Learning through Play – What does that even mean?

Although the idea of learning through play may seem pretty self-explanatory, I can assure you that many parents still do not quite understand what it truly means. And that’s O.K. As Parents, we come from all walks of life and have a plethora of personal schooling experience. Take my Husband for example; born and educated in Ghana, where he recalls spending many a-lesson being immersed in rote learning, an approach that schools are presently moving away from. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to point out the in-explicit learning taking place in an activity that he insisted was “just playing”. To be honest, I don’t think he will ever quite get it.

During my time as a Teacher, I can also recall several scenarios where parents have seemed perplexed by the early years’ curriculum and needed an explanation of how their child could possibly learn from “playing all day”.

I have been teaching for coming up to ten solid years, and for the most part this has been spent in the Early Years – Nursery and Reception. I will tell you now, once an early years teacher, always an early years teacher! I absolutely love the freedom of teaching through play and igniting those little souls with a passion for learning without them even realising!

But what are children learning when they are ‘just’ playing? You may ask.

Well let me tell you …

Children are most relaxed and comfortable when playing, therefore happier to give things a go as there is no pressure. I know that if I gave my five year old a maths worksheet on halving and told her to sit down and work the answers out, with no input or support, she would crumble.

Let’s explore ‘halving’ as an example; you could play a wide range of games and activities to explore this maths skill. Such as:

• Cutting real fruit in half at snack time

• Using playdough- you could ask your child to give you half of whatever lovely creation they have made

• Explore sharing toys, making sure we are being fair

• Make up scenarios using sweets – share them between 2

• Draw a ladybird- how many spots would it have if we took away one wing?

The list could go on..

Do you know what excites me the most? The beauty of learning through play is that most of the time, children don’t even realise that they are indeed, learning.

I hope you have found this useful. Comment below on your experiences of learning through play- it would be good to hear from you.

Love Always,

Sharna