time communicating her/his needs with other children during a play experience (asking for a toy) an adult can facilitate the needed skills to have a successful play experience. The strategies which a teacher/adult uses to foster these skills should honor their play. Such as being non-intrusive, respectful, engaging and meaningful so that children can continue on with their play. As mentioned by JT a nature walk is great. Children naturally wonder about the world. As an adult I facilitated that nature walk based on their own interest. That’s why it’s so important to get to know your children first. See what they are interested in and also know what they are struggling with. So when I go out in that nature walk I am prepared to offer a learning experience which allows for explorations and engagement that is unique to every child.



      Mary
      March 21, 2016 at 2:13 pm

      I’m just going to be the crazy one here but how are you supposed to do all this stuff if you live somewhere where both parents have to work full-time and there isn’t a whole lot of time between 6pm and bedtime to let little Johnny or Susie wander and roam free to do whatever comes to them. Naturally they have to go to a preschool or child care center where often the ratio is going to be something like 1 teacher for 12 kids for four year olds. And unfortunately, with that ratio, no, Johnny can’t use the paint you left out for him to paint his belly button. Other kids need the paint and you can’t take a teacher away from the classroom and the other eleven kids to go clean belly buttons all day, lest he still have paint on his belly button and the parents raise their eye brows with their concern you’re neglecting to pay enough attention to little Johnny. While all of this sounds nice, I think we should think hard about the accessibility of these suggestions, and if the reality is that true “play” is only limited to a small group of children of a certain economic status in this country due to the circumstance of their birth – then that fact is the far bigger fish to fry. At some point it has to stop being “what is best for my child?” And become “what is best for all children” and recognize the structures in place that prevent play from being a reality for so many children (increased cost of living and stagnant wages, lack of paid maternity leave, No Child Left Behind, excessive testing in public schools, excessive need for constant teacher evaluations and assessments, pressure from parents for their child to keep up with the Jones’, etc)



        Kristi
        March 22, 2016 at 2:07 am

        This is an interesting line of thinking. I agree that play is important and that children learn best through creative use of space and materials. I also agree that some children get to “play” learn more than others. However even in the most economically distressed families, even in war torn countries, and refuge camps, even in the darkest slums of America children play anyway. Yes there are studies of this, but I almost think that children in “poor” working families have more free play than those of affluent children. Often affluent children are shuttled from one practice or game to another, by an exhausted mom who thinks she is doing the best for her child. The good news is that children play anyway. They pretend as they do chores, play among the rubish of their homeland, imagine so thing different as they shuttle from game to practice. Children don’t need to learn to play, adults do.
        Thank you so much for this post. May I share it with my teachers, I’m an education, disability, mental health manager and teach teachers?
        Kristi



          Mary
          March 22, 2016 at 2:25 am

          Yes, of corse. And I think you’re right that less affluent children have more unsupervised play because mom is literally too busy to interfere. I recently
          moved from teaching at a private preschool to teaching kindergarten at a public school and the lack of time for any play is so alarming. They spend 7:30-3pm with every moment structured, every second something expected of them and not allowed to speak to their friends aside from 15 minutes for lunch and a paltry 15 minutes for recess. If that’s followed up by after-school care, who know what that entails? I worked in after-school care for years before becoming a teacher and it was frequently requested that we spend more time doing structured activities, arts and crafts, an organized game, etc. Otherwise our supervisors and parents would reprimand us for doing “nothing.” I think that’s what happened in schools, it’s a war not only against our children but against the teachers. Lawmakers constantly want data in order to assess and evaluate our teachers. Play doesn’t create data, so they want tangible numbers and play goes out the window because those in authority positions don’t trust the teachers to know what is best for the children and the teachers stop trusting the children to know what’s best for them.





        Bri Petlock
        March 22, 2016 at 11:23 am

        I understand what you are saying, however even in a preschool program with twelve children to one teacher it can be done. I know this because I am a preschool teacher and this is our licensing ratio. We allow the children to use the paint in (most) anyway that they want except for maybe painting on things like furniture. If they discover that they like to paint their bellybutton then they paint their bellybutton and it becomes a learning experience (painting ourselves is messy maybe we should paint on paper). Our philosophy is that if you let them explore it once or twice they probably won’t do it again. Every experience that a young child has is an opportunity for learning. Unstructured play is really important for so many reasons. For instance, they learn to communicate and cooperate with other children; they make decisions on their own and begin to establish problem solving skills; they discover how to build things and which structures work best and so much more. It is very important for them because it helps to develop critical thinking skills; social skills; language; literacy; math and the list goes on. Teachers should just be there as a support and guide. We are not to take over the play but scaffold their development by making suggestions, asking open ended questions and providing materials to help them understand things better. Without this unstructured play they lose out on so much! Any preschool program that a child attends should promote this type of play pretty enthusiastically.



          Kimmer Ball
          April 21, 2016 at 11:13 am

          I am very impressed with the article and now even more, the comments. I am a Pre K Coach in a large school district. I have been a preschool teacher for many years. This concept is so challenging to convey, much less practice. I truly hope my colleagues all read these comments so they can see that they are not alone and that the professional development that they have received and are implementing is valuable and supported by their peers. I’m not even half way through these comments! Bedtime reading for a while. 🙂



        Rebecca Burgess
        March 22, 2016 at 5:18 pm

        These are my thoughts exactly. When the reality is often day care and preschool which by deed of sheer numbers, and pressures from both parents and administration to perform to certain expectations.



        Jessica
        March 24, 2016 at 10:14 am

        This is why it is so important to look for quality childcare programs. A 1:12 ratio wouldn’t even pass licensing standards in the state of VA. I teach a class of 2.5 to 5 year olds and we have a ratio of 2:12, so that you do have a teacher ready at the helm to help clean out belly buttons when the exploration is over. Plus having a sink the classroom helps. We also warn are parents at the beginning of the year not to send them in their Sunday best and bring a change of clothes because our children explore and that means digging in the dirt, splashing in the water table, mixing paint that sometimes goes beyond the smock. We have a few that have to adjust but they usually get it. Just today, I told a parent she would find a little surprise when she took off her daughter’s shoes, because after a small group of water colors she decided to explore watercolors with her toes. I wanted to be mad because of course your first reaction is “we paint with brushes” then I realized how much fun she was having and how much body control it took to carefully dip her toe in water, paint and then paper. How could I be mad at that. We really need to ask ourselves how can we make “what is best for my child” accessible to all children because every child deserves quality early childhood education. We serve a diverse population because we are an inclusion classroom and also offer a sliding-scale for low income families, so it is doable. Is early childhood education a complex beast mixed with private, public, various curriculum and patchwork funding? yes, but never give up the fight for what you know is best. Don’t let the hurdles in the way stop you from striving for the best that can be.



        Paula
        May 29, 2017 at 12:46 pm

        Thank you! Well said.



jwg
March 21, 2016 at 2:51 am

This is exactly what I have been feeling recently. I’m teaching a Free Play workshop for the local R&R agency and would love to use this as a handout. May I?



Megs
March 21, 2016 at 2:56 am

What a great read. At first my back went up at the title and I was ready to read it and defend play-based learning. I am a strong advocate for play based learning and with all day everyday kindergarten appearing in my area, with the hopes of schools getting children younger during the important 0- 5 years. it has broke my heart the play based learning for real is not the main learning tool in the classrooms. Also the importance of unstructured play and quality early learning and care centres. Governments would be better off putting more money into early learning and supporting the Early Childhood Educators that have been facilitating play based play for years over getting kids into school sooner.
thank you for your post!!



Shelley Welch
March 21, 2016 at 3:42 am

I do think we must define what we mean by play-based learning. I use that term as a bridge: a means of supporting parents during their transition from believing in early academics to believing in their child’s own competence. That is, I show parents what their children are gathering and gaining by playing. I show parents, through documentation, how observing their children play or talk or read or anything is a means of unpacking their children’s thinking and hypotheses about the world. When parents do this consistently, on their own they discover their children’s competence and they move slowly away from the idiocy of early academic. I always try to remember that change is baby steps and if the term play-based learning gets us one step closer to allowing children to have an authentic childhood, then I’m okay with it. But, then again, I am one that always questions, inquires, digs deeply into concepts.



Karen
March 21, 2016 at 5:11 am

I don’t agree that play has to be completely on children’s terms. I do believe in adult led play but it has to play to their interests and their current cognitive concerns. It has to be child focused and it has to be well balanced with child initiated play. Adult led play can be something they know the child will probably be interested in which could extend an interest or introduce something new. but if you want to see what children have learned it can only be observed in child initiated play. that’s when you know learning is embedded because its how children communicate their knowledge and their interests.

I also do not agree that games that help children learn is not play. it stops being play when the child as an individual is forgotten, when its not matched to their development but is aimed to meet adult goals. Adults can start games and introduce rules, this doesn’t mean it stops being play. play is a way that children interact with the world and there is nothing wrong with them learning to play to someone elses rules – even an adult’s rules. Its important for children to learn and its through adults giving rules that children learn to play with them – keeping to them; breaking them; and their consequences. If we left children to their own devices we risk leaving some of them behind in terms of development for living in this world. Its important that we introduce them to new things and its not like the children don’t enjoy them.

Child initiated play is amazing and I completely agree its a powerful way for children to learn. just don’t take the adults out of the picture – they are part of children’s development.

I do agree that many adults can get too focused on learning opportunities and can have their own agenda, but just arguing that when done right with the child at the centre adult led play is possible



    imely
    March 21, 2016 at 6:14 am

    I agree with you, I teach Preschool and while I fully support child initiated play and 1 quarter of my day is fully dedicated to that (1 hour 25 min), The rest of the day is a mixed of special classes such as PE and Music, transitions and free choice centers. I absolutely agree with the person that criticized the 15 min rotation, I rather let the children choose and decide what they want to do or what centers they want to join but these centers time is led by adults with children’s interest in mind. When I present a game or a learning experience to the children I do it in such way that it is interesting for them and they join happily. During this adult-led time there is still a chance for free play as not all the children can play a game at once. Once a group has finished I invite another group to play, but many times the children that are not playing enjoy observing the game, learning the rules and how the game is played. Adults need to have a role in learning, at school teachers have to think carefully how they introduce skills and concepts in ways that are natural and meaningful. Now, if you ask me about home time, I would say that I fully support free play. Children need to experience play in a setting where no adults are involved ( but present, if you are not comfortable with leaving your child alone).



      Antoinette
      November 20, 2016 at 2:38 pm

      I agree that unstructured play is most beneficial for early childhood education . Taking into consideration the developmental needs and interest of the child is regarded as a crucial factor for effective teacher pedagogy . It has been argued by many early childhood theorist that a mix of both child initiated and adult led play is beneficial in promoting a knowledge base for children learning – Vygotsky’s key concept of scaffolding further emphasises the benefits of teacher guidance while children explore meaningful environments and activities .
      Freedom of choice in play has its benefits when the learning meaterials and environment are effectively designed to meet the needs of children .



    March 21, 2016 at 8:27 am

    As an unschooler I think children are perfectly capable of educating themselves and don’t see a need for adult-led ‘play’ or learning unless it is requested. Adults play an important role of course but to me it’s more of a support/help/facilitator role, not teacher or leader.



      Bri Petlock
      March 22, 2016 at 11:32 am

      I agree. I am preschool teacher and we use the High Scope curriculum. I love the plan-do-review model and teachers are there for support. We do have teacher initiated activities but only two (small group and large group) and even still these are geared to the children’s interests and the children have a lot of control over the activities.



        Jessica
        March 24, 2016 at 10:33 am

        I teach High Scope too and can’t speak more highly about it. When you are truly a play partner with children not leading and directing you are able to provide all the supports and scaffolding they need to learn new concepts. Children learn academic concepts for the sheer function and necessity of implementing their play scenarios. I have 5 friends who need seats for our pretend bus ride but only 3 chairs, now I’m counting and adding and problem solving and no teacher directed me to do it. That is what is also great about a mixed age group. They learn from their peers. The older students teach the younger ones by being models.



      Ime Morales
      March 26, 2016 at 7:54 pm

      Hi,
      I guess is the word choice that I used that got misinterpreted 🙂 Facilitating would have been the right word to describe my idea. I agree with the overuse or misuse of the term play-based learning and play-based learning experiences, however I strongly believe that while children are capable as you said, of educating themselves, Facilitators ( teachers, parents, ) can’t be completely erased from the picture. Early childhood educators who truly love their jobs know that children are great investigators who can figure things by themselves, but we need to be there to support, scaffold and celebrate their success or reassure, encourage and help them gain confidence when necessary. As they grow of course they can figure how to play more and more sophisticated games and as a teacher/ facilitator/ supporter I will be there to provoke encourage or make them reflect upon their actions. Now if you asked me to fully stay out of their play and learning, I would say this is not fair to us, who love seeing the great discovery moments, or seeing how my children become more and more capable of doing things, I became an EC educator because I want to be part of those wonderful moments and I want to be there to challenge them, to hold their hands when they are trying to get a grip of a skill and to make a happy dance with them when accomplish something. In a way reading what you responded to me, and then reading what I wrote helped me reflect about my comment. Thanks for that:) and thanks for stating that you also believe adults still play an important role in the children upbringing and education, I think any extreme is harmful (complete lack of support or strict old school teaching).



    Roxanne Davenport
    March 21, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    my philosophy too. I am an early childhood educator, who runs a small family care/preschool business. Different children have different needs at different ages. I have had children who are able to thrive on completely child-led play. Unfortunately, I have also witnessed the behavior of many children who have fallen apart with a lack of adult direction and structure. It is my opinion that so long as an activity is child focused and based on a child’s interest and developmental level, successful learning best takes place with a well-maintained balance of child-initiated and teacher-directed activities. A child does need structure, rules, and consistency to evolve to the next level of development: learning manners, social etiquette, respect, consequences, new subject matter matched to a child’s interest and encouraging to try new things can all result from teacher-directed moments. Free play is a wonderful ideal, but a teacher or parent can inspire a child’s imagination to grow and blossom when the right mix of materials and ideas are available for a child to fully and successfully engage in his environment with his peers in a peaceful setting. That means an adult being observant to the needs as each situation arises.



    Aivy
    March 23, 2016 at 1:50 pm

    I totally agree with you! In pediatric physical therapy we facilitate structured play depending on the needs of the child. The child has to learn to follow directions, play by the rules, and work harmoniously with other children (skills that they may also need in the future in sports and in life per se). Also, as you have mentioned, it will always depend on the child’s cognitive level, interests, and skills. Adult intervention does not always mean not taking the interest of the child into consideration. I think the let-the-children-do-what-they-want approach nowadays fail to consider the huge role of adults in honing competent adults in the future.



Maggie Cain
March 21, 2016 at 5:14 am

So what you really mean is that people who mis-use the term “play-based learning” to push age-inappropriate academic curricula on young children, are doing something wrong. That statement is correct. However, when you want to teach a lesson to a child and you can either do dry, boring, worksheet-based drills, or play a game, then there is nothing wrong with incorporating play into a school activity.

When I’m homeschooling with my almost-10-year-old, and we study spelling words by having him jump up a step for every word he spells correctly, and jump down a step for every word he spells incorrectly, arriving at top eventually to get a big hug from me, well that’s a completely age-appropriate play-based spelling game for us to play. When a parent teaches their 5 year old to finger-knit or how to tie a fly and the child picks up the activity and chooses to do it for fun, that child is developing pre-writing skills (fine-motor control). This play-based and art-based learning activity, which the child can either choose to do or not do, and can either do alone or with a parent, is far superior to drilling kids in K4 on writing their letters.

It’s perfectly possible to teach your child skills and games that allow them to learn gross- and fine-motor skills. It’s perfectly possible to include games in age-appropriate learning activities. That doesn’t mean they don’t also get free-play time; there are enough hours in the day for both.



    March 21, 2016 at 8:29 am

    I don’t think it’s a case of ‘well it’s better than worksheets so it’s ok’. I’d rather toss both concepts aside. We unschool so I don’t believe education has to mean forced learning. Children are capable of educating themselves.



      Maggie Cain
      March 27, 2016 at 10:53 am

      Nice straw-man. That’s completely not what I said.



      Kelli
      July 30, 2017 at 6:24 am

      The way I see it, there are extremes on both sides. Not teaching your child anything because they ‘capable of educating themselves’ is just as bad as trying to force a child to learn what they are not developmentally ready or not interested in learning. I agree that free play is ESSENTIAL to the well being and development of children. How do you learn self-confidence, your strengths and limitations if you’re never free to explore on your own? However, I think children also need — indeed, crave — opportunities to learn from the adults and older children in their lives. In my opinion, a child is truly blessed when he/she has free time to explore the world around him/her and his/her place in it, as well as time to interact with & learn from those who’ve traveled the road before them. Why does it have to be one or the other?



Bridges
March 21, 2016 at 5:38 am

On the flip side of things, letting 11-14 children do what ever they want all day long with no instruction is also not play based learning. I find that to be wreckless at the expense of children. We make all these judgements based on ideal situations. A child that has 2 loving parents that are involved in the childs daily activities are giving their child a sincere play based learning experience. I have worked in a room that thought play based learning meant that the children played all day with not direction, interaction from adults or instruction all day long. That is even less than babysitting when you have a class room of early learners.



    March 21, 2016 at 8:30 am

    I don’t think children’s play NEEDS direction or instruction?



      Maggie Cain
      March 27, 2016 at 10:56 am

      Kids can in fact learn valuable skills from their parents. We aren’t irrelevant. My DH is a fantastic artist, and an avid fly-fisherman (i.e. studies bugs), and an electrical engineer. He teaches amazing things to our kids, in play. I speak French and am a former computer programmer – also skills I teach our kids in play. There isn’t only one answer to parenting. It’s possible for parents to be involved in teaching our kids through play, and still be good parents.



        March 27, 2016 at 12:40 pm

        What I’m saying is play-based learning isn’t ‘teaching kids through play’. It’s recognising that play alone IS learning, we don’t have to do anything to it. Yes, kids can learn through teaching too. So just call it that, teaching.



March 21, 2016 at 7:21 am

You said that “Play is unstructured. In play, children make the rules.” If the children make rules then they are structuring the situation, therefore it is not unstructured. What do you mean when you say “unstructured”?



    Remmers
    March 21, 2016 at 8:11 am

    Not structured by adults.



      March 22, 2016 at 9:16 am

      OK, the problem is that the situation is structured in a variety of ways by adults, too. There are a variety of ways that the time and spaces were structured plus there are a variety of social structures, too. I am a psychologist and this is one of those things that bothers me about the popular usage of the term “structure.”

      There is no such thing as unstructured interactions between humans. Making an unstructured interaction between humans would be like trying to write a word without using symbols. Written words are inherently symbolic, therefore it makes no sense to even say that you might be able to write a word without using symbols.

      The real question is what kind of structures will you use to achieve your purpose, not having any structure is impossible. The problem of “play-based learning” is when adults use something they consider to be “playful” as a crude mechanism to manipulate children into doing something they would not otherwise do.

      The problem is how the adults are manipulating the children. There is nothing wrong with adults manipulating children to some degree, because that is their job when it comes to meeting their primary human needs. The problem is when they use techniques of manipulation that then undermine some of the needs they are supposed to be supporting. Specifically, autonomy is a primary human need just like sleep is a primary human need. So any adult that causes a child to be consistently deprived of sleep is recognized to be doing harm to that child. The symptoms of harm will include increases in anxiety, depression, and/or other signs of psychological distress. In that same way adults that consistently deprive a child of experiences of autonomy, by controlling the child’s behavior such that the child feels controlled, then the adult is harming the child. The symptoms of harm will include increases in anxiety, depression, and/or other signs of psychological distress. The challenge is in structuring the environment of the child in a manner that will support their autonomy.

      IMHO all forms of progressive, democratic, homeschool, unschool, and other forms of education that aspire to child-centereed practices do themselves a disservice by using the term “unstructured” without a specific qualification as to what aspect of a situation is not being structured. It is perfectly reasonable to say that unschooling families or some democratic schools do not provide academic structure, but it is not reasonable to say that they are “unstructured.” Research shows that supporting autonomy requires structure. (The intuitive notion that they are opposites is mistaken.)



    Linda
    March 21, 2016 at 8:19 am

    I am not replying as the author, but as a parent who also unschools ( which is the reference point for this article ). Self imposed rules are very different to externally imposed rules. The framework by which a child or children decide upon in their play is often done joyful, with freedom to change on a whim, flexibly, honouring themselves. Rules employed by an adult will not have the same flexibility, sense of autonomy or honouring of personhood.

    Any time ( play, learning, eating, dressing, sleeping Etc ) an adult IMPOSES a rule on a child, it will bring about a structure that impinges on free will and autonomy. Not to say that life should be without boundaries!!! But play rules devised ( and indeed life rules ) by the child will feel unlike structure. Imposed rules do feel structuring. Try it in your own life. Set yourself some rules around something you enjoy. Then get someone else to set some rules for you on that same thing…



      March 22, 2016 at 9:27 am

      “Any time … an adult IMPOSES a rule on a child, it will bring about a structure that impinges on free will and autonomy”

      This statement is factually incorrect. In 2010 three of the world’s leading researchers in the field conducted experiments to discern he relationship between autonomy and structure and found that supporting autonomy requires structure.



Mary
March 21, 2016 at 8:54 am

This is a wonderful article. I am a kindergarten teacher as well as an Early Childhood Educator. I have been learning to navigate both the curriculum (what children are supposed to know after a 2 year program so that they are ready for grade 1) and play.

I really wish there was a magical guide out there…I believe I am learning every year how to do this with the children.

I see the value in play but I am also very sensitive to how hard the transition from senior kindergarten to grade 1 can be. This is why I do feel there is value in some TEACHER led activities. I DO NOT support teacher led activities all day long…I listen to all the wonderful conversations and ideas that come out of play. I do hear my students who ask for writing , reading, and math games.

Its a tough one.



Denita Dinger
March 21, 2016 at 9:18 am

This is AWESOME!!! I shared it on my Facebook page, Play Counts! I will also be Shri g it at every single “Defender of Play Boot Camp” I lead as well!
So beautifully written! (Confession: I USED to be the teacher you are referring to, which is why, now that I GET IT, I am so passionate about helping other ear,y childhood professionals and parents “get it” as well!!!



Kathy Lambert
March 21, 2016 at 9:33 am

One of my favorite lines: “Let’s leave play to the experts, children.” I laugh when I hear adults attempt to redirect behavior, in a warning voice, “That’s not how we play.”

Hah. What do “we” know about how to play?





      Eric
      March 26, 2016 at 6:36 am

      I wholeheartedly disagree. I am 40+ and I most definitely know how to play. If you have forgotten how to play I am sincerely sorry for you and I hope you are not an educator, or for that matter a parent.
      I am a kindergarten teacher and while play is not something I do to children (this statement really doesn’t make any sense) it is most definitely I do with children all the time. I’m pretty good at it too.



Kelly
March 21, 2016 at 9:48 am

Highly, highly disagree. You pretty much leave parenting out of the equation altogether. So children can’t have fun playing a game with rules? I guess kids just play soccer or baseball because it’s pushed on them and not because they enjoy it. This is silliness.



March 21, 2016 at 10:38 am

I started writing a comment on this and ended up with over 1000 words!! I might have to turn it into a blog post instead of comment. lol. Here is my greatly condensed version. (which, is far too long! haha) From what I could gather from your post, the true title of what you were trying to get across would be, “Why I don’t like how the term Play-based-learning is seemingly attached to every single adult let activity that isn’t a worksheet” lol. Because that is the overall vibe I got and one that I understand your position on.

At the end of the day, I believe that it’s the child that really determines, in their own mind, as to whether they are “playing” or not. Not us.

Whether their “play” was led or influenced 100% by themselves, or had external influence from their peers/siblings/teachers/facilitators/parents etc., I believe that it can still be called “play.” So long as they have a choice in it, that they can control the direction and they are enjoying themselves, then I think it is fine for us to call it “play.” (And realistically, any time a child is playing, they are learning something).

I don’t know about your children but when my two children play together, one almost always ends up making up rules for the other to follow and structuring the game. Does that mean one of them isn’t playing, because their older sister had the idea of what they were playing and what role the other is undertaking? No. Does it mean the time they are spending together in their imaginary role play land is not valuable? No. So, if a teacher or parent has the idea of how to play or what materials to put out and the child is willingly engaged in that, does that mean that they are not playing? No. Playing with others and learning from others is incredibly important for children’s development, but the difference is the choice they have in it.
Should my son not want to follow the instructions or suggestions by his sister, she can’t force him. This is where engaging in the play is his own choice. If children have that same choice with an activity/idea facilitated by an adult, then we can hardly say that they are not playing in this situation.

In the school system however, this is going to look different to those not confined within a system. Overall, children are going to have less choice and there are very few real “play-based” school systems. And even within those “play-based” systems, there are limitations. (Which there may or may not be in a home-schooling or unschooling situation as well depending on the individual responsible for the children’s welfare). In these school systems are fun activities, but generally the children still have to participate in something, so that is not all free will and is much harder to define as “play” or “play-based-learning.” Schools must exist though as not all parents are willing or able to do what you do (kudos and respect to you for your choices) and there has to be somewhere for all these other children to go. It’s not a perfect system, I doubt it ever will be, but I am glad that within these systems, things are at least starting to change and that in many they are at least bringing in more elements for children to have choice and control over how they learn and play, whilst still meeting the needs of bureaucracy. (which will always exist)
Children MUST play. Free and unstructured and self-directed and self-motivated. I will never disagree with that and we do have to keep fighting for more of this. As for “play-based-learning” that is something that people’s definitions are no doubt going to differ on and sometimes I feel like it’s just adults quibbling about wording or definitions. For me, I try to simplify it in my head as, if the child believes they are playing, having fun and are willingly engaged (and can stop when they want to) then this is a form of play-based-learning (because they will always be learning something!). Regardless of who’s idea it originally was or who provided the materials.



    March 21, 2016 at 10:49 am

    PS: Thank you for writing articles like this that challenge me and make me reflect and continually reevaluate my position and beliefs. x



      March 21, 2016 at 1:18 pm

      Thanks Debs 🙂
      Yes, that is what I meant at the end there. Set out something for them if you want but then leave them to take it in their own direction instead of telling them how to play or getting them to meet your goals.

      As an unschooler obviously my ideas are different from the majority in that I don’t believe children ever need adult led learning (unless they request it). I appreciate that some people don’t share that view. I just wish that when they were doing clearly adult directed learning activities designed to get children to learn something, they would just label them as that. No need to label it play-based learning when it is not. Then we’re just confusing people!



Barbara Ignatius
March 21, 2016 at 11:50 am

I totally agree with you! Let children be children and play as a lot of learning is derived through play on their own.



Romika
March 21, 2016 at 12:45 pm

Exactly my thoughts! In the name of play, we tend to play with child’s innocense!! When its play time, let them Play, let them choose what they want to play, let them be on their own! My child play for an 1 to 1.5 hrs with her friends everyday, and that is without any adult’s interference.



Claire Johnstone
March 21, 2016 at 1:15 pm

I love this. When my boys are truly playing, I know – because the volume goes up a level! I would also be the first to admit that we do tonnes of activites together that are more structured, eg. card games, craft activities etc… however I don’t call it play, and I definitely don’t replace true play with those activities. It’s like when they are in play mode they are accessing totally different parts of their brain, it is beautiful!



lalitha chacko
March 21, 2016 at 2:55 pm

I run a pre-school. And I strongly agree with you say. I have put the article on the school fb page as a message to parents. I also have a toddler program and initially parents were a little concerned that all the 2 hours they are here is not structured. Your article should re-enforce what I’ve been trying to tell them Let them play as long as they want to… Lalitha



Sandra Pope
March 21, 2016 at 3:17 pm

But surely the explanation is in the words “play based” ! Obviously we would all love to offer a totally free play environment for all children…I once worked with an educator who carried out this to a ‘t’ ! Resources were freely available for children’s self selection. Children took jars full of glitter, sequins, patty pans , beads etc. all out to the sandpit ; two boys mixed our supply of clay with water so the clay was no longer available for other children; children tipped glue and paint into containers willy nilly and soon there was no paint to use ; children were allowed to take glue pots anywhere they chose and often spilled glue onto the floor, at one time resulting in my injuring my knee when hurrying to prevent one child using a block as a missile (I slipped in some invisible cell mix glue dripped from a glue pot in the block area). We had an indoor outdoor program which was fine but the Teacher would sit for two hours trying to get a ‘rich learning story’ from one child while I plodded to and fro, indoors and outdoors, trying to prevent injury between two special needs children and to maintain a degree of calm among the chaos of children left to ‘play’ but who in fact mostly took everything available off shelves and out of containers and spread them around the room willy- nilly. When another Teacher took over the room there was very little left in the way of unbroken toys or art resources! Play BASED is what it says..learning based on play..but I do not believe it should be all free play. Choice is fine too but why not a limited choice rather than open slather! I have returned to Family Day Care whereby with a Bachelor of Teaching under my belt , I run a mini Kindergarten …’BASED’ but not adhering to Claire Warden’s Forest Garden Kindergarten ethos. Children are usually outdoors in the paddocks and bush playing, exploring, creating , discovering , climbing and so on. I take the children’s interests as a ‘base’ for learning and we discuss their findings at length at the time of discovery then I follow this up by providing resources that facilitate extended interest and learning! Adult led? Not really. Adult guided? yes…but child led!



    March 21, 2016 at 7:46 pm

    I don’t know. That actually sounds pretty great to me (apart from the injury!) I think the answer is helping children learn how to take care of things, and setting respectful boundaries about how to treat the materials, rather than limiting and controlling their choices. They are playing and experimenting!
    If the ideal thing to do is too inconvenient then that’s not a place I’d send my child really.



      Pam H
      March 22, 2016 at 9:35 am

      Because a teacher doesn’t want 1 child to ruin what might be a years worth of clay, that is a place ” I might not send my child really “?? To me, that’s a pretty strong statement based on a very limited amount of information.
      But what I really wanted to say was the term to differentiate true play based play from learning activities might be HANDS ON LEARNING. Our public school kindergartens had to get rid of play kitchens and anything that might look like dramatic play. But the superintendent still believed they got play time because they were allowed 20 minutes per day to use the math manipulatives ” in any way they wanted”!







Sam
March 21, 2016 at 5:59 pm

I’m slightly confused by this… If I let my 4 and 2 year old to “play” on their own, they would either sit and watch tv, play with iPad or run around the house destroying things! I work 3 days a week so when I get days off with my kids I try to make time to play with them (as well as washing, cleaning and everything else that needs doing). To me, asking my son if he wants to learn some letters with me or asking my daughter if she wants to do some threading or painting with me is play based learning. At least I spend time with my kids, they’re just happy that mummy is interacting with them! Frankly if I left paint out for them to explore- it wouldn’t end up in their belly buttons, it would end up all round my house and all over the walls because they have no direction! My opinion



    March 21, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    Playing on their own is a valuable skill and very necessary.



      Sam
      March 21, 2016 at 8:03 pm

      They do play on their own too, I never said I didn’t let them play on their own. They go to the park, they play around the house, we go for walks and climb trees. I just don’t get the issue, to make life fun at home we do structured activities, I will get the craft box out and we will sit and create together or I will show them how to thread conkers for example on a string and we will sit and do it together. How is this not fun or not learning! They’ve got mummy’s attention- I my eyes that’s invaluable also!



Megan
March 21, 2016 at 6:45 pm

While I agree that plenty of time for child-led, unstructured play is important (and that children certainly need hours more of it daily than they could get if sent to school), I do not think that it is the only thing worth valuing. I sort of have a strange homeschooling philosophy. I’ve heard of radical unschoolers, many of whom I admire for various reasons (such as Dayna Martin and Sandra Dodd), but I just don’t jive with everything they say. I’ve heard of educational unschoolers, who unschool for learning but don’t unschool in every sense the way radical unschoolers do (ie they have no curriculum, but have set bedtimes, etc), but that’s not me either. What I haven’t really heard of is what I feel I mostly am in favor of: what I call lifestyle unschooling, in which one embraces attachment parenting (natural childbirth, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, compassion and respect for children as complete, individual human beings); modeling behavior and explaining why certain behaviors (like hitting, stealing) aren’t right, without being condescending, and without using punishment, esp but not limited to spanking; allowing time for the children to play and pursue their passions; not setting a strict bedtime; and allowing the kids to choose what foods they eat (though I wouldn’t support my child eating meat, dairy, or eggs, as I view them not as food, but as disease-producing poison, environmental pollution, and animal cruelty/murder–why you would discourage your child from smoking cigarettes, littering, and choking a kitten to death, but not from eating meat, dairy, and eggs, baffles me)–but at the same time do not eschew the idea of an adult-designed yearly academic learning outline/guideline altogether. This does not mean sending your child to school, or even having a strict homeschool curriculum, thusly dictating your child’s education and simply allowing your child freedom in other areas of life. I’m all about my children having a say in their education–like traditional unschoolers, I simply do not believe that you learn most efficiently when forced. I simply want to help inspire a love of, though not necessarily an expertise in, as many things as possible. I think that if not encouraged to learn different academic subjects, art forms, and sports, nor to develop literacy, the child is often (not always, but usually) bound to never get a chance to discover all of their passions and develop all life skills that, upon reaching 18 and seeking a career, he/she may need to already possess. I recognize that just about every unschooled child learns to read just fine, albeit usually at a much later age than most kids, and that most go on to pursue crafts they happened to discover and become versed in, however the majority of unschool “graduates” are not pursuing careers like doctor or lawyer–which is fine, because artists and artisans and entrepreneurs are in demand, and not everybody has to have a high power career to live a fulfilling life (I am not a doctor or lawyer myself), in fact if everyone was a doctor or lawyer, who would grow our food? Make our music? Repair our toilets? However we must consider the flip side of the coin–if no one was a doctor, where would we be? If unschooling advocates envision a future in which every child is unschooled, then we need to make some adjustments–because how many kids, when not encouraged to learn calculus, will decide to learn it? What about Ancient Greece (which is crucial to fully comprehending the origins of our own modern nation’s government)? Shakespeare, in its original versions? The more we encourage our children to learn, even go so far as to teach them, the wider their horizons will be. Also, is preparing for a career the only worthwhile reason to learn something? Is not being a well- rounded intellectual a noble pursuit, for the sake of exercising one’s brain just as one exercises one’s body? It’s sort of like wanting your child to not be a picky eater, not for your convenience, but because you know that so many more things than just french fries and chocolate cupcakes taste delicious and are necessary to a balanced diet, and your child would be greatly missing out, both on nutrition/optimal health and on pleasure/optimal happiness, if he were only encouraged to follow his whims and never try new, sometimes at first unappealing but often later satisfying, options. That is why I believe in setting a guideline each year, and discussing it with your child so that he gets excited about it and the learning is not forced. I therefore see the usefulness in adult-directed play alongside the usefulness of child-led play. Adults have more knowledge, and can find ways to share their knowledge with their kids in ways each specific child would enjoy, if they are not constantly told that stepping out of their comfort zone is always unnecessary. As long as your child spends much time doing unstructured play, why is a healthy dose of educational play such a tragedy?



    March 21, 2016 at 7:53 pm

    IMO ‘educational play’ that’s adult directed is not necessary, but I know not everyone agrees with me there. But labeling things ‘play based’ when they’re really not is what frustrates me. People should go ahead and do what they think is best, but let’s just call it what it is!



      Megan
      March 22, 2016 at 8:46 am

      Different strokes for different folks, I suppose… Though I don’t understand why just because something is adult-initiated, if the child is engaged and happy and doing the activity by choice, why it can’t be considered play. Most unschoolers I know are always insisting that it is hands-on parenting, but I don’t see how it can be. Buying toys, games, and craft supplies for your kid and leaving them to their own devices 100% of the time just doesn’t seem like good real world preparation. One thing I admire about unschooling, and incorporate myself, is the freedom to make choices, because how are kids going to learn decision-making, problem-solving, compromise, and self-expression if everything is decided for them? Habits like balanced eating, daily exercise, proper hygiene, getting enough sleep, and reading for pleasure stick better with kids when discovered not forced. I also like that they learn to interact with people of all ages, and develop conflict resolution skills. At the same time, while being prepared for the real world in those ways, many unschooled kids are sheltered from ever having to take on any responsibilities, and are never told “no”. In France, parents make a point to say no (or, often, wait) to things even if they would be acceptable in the moment, to teach their children how to cope with frustrations. If the child is given everything on a silver platter without earning it, the second he wants it, how is he going to cope when he’s older? We must teach our kids to delay gratification, for their own sake. Kids don’t throw tantrums because their needs aren’t being met. They throw tantrums because their wants aren’t being instantly satisfied, and they weren’t trained from toddlers to preoccupy themselves while waiting patiently, or to accept that you can’t realistically always get what you want. Kids also need to learn that sometimes in order to achieve something you want (ie, become a video game designer) you also have to develop skills that may not be so fun (advanced mathematics). Just my opinion though..



    Fran
    July 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Yes but…
    Children grow up and at that point they are capable of self directing their learning towards being a doctor or a lawyer if that’s what interests them. If someone truly WANTS to learn something they will and they will actually work hard at it, because they’ve chosen it themselves and it is their passion. People would still grow up with a passion for healing the sick and wanting to know all about how to do it, or a passion for advocating and seeing justice done.

    My daughter is 14 now, she has sadly not been home schooled. At a certain point she was hating school so much that I offered her that option but she turned it down in favour of going to a highly academic international school. That was her choice, because she knew she needed to be stretched more (her IQ is problematically high) and in the meantime while at the standard school she had been teaching herself to play various instruments during the night, and going on various political bloggers websites and learning about feminism and politics. Then more or less sleeping through her day at school!
    Now she’s at the academic school the teachers are way more encouraging of letting the students direct their own learning. Of course they teach the curriculum but most of the kids are smart enough so it only takes about a fifth of the time it would in a normal school so they let them direct the lesson off on interesting tangents.
    She finally LOVES school which is amazing and a blessing.

    If I ran the education system children would only spend the amount of time in school that they individually needed to learn how to read and write and do basic maths. If a child could get through the curriculum by the age of 10 or 12 they would not have to stay in school but would be allowed out into the world. School should not be a prison or a child minding service. Once they have these keys to learning they are equipped to learn everything else they want to. If a 10 year old went out into the world and decided she wanted to be a carpenter or an engineer then the amount of maths needed might be more and she would go and learn it, it would have context and would be easy. If someone wanted to be a journalist they might decide they needed to learn how to write and form an argument, they might decide it was necessary to learn some history.



Michelle Napolitano
March 21, 2016 at 7:57 pm

I appreciate the sentiment here.
Play-based learning is learning through play… but it’s not supposed to take anything away from children’s day to day, free playtime, nor set restrictions or close windows of exploration or creativity.
A proper play-based, or “Developmental Play” session in the classroom consists of activity centres, such as, sensory (natural materials,) construction (blocks, recyclables,) roleplay (puppets, dress-ups,) writing or emergent writing (paint, crayons, chalk, whiteboards, etc) and a rules-based game (like Connect Four, Barrel of Monkeys, Pick up Sticks, cards, Twister or Guess Who, or Jenga, for example.) A science experiment or exploration table is good to include too.
This structure was originally formed to encourage children’s oral language skills and bridge those experiences to their first writing experiences.
Children can go to any station, for as long as they wish, and play and explore freely and without confines. If one table is too full, they are shown examples and then encouraged to be social and communicative to solve a problem. School is, after all, their first glimpse of society. As they reach Prep, Grade One and Two, they will be slowly introduced to more structure for this session (not at all for their free play time, but within a lesson/activity time) where they will be encouraged to write down ideas and observations about their play. They will start recording their ideas with pictures and slowly progress to single words, then sentences by end of Grade Prep or beginning of Grade One, depending on their individual progress.
That’s what play-based learning/ Developmental Play is supposed to be. It is a means to enrich their school day by providing opportunities for language experience and social development.
It was never meant to take anything away from the spirited play of a child.



Katrina
March 21, 2016 at 9:27 pm

I think your post is clear and concise in conveying a very important message. If this has been your (or your child’s) experience with play-based learning, I would feel exactly the same way! Thankfully it hasn’t been our experience!



dave
March 21, 2016 at 11:21 pm

Nothing brings me more joy than to see my kids have an “aahaa” moment on their own and come share it with us.

We have home schooled our four kids for 20 years.

Our oldest is now in university excelling and having fun.



David B
March 22, 2016 at 1:44 am

While I agree with the majority of this article. The title kind of threw me off. This should be titled: “Why I don’t like the term Play Based Learning”. The author thinks the word “play” should be removed or replaced. I agree. But I don’t think learning games or activities are a bad thing at all. It shouldn’t replace play time or recess (and it does not). But the title she offers implies that this type of learning should not be used/implemented. There is no need to demonize certain tools that can be helpful for cognitive learning. I do agree that parents can miss the importance of letting their kids grow and develop in their own space via play time.



March 22, 2016 at 5:07 am

For those of us who work with children professionally as teachers, I can tell you it is a relief to hear the term play based learning at all. Gone are the worksheets, structured pre-cut crafts, and teacher-led lessons about everything. At least in Ontario, great value is given to uninterrupted play time. We try to be as uninvasive as possible, but sit nearby to document the learning that is always taking place so that we can provide materials to deepen their excitement and play and plan for future experiences. Yes, we do teach letters playfully, but it IS a school’s responsibility to teach literacy and numeracy. Back in the “old days” Kindergarten students were asked to do worksheets and expected to hold a pencil perfectly, colour in the lines, and make all their crafts looks like those of others. The system is not perfect, I know.



Jennifer
March 22, 2016 at 5:53 am

This may seem like a silly question, but how do you implement play based learning? Do you just provide various types of things that can be played with? I guess it’s hard for me to think of what to do since I had a standard public education. I want to do child led play based homeschool but don’t know how. If anyone has a place to direct me for info I’d appreciate it!



    March 26, 2016 at 10:46 am

    You don’t need to do anything special 🙂 Involve them in daily life, give them plenty of time for unstructured play, lots of time outside, and trust that however they choose to spend their time is perfect and exactly what they need 🙂



Marcy
March 22, 2016 at 8:06 am

Great blog post!



Hannu Jaakkola
March 23, 2016 at 6:02 pm

I agree with most of the article, but reject most emphatically the ending “Let’s leave play to the experts, children. It is not ours to control or influence.”. Why should we adults reject play as something only children do? We can and do play throughout our lives. Our own play is ours to control and influence, we should own it proudly.

Oh, and TAG, you’re it!



Star Emerson
March 24, 2016 at 8:10 am

My very active ADHD grandson is in Kindergarten now. There are times they do 10+ papers [some double sided] a day! This drives me nuts. When can they play? He is now reading and doing Math I don’t understand. My daughter in law is also a Kindergarten teacher and hit the ceiling when I told her about the all paper work. I observed her one day and just about all she did was “play based learning”. I certainly agree with your point but when it comes to being in the classroom, this is what I wish my grandson had.
Hours SITTING at a desk is insane. In my daughter in laws room the kids were switching “gears” often and it really was fun for them. Since it is mandated to learn all these subjects at a ridiculously young age I prefer they learn it playing with plastic ducks or painting and moving around. They don’t have to be hunched over white paper or staring at screens.



March 25, 2016 at 1:09 am

great article, thanks so much for putting this out there, couldn’t agree more. Play is a childs #1 job. – bob @sc_playground



March 25, 2016 at 3:39 am

I thought your blog was brilliant, so much so you’ve inspired me to blog a response.

https://amandalonergan.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/playing-by-the-book/



Mara
March 25, 2016 at 11:20 am

You’ve put into words something I strongly feel and believe. Well said!



Becca
March 25, 2016 at 12:47 pm

I believe in this but find it difficult in practice. My children have a lot of free, unstructured play but I’m afraid to leave learning 100% to them in case they ‘miss’ something important. I know in theory they’ll learn what they want to when they need it. I need to trust. Any tips?



Huong Dinh
March 26, 2016 at 1:55 am

This is so true! I have been thinking of this confusion. Thanks for the good thoughts!



Elizabeth
March 26, 2016 at 6:25 am

Hallelujah! As a teacher I am forever told that we need to “do” play based learning… My continued argument is… Play based learning is not set up… You don’t have to make an area etc kids will if given the time just play. My 2 y.o plays shops with nothing! This is playing… Yes it’s lovely having props but not always necessary… Explicit teaching is required to meet curriculum… Explicit teaching is not play… You can do some things in a fun way but it is not play it is teaching! It’s unfortunate that out education systems catch hold of an idea… Wrangle it until it makes money and everyone has to pay for training to learn how to play… Then it’s play based learning… The meaning has gone unfortunately!



Alma Lewis
March 26, 2016 at 7:37 am

For me play based learning is where the adult learns through the children’s play! I’ve learned so much just by watching ( and joining in when invited)



March 26, 2016 at 9:56 pm

I totally get what you’re saying and WISH that our school system valued play more and gave more time for free unstructured play. My daughters get just a couple of hours on Fridays (they call it ‘free play Fridays’ – their favourite day of the week) apart from usual lunch breaks etc. This is sad, especially coming from pre schools where they played all day. Now in year 2, my older daughter gets no more free play Fridays, they’ve moved onto ‘coding’ for that time slot (she LOVES coding, but to lose her free play time is still sad). Personally I think that when they include games that make learning more fun (dice games for math, scrabble for reading etc) it’s fine to call it play based learning, not to take away from true unstructured free play but to improve the way that kids in schools are learning for the better. It’s not a bad thing but a good thing to see change in this direction, and I hope the trend continues (at age appropriate levels). I’ve seen how much easier and less stressful it is for one of my daughters to learn with learning games over boring flash cards or similar. She can focus and enjoys herself, and wants to keep on ‘playing’ when the game is over. I still consider that play is play and important to every child, and I know that you can’t replace play with play based learning, but the term itself doesn’t offend me. I know you mean this as an Unschooler, but I’m talking as a person within the mainstream government school system – any change toward more play is good! Great article by the way.



Stan
March 27, 2016 at 12:38 am

While the title of your post raised my blood pressure, once I read it, I agree wholeheartedly. I observe many programs in my role as supervising Student Teachers and find fewer and fewer programs that are child-centered (maybe a term to replace “play-based”). I also rarely hear the sound of unit blocks falling on uncarpeted areas, let alone simply falling. Not enough people understand that allowing children to “play” with unit blocks meets every standard for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math for young children. So, thank you for your “poorly” (LOL) titled piece which made me read it. I can relax now!
By the way, this reminds me of “Open Education” and how so many people missed that the essence of Open Education required a lot of structure.



Samantha
March 27, 2016 at 7:40 pm

I am in my final year of my teaching degree and wholeheartedly agree with this. We see too much of this high structured ‘play-based learning’ in early childhood today. Adults have taken the lead instead of the child. There is a time and a place for high structured learning but it is important to incorporate more unstructured play, which is critical for children’s development.



Pat
March 28, 2016 at 12:33 pm

When a human being is ready to grow in knowledge and wisdom they will ask. When that age comes to late, past the age of government control, they will ask even God to teach them. Learn they will…by individual will.



Susan Chase
March 29, 2016 at 1:53 am

Thank you for this reminder. Everyone deserves free play!



March 30, 2016 at 3:21 am

Spot on. I find the same thing with people who claim to be “unschooling”. Sorry, but if you have to in any way coerce, bribe or are trying to find ways to passive-aggressively force learning… your doing something else. And that’s fine if that’s what you want to do, but let’s call it what it is.



Lizzie
March 30, 2016 at 7:15 pm

This is now the plan here in the UK. I think you’ll especially like the comment “playtime needs to become brain time”. Honestly, I nearly cried when I read it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35917037



Trissie
April 7, 2016 at 12:49 pm

I’ve enjoyed a few of your posts, this one resonates with me for a couple reasons – namely, though, I have two young boys that I would like to play freely as much as possible, but I’m having trouble with this because of how big of a mess the house becomes – but more importantly I’m afraid they’ll get hurt. How do you allow/encourage play while setting some boundaries? Thank you!



    Fran
    July 18, 2016 at 6:09 pm

    Encourage them to put things away when they move to the next activity. Set boundaries on WHERE they can play and where they can’t.
    Make a game of tidying up after play time. It’s a good idea to set a timer or have a song playing so the activity becomes a race. My favourite song for this is: “If the boy can dance he gets a second chance” by Alesha Dixon.



      Deng Koang Giel
      February 9, 2018 at 10:33 am

      Yeah Fran I’m kind of agreeing with your point play limit generally for children. I know plays encompasses almost everything in child grow, however in some cases it might be safe and secure for children to do everything they want. As a educator you have role modeled their play in case they would get hurts.Therefore, Play Based Learning” documents needed to be revisit for its unstructured principles. Thanks you



April 7, 2016 at 6:55 pm

I’m going to ponder on what you’ve had just presented. But then, I liked what I read. Physically active play benefits children to the point of testing and developing all types of motor skills.



April 10, 2016 at 1:37 am

YES!!! I am all for making learning fun, but making a lesson engaging by playing games is NOT play based learning; that is teaching (which is important too)! But we must not forget PLAY – pure, child-led play. Let kids be kids.



andrea turner
April 22, 2016 at 11:57 pm

I could have so very easily written this myself. Hallelujah! http://www.allearlyyears.wordpress.com



Jo mullally
April 23, 2016 at 11:06 am

Yes and that is why RIE and Reggie based early learning centers are the prime choice. These work off emergent curriculum which is informed by child lead interests, dispositions and play. It is child led and the teacher is a go-learner alongside the child.
The environment is considered a third teacher alongside child and educator and that is why play based learning works.
It is a holistic approach, not regimented but focussed on helping the ‘whole’ child develop, not just a one sided academic approach.
Obviously I feel strongly about this but I believe that this kind of approach is 100 times better and gives the child the opportunity to learn and develop at their own pace.



Natasha
April 24, 2016 at 7:12 pm

Sorry but i disagree… As an early childhood teacher, i truly believe in play-based learning. Children do learn from play, they learn social skills, fine motor skills, language skills, communication skills, hand and eye coordination etc which are all of these are essential for the first five years of life and school readiness (for preschool aged children). As educators and/or parents, its our job to be role models and guide children. Yes play is all about children being spontaneous, allowing children to play with just about whatever they like, stimulating their imagination (this is called free play)… & as an educator, we ‘extend’ and enrich on children’s interests which we discover from their choice of spontaneous play, this is called ‘intentional teaching’.. A preschool or a childcare service shouldn’t always be constructed for children to sit down and learn, it should be fun and inviting. & im sure if you send your child to a preschool, you wouldnt want them to ‘free play’ all day..



andrea turner
May 3, 2016 at 9:19 pm

thank you for this, so nice to know I’m not alone on this



Kelly
June 4, 2016 at 10:40 pm

As a public school kindergarten teacher, I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I am always telling anyone who will listen that to make the shift away from the mess that is currently happening in our schools, it’s going to take us being flagrant instead of apologetic when we speak of play in our classrooms. We spend too much trying to justify play by manipulating it so much that it’s not really play anymore. Just more academia tied up in pretty packages, and while a hand-on assignment is better than a day filled with worksheets, it still doesn’t address the need for children to be given time to just BE. Great post!



Dianna Queener
June 23, 2016 at 12:36 pm

Play is unstructured but it is goal oriented.
Watch children play. You see goals being met, problems being solved and partnerships being formed. When children play, they use all their senses. When senses are used during play, concepts are discovered, organized and incorporated into life. I agree with what you say about who should initiate play, but there is nothing wrong with providing supplies needed to encourage exploration. Don’t be the sage on the sage. Be the guide on the side.



Leslie
June 23, 2016 at 8:07 pm

I agree and would add: Hans Georg Gadamer once said, play is only ever spontaneous and in its enactment it is only ever half conscious. It happens when not thinking about it!



Shawna Wilde
June 24, 2016 at 4:00 am

What a great article! Right on, sister! I have a new staff and they are pushing back on our play philosophy. This article will go out to them next week. I truly hope it hits home for them. Thanks for writing such a wonderful picture of what children need and why. Any other suggestions for help on getting my child care center to fully be able to see the learning these children are exhibiting ?



Vee
July 17, 2016 at 5:21 pm

True but you can have teacher directed play based learning that’s used to engage children and make learning an exciting experience (i.e. not a stressful process that means they develop complex issues and anxiety about a subject; such as maths). There seems to be a stigma developing about teaching. It’s not a bad thing. It’s used to guide children as they learn and help them further develop. Sometimes children can get lost in their play and lost socially. Children needed to be guided and supported in their play as well). To me, that’s where teaching comes in. We can create learning experiences and observe children as they engage in those learning experience. We might have set up the learning experience but children are still playing.





Bernadette
July 17, 2016 at 10:50 pm

Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!! Wonderful article So good to read this well written and truthful article… thank you for jolting me into checking my own thoughts and possible hidden agendas…we need continual reflection on why and how we set up and how n what we provide for our children in their environment….hmmmm more loose parts



Elissa Hetrick
July 18, 2016 at 12:23 am

“Play is unstructured. In play, children make the rules. They decide how long they play for and what direction their play takes.” — I understand your point here- but I think you need to look more closely at how you contradicted yourself. Play is “unstructured” and then you said “children make the rules” – when watching anyone play, at any age… it is rare, extremely rare to ever see play unstructured. Who makes the structure and how flexible is the structure are serious things to consider- but play almost always has a set of rules whether they are initially apparent to the observer or not. Even a young child playing alone has set up some sort of framework that their play is following.

I understand what you are complaining about– adults thinking they can make all the rules and remove free choice times for kids – as long as what they are doing they think is “play.” I agree, that is not okay. However, reading this I think your definition of play is limited in scope. I would suggest reading “The Ambiguity of Play” by Brian Sutton-Smith as a place to start. It’s good to contemplate on what is play- and what are the essential elements that make something play. Can work be play? Can play be work? Are there items that cross both boundaries?



Mary
July 18, 2016 at 4:44 am

Amazing! I feel exactly the same when people say play based and I cringe. It is such a fine line to explain to parents and others. Thank you for writing what so many of us feel!



Fran
July 18, 2016 at 6:01 pm

I do think that what we currently do to children is tantamount to child abuse. I was a teacher and now I work part time as a teaching assistant. Seeing young little children bored to tears with some “activity” that is supposed to be fun just breaks my heart. Meanwhile out in the playground they can get up to all sorts!
I will always remember my daughter when she transitioned from nursery to reception saying to me “I don’t like reception, I liked nursery. When I was in nursery I could play all day and I learn more when I play.”

When I was still teaching my subject was D&T – a play subject if ever there was one. But of course it’s not, it’s been stuffed into a curriculum to show it has academic content. I met another D&T teacher who was experimenting with letting the students make whatever they liked. I stood there and chatted to him while 20 12 year olds were utterly absorbed in making whatever they wanted and occasionally coming up to ask his advice. If that’s not learning I don’t know what is.



Lisa
July 20, 2016 at 5:21 am

Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying exactly what I have been trying to tell people for years! ???



July 21, 2016 at 8:30 am

Yes I agree. What we forget is that our children are at school 6 hours a day. 4.5 hours is focuses on “learning”. 1.5 hours consists of intervals and lunch. The assumption we make is learning stops when children leave the classroom. To make this philosophy complete we need to re-conceive intervals and lunch time as learning opportunities. For this to be effective we need to be deliberate with the resources and opportunities we provide children in the playground. We need to expand their opportunities beyond a ball. Linking the learning in the classroom with discovery in the playground. For example learning about bugs in the classroom and providing spades, nets and bug catches for children to use at interval if they choose.



    dennis queen
    July 23, 2016 at 7:33 pm

    or how about their whole day was like that and they rest when they want?

    That’s more or less what we do in autonomous home education.

    Also I’m pretty sure the kids in school are not learning for the 4.5 hours, much of it they spend waiting in silence, and writing down what they learn so they can prove they learned it.



      Sophia Williams
      October 17, 2017 at 8:28 pm

      Do you not remember school? Writing in slience? Lol! Maybe I just went to a bad school but we spent most of our time chatting, ignoring the teacher, working on projects we decided to do ourselves against the teachers will while ignoring the assigned work and generally running about causing mayhem. And we were the good kids. The bad kids were throwing chairs and light fixtures and getting into fights.



Judith Lock
July 21, 2016 at 8:14 pm

Play based learning arose out of an education method known as high Scope which in turn came out of the Montessori method.
Like all of these things when it hit mainstream school it was watered down, and tampered with to fit Ofsted criteria.
In addition to work properly you need highly skilled practitioners who give a lot of thought and preparation to and for the activities, IT’S HARD WORK! as you do not simply sling out a load of stuff, so lack of care also contributed to the watering down.
TRUE play based learning is totally autonomous, the child selects from a range what they wish to do.This needs careful planning to achieve the desired learning outcomesand to ensure the child does learn all aspects of the curriculum. Activities have to appeal to all types of children because they are choosing and if there is something they think they don’t like such as maths, then they won’t choose, hence the skill and hard work of the teacher.
But what usually happens is that children are told they must choose to ‘play’ this or that, so that is not play based learning. I suppose it sounds good and comforts teaching staff in a country where the curriculum demands that children begin formal learning way too early, when actually yes they should be playing and learning through their play. Then they will be ready for formal learning post 7 years old.



Elizabeth Butler
July 23, 2016 at 4:54 am

Hi everyone, my child is long grown, and recently married, but I’m not yet a grandma.
when she was little I don’t recall people saying any thing about play based learning. As her mum I just gave her loads of opportunities to self direct, explore, ask questions, etc, try things, and of course paper, colouring stuff, dough, it was fantastic. Some of the happiest days of my life were when I was her horse, or her patient, or I gave her an egg box, some sellotape and some old sticky photo corners. she disappeared into her room returning half an hour later with the egg box, bound in several rounds of sellotape with photo corners stuck all over it and proclaimed ‘give that to the postman mum’. As mums we need to be on hand, so to speak, but only lightest touch of direction is necessary, principally with regard to safety. My ideas were formed at a young age by Ivan Illish ‘De-Schooling Society’ and a school I read about called Summerhill. Good luck and blessings to all of you with young children, I bet your having the time of your lives!



Elizabeth Butler
July 23, 2016 at 4:56 am

Sorry, made a typo, that should have been Ivan Illich!



July 24, 2016 at 6:20 pm

Oh, that’s as if you were reading my mind 🙂 Great post. Thanks 🙂



Karissa
July 31, 2016 at 12:32 am

Beautiful post, its so encouraging to see parents acknowledging the value of free play. I’m a little confused about the niggling on terminology of ‘play based learning’ though. In my mind there’s play, there’s structured learning, and play based learning. Three entirely separate things. Play based learning fairly well describes itself…. Learning BASED on play. My eldest (8) goes to a school that is predominantly play based. The teacher introduces a subject, the kids decide how they will learn about it whether its through building something, painting, dancing, storytelling etc. Then he comes home and plays. Normal outdoor, unstructured, imaginative play with his mates. Meanwhile my neices attend a traditional school with formal structured lessons. So to me, there are three different terms for three different things. Why is the term play based learning incorrect when it is simply describing itself? Its not play, its just play based.



Patricia
August 25, 2016 at 10:24 am

I am a little confused with this article, I need help understanding something, because I have read too many people saying different things about play base. Isn’t play, that other people call free play different to play base learning? I read that play base learning was when the teacher or caregiver grasp some moments here and there to teach their children while they are playing, like if a child is playing happily with a farm the teacher asked him what is that animal the child say a cow, the teacher can answer yes the cow is covered with hair, what is the color of that cow, do you know the child says no then the teacher said black and white, or how many animals are in the farm do you want to count them with me 1,2,3,4 , or when a child is playing with dinosaurs the teacher approach and start a conversation with the child ohh look that rex it looks furious and th apatosaurus is so gentle, the miasaurus was a great mom, and then the teaching moment was grasp by what the child was doing the child keep paying………



E
October 23, 2016 at 6:28 pm

I have been teaching in a progressive school for quite some time and we have been advocates of play-based learning. I do agree with a lot of what you said but I also want to point out that there should be a balance between structured play and free play. We give our kids around 40 mins or more each day to engage in non-directed play. They want to explore the foam blocks and turn into a castle? Sure go ahead! They want to see what will happen if they put water in the sand bin? Okay, I’ll be happy to let them. Yes they learn a lot during those moments and it really is beautiful to just let them be. However, we should not discount that intentional learning activities that are planned out by the teachers are essential as well! Let’s not forget that those activities also have benefits and if the adult is trying to make it more fun for the child then why knock on that???



    October 23, 2016 at 7:27 pm

    I don’t actually believe teacher led learning is essential or beneficial at all. And even if it WERE and a ‘balance’ was important, 40 mins for one and the rest of the day for the other is not what I’d call a balance.
    How would you feel if you got 40 minutes of freedom a day and the rest of the time you were required to do/learn/play things that other adults thought were important but that you hadn’t wanted to do yourself? Doesn’t seem like fun.



Shelley S
November 6, 2016 at 10:38 pm

As a relatively new mum (2 year old and 7 month old) with no clue what I’m doing with my boys but a desire to do the best by them, I have to confess to being lured in by those blogs and their bright, happy pictures, and the idea of learning whilst playing; it all looked good and sounded logical and based on sound theory. But I’m starting to see the error of my ways, and have realised that every time I’ve set up one of these activities for my toddler, I end up stressed because he’s not ‘doing it right’ and we struggle to achieve the ‘right outcome’. But I struggle to know what to do instead, how much to set up, how much to get involved in his play. But your blog is proving a great source of inspiration 🙂 And I’ve just ordered Free To Learn to help me on my way 🙂 And we’re now off for a walk in the woods instead of doing the structured ‘play’ activity I was going to set up this afternoon 🙂



Cathy Swift
November 30, 2016 at 9:55 am

Hi there, I just wanted to let you know that I shared your article in a UK FB group of Early Years Practitioners yesterday. Since then, the article has had 69 likes and loved, 44 comments (overwhelmingly positive) and 16 shares! It gives me some hope for the future of Early Years in my country.



December 4, 2016 at 9:48 am

YES!! Could you PLEASE run for Director of Education!! you have it right!!



Shanna
January 3, 2017 at 9:15 pm

I think you need you do more research on what play based learning actually is. Very naive article that doesn’t accurately define the topic at all. It is not as structured as you seem to think. Play based learning is guided by a teacher but the kids certainly chose it themselves. It’s not flash cards like you seem to think. It is sitting down with blocks and Legos, or at a water table with measuring cups, and asking children questions. Engaging them. It is as much about the social as it is intellectual. They are numerous studies that show the value of play based learning in preschool so before you go knocking it do a little more research.



    January 4, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    Um that’s pretty much what the article says.



    Deng Koang Giel
    February 5, 2018 at 10:35 am

    I totally have no idea with what does “play Learning based mean as i Read all of your responses , however, I may completely agreed with you Shanna that every plays for children needed to be “guided”. Because play is define as children’s natural activities with the fundamental aspects among children. Children have perception that socially and develop in their plays.



Sue-Anne Milloy
February 26, 2017 at 4:44 pm

I wholeheartedly agree.



Rachael
February 27, 2017 at 9:41 am

Yes I agree but what if all the child wants to do is watch tv or play computer games. In your opinion is this ok?



    Nicola Phoebe Queen
    February 27, 2017 at 11:30 pm

    I understand why that seems to be a worry, I tussle with related worries a lot.

    many times a day my kids tell me, or discuss something they learned via the internet. It’s the world’s greatest library.

    Children learn whatever they are doing, and much faster than we do.

    Yes that’s okay, where a child has other interesting stuff available it is almost never all they do. Sometimes the challenge is making sure they can access other equally interesting things, which is where our creativity comes in as facilitators.

    It really is not the end of the world, and they will have still learned stuff if it were all they ever did forever which it kinda can’t be anyway.

    My children go through phases of wanting to do little else. For years it troubled me. Til I realised all the ‘junk’ they watch on YouTube and games counted as study of internet media, they are both entertainers, and one of them wants to be a game programmer. Pretty much all games develop useful skills.

    Now they make their own media. Just this week my son has been turning his bedroom into a more professional recording suite on an impressively shoestring budget.

    He is only 12 and now working with a professional editing suite software. I resent that I am justifying it by needing proof but I think it helps explain the whole journey and why we have to trust them.

    I could not have predicted this and if I’d followed my own rigid and poor school trained opinion of what counts as ‘proper’ learning they would almost certainly not be doing this.

    We have to trust our children when we do autonomous home education and that they will find their path. I have to fight with myself all the time to not keep pressing my (often incorrect) values and expectations on what they are doing.

    If you take any necessary topic of learning to facilitate life, let’s say arithmetic, it doesn’t really matter when our children learn to add up and check their change, and as long as it’s learned by the time they need the skill, it ends up not really mattering when it was learned.

    I really hope that my kids via this method will grow into adults who contribute to the world in ways which they love



Paula
February 28, 2017 at 8:25 pm

Thank you for this article. I love the last part where you discuss the position of the learner and where the intention lies around what’s important and whose pathway we follow. I totally believe that if as teacher’s we value children’s actions and play as the lead for learning, then we notice and respond for that child. Unfortunately I think that there are far too many teacher’s who are focussed upon their actions as teacher’s rather than flipping the lense to the child, who is my eyes are the drive of their own pathway. Thank you for this article, I am excited to share this with my teaching team, very provoking.



steve
February 28, 2017 at 9:44 pm

You need to take your argument one step further so as to separate play from learning. Children learn all the time from whatever they are doing whether it is play or not. They need to play.



Elizabeth
March 3, 2017 at 12:32 pm

Is Montessori play based learning? I think it’s better then a daycare where it is loud and chaotic. It is food for thought and something I am guilty of doing. Instead of just trying to pull out my imagination I try to put structure on it which ends up killing the creative play altogether.



Jessica
March 23, 2017 at 2:00 pm

I get what you’re saying. And my kiddo gets free range to do what her heart desires 90% of the time. But I set up “activities” for her for a couple reasons. 1. She likes and asks for them. 2. I enjoy doing those things with her more than playing pretend for the 550th time that day. And 3. She shows interest in the topics I present. If for some reason, the activity presented is a dud and she’s uninterested, there’s no reason for her to stay, she either makes it into something she wants to do or walks away and brings me a toy she does want to play with, or sets up her own activity for us to do together. I don’t think these are free play activities, but for 30 minutes a day (or longer, sensory things and art prompts tend to be engaged for a while) I don’t see the problem. They might not be beneficial in any academic sense (I disagree), but they do allow us to bond in a way that we wouldn’t because I have a pretend play limit where my sanity starts to crumble. So, play based learning is different than free play, but I don’t see how it’s not play BASED if the child has free will and the activity can be modified by the child and was presented with that child’s interest and is developmentally appropriate. And, as far as structure, I’ve read articles that promote adults playing imaginative things with their children because the little nuances adults throw in elevate the child’s play to another level, sort of how older children also do for younger ones.



ECEProf
March 25, 2017 at 8:52 am

I respectfully suggest that you may be interested in Early Childhood Education college courses to truly understand what learning through play is (Creativity and the Young Child is a fabulous one!). What you described above is a complete misunderstanding of what learning through play is. You described “unschooling”, which is not in line with Jean Piaget’s philosophy of learning through play. As Piaget says, children construct their own knowledge with the scaffolding and information provided by the adults in their lives. When children can make their own mistakes, they will be able to find and correct their own errors as “actual experiences in the world” and this can “change the child’s perspective” (Wittmer and Petersen, 2014). Scaffolding is a HIGHLY important concept, one you failed to recognize and one that plays a very important role in moving children through the Zone of Proximal Development.

Knowledge is power. Your community college has wonderful resources and as you seem to be a very busy woman, you may be able to take many, if not most, of these classes online.



    March 25, 2017 at 9:47 am

    Correct, I believe unschooling is how children are biologically predisposed to learn. Through play, self discovery, observation, and meaningful relationships. This can include adult support and guidance but does not need adult control, coercion, or interference. I definitely don’t think children need (unrequested) teaching.
    I understand what people are taught that play based learning is, I’m saying I disagree. Play is valuable whether adults are there to evaluate it or not. Children not subjected to schooled education are very different and you can’t possibly deny the power of play and their ability to learn once you see it.
    “Collecting data on human learning based on children’s behavior in school is like collecting data on killer whales based on their behavior at Sea World.” -Carol Black



April 8, 2017 at 8:16 am

Yes! Play based is about the learner’s agenda, not ours. I recently took a trip with my family to the Portland Children’s Museum, a place billed as a center for “open-ended” play. We found nothing but contrived play spaces with a superficial self serving agenda.



Michelle G
April 25, 2017 at 8:29 pm

I loved reading this!! I am becoming a Reggio inspired teacher, preK, 3, 4, 5 year old. I am am still learning. My assistant tries to play board games and bingo cards with the students and I have said please don’t. I set up provocations for the children and take them down and start new ones when they are “over it”. I do write the “objective” on a card, loose parts, “What does Spring Look Like to You?” Is this acceptable? Thank you for your assistance



Amanda Woods
April 27, 2017 at 7:49 pm

Love what you’ve written and the way you’ve written it! There’s probably too much focus on setting up objectives for learning, while leaving kids with their toys or paint brushes would allow them to be more creative and innovative. Too much guidance can kill imagination.



Chris Clark
May 2, 2017 at 2:37 am

I totally agree but play is not just for children,adults have to play too.
Given a new set of tools we have to play,what can I do with this?what is for?
What can it do?what can I do with it? what can it do too me? till we have had a good play we don’t feel comfortable handling those tools.
Never underestimate the power of play.



Megan
May 6, 2017 at 11:16 pm

As a teacher in a public school, I completely understand. Nothing is allowed in the classroom if it doesn’t have some kind of learning target. I get marked low if there are less than a 80 percent of children working towards the same learning target! That is a great it how we function as adults or does it mean real value in learning. So I was pink slipped this year. My kids learned a lot, but I do change it teach the way my district wants me to. I am left with just the feeling is frustration and sadness. I also know when I have kids they will never go to public school.



Erica
May 10, 2017 at 3:26 pm

I love this so much but my three year old son really likes structure! Since he’s started three year old kinder where they they do ‘activities’ he’s happier than ever. Have we gone wrong somewhere?..



    M
    June 18, 2017 at 10:26 am

    I dont know what activities they do but perhaps its the the predictability and the capacity to feel secure in his learning.
    If you had no structure in your life, you would feel loss too! 😀



M
June 18, 2017 at 10:24 am

Whilst I agree that the term is complicated and should be re-evaluated. I think that perhaps that we forget children learn in a variety of different ways. There is no one way of learning just like there is no one way of being raised (nature vs. nurture). Children learn in a multitude of different ways, this could be through their own learning, or through learning from others, or exploring with others. Completely unstructured days are chaos. There is strong research that links routine to self-regulation, sense of security and the ability to predict and make choices about their learning. I think it would be useful to look at children, families, and their community as a WHOLE. Whilst children are important in their play, teachers, families, and their community should not be excluded.

Anyway, further reading that I have found useful is the idea of Dynamic Systems Theory/Approach.



Obaid
July 3, 2017 at 4:33 pm

I really liked it.



Colleen
July 28, 2017 at 7:10 pm

Im curious on how would you teach a classroom of 25+ kindergarteners?



Kelly Pfeiffer
August 12, 2017 at 11:25 am

Yes, yes!!! I agree, I agree!! Me too!



Elve van niekerk
October 1, 2017 at 1:13 am

You have to teach your child that there are things in life that you do not feel like doing. You have to teach this to them at an early age. I homeschoolex my two daughters and my son. They are in their thirties now. I regret not making more rules and teaching them more about the real world. The young mothers who insist that their children must only play are going to need help with maladjusted teens who will not adapt or blend into a workplace. I notice the next trend is to never say no to your children. I am watching from the sidelines and I am petrified for you. This is a social experiment that will blow up in your faces. You are raising the most unlikable kids out there.



Sophia Williams
October 17, 2017 at 8:08 pm

I feel like this ideology would make more sense for people who work at home or if you could take your kids to work. I mean in the wild people would have their kids accompany them when they did the important tasks of life and they would easily pick up what they need to know for adult life through observation and imitation. But how does it work when children are segregated from adult work? How do they figure out what they will need to know if it’s not an integral part of their daily lives?



Jackie
April 3, 2018 at 6:54 am

My 12 year old daughter decided that she wanted to play chef so her and my nephew headed to the grocery store. They came back and prepared a wonderful dinner with all sorts of ingredients and spices. I enjoyed seeing them have fun and show spontaniety. I do believe, also, that in these times we can find teachable moments, I.e.) proper ways of cleaning meat.



L
April 18, 2018 at 10:34 am

When I think of play based learning, I think of it being for the educational system for lower elementary grades and preschool. Unstructured play time should absolutely be happening on the home front. Public education has become a rigor of academics and has forgotten that 4, 5 and 6 year olds should be playing and learning! Though I see your point and agree on many levels…. guided play should happen in the school setting as a way to teach all areas of learning including social emotional development! Unstructured play at school could happen at recess. Thanks.



janie hepler
August 4, 2018 at 1:35 am

Thank you so much for this. I taught at a play based preschool and it was endlessly frustrating. Because we weren’t allowed to do very many lessons, we were supposed to micromanage them while they played. It was so uncomfortable and unfulfilling. I am excited for the day when this goes out of fashion.



    Lara
    January 9, 2020 at 11:51 am

    Totally agree with you Janie 👏🏻 There is definitely a place for learning through play but my children would have been absolutely unfulfilled if they weren’t being taught!



Deb Leworthy
October 5, 2018 at 11:36 pm

I love what’s you are saying and experiencing so much frustration over what play based is supposed to look like.



Radhika
October 15, 2018 at 12:13 pm

Beautifully articulated. Every word rings true.



January 24, 2019 at 3:19 am

I agree and I can add arguments:
– Some types of play need a reversible activity role. Example: when they chase each other, they must swap role, or else it becomes a burden for one child.
So, no problem if adults DO things to children, as long as there is a role change! in general no, so this is not play….
– What would be the new name instead of “play based learning”?
Fun based? Actually, it should be “relationship based learning” It has been proven that social engagement makes learning more efficient, with less repetition in order to remember and know how to do something. The fun is actually not the first point but the second, the first being the supportive presence.
We need to propose a new name and make it viral, no?
This type of teaching IS good, but the name is not ok.



Elizabeth
November 17, 2019 at 1:47 pm

I genuinely agree with what is being said about the term (play based learning) becoming con-screwed into something it isn’t or shouldn’t be. If it is now becoming adult directed, I feel that is removing the child’s choice to explore their own special interest and rather they are exploring the interest of the adult, instead. This also takes away from building important decision making skills, problem solving skills and natural sensory changes. Toddlers seem to get way more involved in self chosen sensory activity, rather than adult directed activities. I feel the parents and people who support this different perspective of play based learning are those who are more inclined to their own satisfaction or interest in what they want the child to learn. When it should be about discovering with the child what it is THEY are willing and ready to learn. Like Magda Gerber once said: “Allow children to learn on their own, without interference. . . . “We are child-loving people—too eager, so we think, Oh, poor baby would like to get that toy but can’t reach it, so we push it nearer.”

Quote Source (Magda Gerber, “From a Speech by Magda Gerber,” Educaring 16(3), Summer 1995, p. 7.)



Shannon
January 4, 2020 at 5:42 pm

I love this. Why is our world so so slow when it comes to social growth? So focused on ABC’s & 123’s, well what about the social & emotional skills that are a MUST to succeed in life? Self-actualization, allowed to be 100% authentic from birth whether it is an adult desired behavior or not. It is the craziest thing to me that core curriculum in every single grade is not based on these important life skills of focusing on each child being their own person, celebrating every single emotion equally- whether negative or positive so they are not shoved down or stomped out by adults emotions & a million other very important things that matter way more than reading, writing, & arithmetic. Those should be the secondary skills taught in my opinion. Yes, they need to eventually know how to read, etc but the most important values in life are being completely neglected for our young & I do not want to hear how they should learn that at home as we all know many kids will never learn any of these crucial emotional/social skills at home. Look at our world. Conflicts, greed, & power over other humans/groups is what it is all about. Our society needs to change. EMPATHY skills must be modeled for children, not basic sympathy. Although I am sure it will be way beyond my time- I hope our society gains the social intelligence it needs to create a better world in this way. It always begins with children. THEY should come first. Not adults who ALREADY have fully developed brains. 😭🤦‍♀️



Lara
January 9, 2020 at 11:44 am

A brilliant article which despite the following observations I respect and agree with the views here on “play based learning” My personal beliefs are based around my own children’s early years education. As a parent who understands the importance of unstructured play, allowing children to exercise their imaginations and build on experiences which offer them a basis for learning as they go along,I wish to offer the following thoughts. I also believe there is a place for a more structured approach to teaching early years. I “taught” my children to count at age 3. I “taught” my children to recognise letters at age 3. I “taught” my children shapes, colours etc at age 3. They started nursery and school with a firm grasp of those concepts. I make no apology for being of the opinion children need to be free to explore and play at the same time as learning through communication and structured education within the hours allocated in a day. I have brought up well balanced,artistic, musical, academic children with wonderful imaginations. I have no regrets in taking the decision to educate my children with a balance of both styles of learning from an early age.



January 13, 2020 at 8:54 am

Yes and… What do you do when you just can’t convince the parents that play based learning is meaningful. I teach Pre-K. Every year I have parents who are anxious and adamant that their child should be having daily reading instruction. I think this is poppycock but I’m not reaching them when I explain the importance of play. ☹️



Jenny D
May 3, 2020 at 4:37 pm

Balance. A word not much used here. Think of a pendulum. Sara is clearly at one extreme of its swing, and authorities who want to see every moment of a child’s day teacher-structured so they are ‘learning’ are at the other end. Now I respect people’s right to choose where THEY want to be on that pendulum swing, but if it is about the children, then we should be taking notice of where the CHILD wants to be. And children are not static. They will move along that swing from side to side to meet their own needs as long as they know it is OK to do so. They will only know that if they have different experiences – sorry Sara, but a child who does not experience ‘being taught’ from time to time is unlikely to be able to ask for this as they won’t know how it can benefit them. On the other hand, children who are rarely allowed to free play tend to shrivel up inside and forget how (now that’s a tragedy). So for me, balance is the key.

It is hard to provide rules of thumb as no two children’s thumbs are the same. But, starting with LOTS of free play (the majority of time) interspersed with moments when parents and teachers come alongside and play along or perhaps ask questions, should be the guide for the youngest years. In the lead up to transitioning to school that balance might shift to closer to 50:50. It’s unfair to make a sudden switch from all this free play time to formal learning, give them chance to move along the swing gradually. Generally, forget the worksheets though (unless they ask for a way to record what they have learned or they want to practice their writing)!!

And although it is important for children to learn rule-based games, their free play should indicate when they are ready for that i.e. you can see them making up their own rules and understanding why rules are needed first. Playing alongside is a great way to see that. Observe and try to guess the rule they have set, then do something that breaks their rule. If it IS their rule, you will be quickly corrected! Then you know they are developing the concept of rule and you can offer some activities with pre-set rules. If they disengage, leave it alone for a while till they seem ready again. In a while they may ask to try that game again (particularly if they’ve seen other children having fun playing it).

About resources: Children also bounce back and forth from being able to play with apparently nothing (their imaginations of course are in full use) to needing something and/or someone, to play WITH. Other children are also resources, and very valuable ones at that. I empathised with the teacher who found all the resources were quickly damaged by a group of children with nothing left for the others. Core ‘teaching’ includes boundaries, respect for others, and respect for the property of others. What you can do at home is not immediately replicable in a centre with several children so there has to be some practical limitations on access. Nonetheless, there’s nothing inherently wrong with putting out resources for play as long as the children choose whether to access them or not, how they use them (unless safety decrees certain limitations), or how long they get to play with them (though of course, not being greedy and skills of sharing factor in here). You can even put different types of things on different tables if that will please onlookers – look at it as helping the children find what they want to use. 😉

Some children are ready for formal learning much earlier than others. 60+ years ago I was voracious for learning. Music was always on and apparently I was singing skiffle songs (the pop of its day) in the pram, a long way past nursery rhymes, though that was where we began. I LOVED nature and thrived on books about it as well as getting out in it. My 1-year-old party trick was being able to name any bird in a book of bird pictures no matter what order you chose to show me. And did I love showing off that trick. Mum ‘read’ books with me, those with ‘A is for Apple’ as well as ‘The cat sat on the mat’ stories, then was astonished to realise I was a page ahead of her i.e. I had taught myself how to read by age 3. Reading was my new favourite thing and I devoured all she could find and borrow from our local library. I loved crayons (still love colouring in!) and I also used these to try out the shapes of letters. Mum backed off from being involved with writing as she knew the school had to teach it in a certain way, though I was DIY print-writing. Since Dad worked shifts, our house was time-driven and that was my next fascination, so telling the time naturally came next. How could I know for myself when I had to play quietly because Dad was asleep? Oh, that thing on the wall … Yet I had a lot of time for free play and most of these desires to learn specific information came out of my free play, which prompted what (is this called), how (does the caterpillar turn into a butterfly) and the endless WHY about everything. Mum’s tendency was to read and check her answer was right (especially the science stuff!), so I seem to have made the connection that if I could just read myself, I could cut out the middle Mum so to speak!

I was desperate to go to school (I suspect Mum was too!) and after I cried for a day because I wasn’t allowed to go when nearly 4 (no early learning centres in those days), she finally begged them to take me when I was 4 and 1/4. By the law, I should have waited another whole year!! Luckily I was tall … I couldn’t understand why everyone else was crying and clinging – I just wanted to get into it as I realised school offered more than my wonderful Mum could at home. I loved it. That also became lifelong – teaching – lecturing – teaching pre-service teachers – and researching with primary children.

The personal story is not about bragging but it’s the one I know best that shows that balance works as long as learning is child-driven. Mum and Dad seemed to know that by instinct – or maybe it was trial and error with my older brother and sister and I got lucky! They offered every resource and opportunity they could – sadly, a pony and learning to ride one was not within our means. I am so grateful to them and the wonderful primary teachers I had who continued their work by never allowing me to coast or stagnate but kept me active and challenged. I don’t know if they’d heard about the ZPD, but that’s where they kept me and I loved it. And we still got a good amount of free play time there too.

I am sad to see what has happened over these years – the further industrialisation of childhood. Children are not all ‘little boxes made of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same’ (to misquote Malvina Reynolds’ song). Even something well-intentioned that met the needs of some children (great!) becomes a ‘Thou shalt ALL do this’ directive, making a mockery of the whole thing. Children should be the drivers of their play and their learning – but that means that at least some of the time they’ll need a car to drive (resources) and a guide (teacher as passenger/navigator).

Hope that overly long spiel helps someone out there!!



Alastair McIver
December 25, 2020 at 4:18 am

I’m doing the futurelearn course on play-based learning. One of the blog posts I’m expected to read is entitled: “How to leverage effective pedagogies for children’s learning at home?”
Wish I were making that up!



A PHD Candidate in this exact area
March 21, 2022 at 5:05 am

Unfortunately this is a very narrow minded idea of play, and it only incorporates the idea of free play, which is one important aspect of play, but unfortunately has very little effect on learning beyond social skills.
There are many types of play and many types of play based learning. play that incorporates adult direction is still play.



September 6, 2022 at 4:42 pm

Great Article! Thank you for sharing this is a very informative post, and looking forward to the latest one.



October 20, 2022 at 1:19 pm

Child’s education is an important factor to have for their proper growth and development. Great ideas you shared.



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