Aren't They Just Playing? Why Play is Essential in the Preschool Classroom

Think about the greatest life lessons that you've learned. How did you learn it? What is the story of that lesson? Are you thinking of a specific day in third period English, or a particularly affecting post on Facebook? Maybe, but I'm going to guess that wasn't the case. More than likely, the most important things you've learned in life are the result of your experiences.

Well, if you're four years old, you haven't had all that many life experiences. One of the best ways that young children have authentic learning experiences is through play. Since children learn through play, it only makes sense to teach them using play. This is what we mean when we talk about play-based early education. Here are just a few examples of what that might look like. 

• Three children learn about family dynamics as they play house and assume familial roles.
• A girl learns math concepts like comparisons and fractions as she notices that two blocks are smaller than a third block, and that those first two blocks put together are as long as the third.
• A boy experiences concepts in physics as he races cars down a ramp and notes which are the fastest.
• Four children learn to share space and communicate as they dig their hands together and share toys in a sensory bin.
• A boy grows in his feeling of being able to create new things as he makes something he likes in the art center.
• A girl practices making predictions as she experiments with using different tools to shape play-dough.

I could go on and on. While all of these situations look and feel like simple play, they occurred in the classroom because a thoughtful teacher set up an environment in which specific children could make discoveries that would bring them closer to their learning goals. In the words of Amanda Morgan, "Play isn’t one more egg to add to your juggling act.  Play is the basket to put them in." We play in preschool not only because the children love it, but because that is how we create learning that lasts.