Children have an immensely different approach to the world than adults. Their perception of the world around them isn’t colored by time management or achievement. They are not constrained by what is or isn’t possible. Children have an unequivocal freedom to ask questions and experiment with the world.  Quite simply, children need the opportunity to think, the space to dream, and the freedom to play. 

Children learn by running, building, imagining, climbing, storytelling, exploring, pretending and singing. It’s how they build the foundation for the academic skills that are so critical to their development.  It is essential that adults realize that play, as Fred Rogers famously said, is “the work of childhood.” It is important that we create a world of wonder as children learn together inspiring curiosity with joy, love and laughter.

The chance to engage in unscripted, playful learning is one of the most meaningful experiences we can provide to young children.  As early childhood educator Erika Christakis writes in The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need From Grownups “Play is the foundational building block of human cognition, emotional health, and social behavior,” Christakis writes. “Play improves memory and helps children learn mathematical problems in their heads, take turns, regulate their impulses, and speak with greater complexity,” she further adds.

Here are some ways to encourage play:

• Thinking + Questioning = Learning.  Focus on how children learn and process information.  Encourage them to ask questions. Make this the basis of each teaching moment.  Through these rich learning experiences, children become lifelong learners.  
• Encourage hands on discovery of their world.  By incorporating open-ended engagements and child directed explorations, we allow and encourage curiosity, wonder, problem solving and experimentation with their world.  
• Provide enrichments.  This is the spark that inspires imagination.  Add new experiences to your child’s environment to offer new invitations that expand on their interests and the content of their education.   
• No toys needed: Loose parts are a collection of items that give children an open-ended opportunity to play.  Everyday items will take on a whole new purpose!
• No directions necessary:  Arts and crafts supplies, dress-up clothes and hats, cars and trains, dolls and animals, Legos and building sets are just some items that require a child’s essential input to make them come to life.  
• Embrace a little chaos:  Set aside space in your home for children and fill it with blocks, games, crayons, magazines to cut up and draw in, as well as toys and dress-up clothes.  A big part of free play is having space to do it in – a space that isn’t ruled over by adults.
• Remember that “Play is the beginning of knowledge.” -George Dorsey

Creative play is valuable for preschoolers.  It promotes problem solving, develops critical and abstract thinking, enhances vocabularies and verbal skills and develops important social skills.  “Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable” -Lucia Capocchione. 

So how will you incorporate creative play in to your child’s everyday life? 

Submitted by Amy O’Malley, Franchise Owner of 4 Creative World Schools

About Creative World School
Creative World Schools are fun-filled, engaging places where children of all ages can explore their curiosity about the world! The early childhood education centers are inspired by children and designed to incorporate national standards in a unique, safe learning environment that challenges children to learn through innovative play. With an innovative curriculum based on iSTEAM education and inquiry learning methods for infants through school aged children, Creative World celebrates the curiosity of young learners. To learn more about their schools visit www.creativeworldschool.com.