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Play-Based Learning in Child Care

Child Care Provider
Caregiving Approaches Infants & Toddlers Play & Learning Activities Preschool Age Children

Supporting learning through play

Play is not only critical to healthy brain development, but it’s also how children learn to engage with and respond to others. It allows them to use their creativity, develop their imagination, and strengthen their critical thinking. In the resources below, you’ll learn about the lasting impact of play-based learning and how you can best support children’s growth through play in your child care program.

Included in this guide:

  • Why is play important for children?
  • Developing play skills from birth – school-aged
  • Nature-based learning
  • Learning through the creative arts
  • Math play and learning ideas
  • Supporting language and literacy skills
  • How to enhance learning through block play
  • Videos on play and learning

Infant/Toddler PlayPreschool Play

Quote Icon
Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.
Diane Ackerman
American poet
The power of play

Why is play Important for children?

Kids don’t need fancy toys or certificates to play. They need time, space, and freedom to explore the ideas that interest them. No matter what it looks like, when children play, they learn.

Edmentum Blog

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Play builds imagination and creativity

During play, kids stretch their imaginations. They create make-believe games or get lost in pretend worlds. These are helpful skills for navigating life and developing relationships with others.

airplane toy

Children need time for unstructured play

Unstructured play is the time when kids direct their own play. They are not bound by schedules or activities directed by adults. Unstructured play helps a child’s brain develop in positive ways.

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Social-emotional skills are essential for life success

Through play, children learn how to navigate the world in a way they can understand and process. They explore how to work in groups, to wait and take turns, to negotiate, and to speak up for themselves.

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Play improves language and literacy

Starting from birth, children build language and literacy skills through play and interactions, like back-and-forth conversations, sharing books together, and pretending.

Play encourages greater independence

Solitary play allows children to experiment with their own creativity and ideas. When alone, and even bored, children’s brains take up the challenge. They find new and exciting ways to entertain themselves.

ball

Play promotes physical skills

Children have a very strong need for physical play, which is any type of play that gets them moving. It’s part of how they learn to use their bodies and strengthens connections in the brain.

Children learn through their play

Children develop thinking, social, physical, and language/literacy skills through playing and interacting with the world.
playing restaurant

Thinking skills

Children develop cognitive skills, like math and problem solving, in a pretend grocery store.

Physical skills

Through play, children develop large and small motor skills and confidence in their bodies when they are balancing blocks, feeding themselves, and running on the playground.

New vocabulary

Through conversations with young children, we are supporting the development of language skills, like the words they need to play, get their needs met, and negotiate with peers.

Social skills

Social-emotional development is the foundation for learning. Playing games and working together to solve a problem helps children develop these skills.
child coloring

Early reading skills

Scribbling on paper or creating a menu for a pretend restaurant, playing with playdough, and cutting with scissors all develop the fine motor skills needed for writing.
Developing play skills

Social stages of play

Play is much more than just having fun. Play is the foundation of all learning and how children explore the world. While playing, children learn and develop important skills they will continue to use throughout their lifetime.

Ages Zero to Two Years

The first true stage of play begins after the newborn period and lasts through age two. This is the stage when a child plays alone and appears to be uninterested in what others are doing. This is an important stage of play, because it teaches children how to entertain themselves.

Age Two Years

During this stage, a child begins to watch other children playing but does not play with them. They will often use language to find out more about play and seem curious about others. While this type of play is common in two-year-olds, it can take place at any age.

Older than Two Years

When a child plays alongside or near others but does not play with them, we call this parallel play. They may have similar toys and copy each other, but they do not play cooperatively together. At this stage, children are learning social skills through observation.

Two to Three Years

Between the ages of two and three, play changes and children become more interested in playing with others than with toys. They may talk and engage more with one another, practice turn-taking and trading toys, and begin developing negotiating skills. However, as children are figuring out what it means to play with someone else, there are no rules to their play and conflict may arise. Stay close and help them develop problem-solving and cooperation skills by giving them the words to use and help calming down.

Four to Six Years

Social play means children are interested in both the people and the activity, and play becomes more organized. They want to know what is happening around them and what their friends think. Pretend play becomes more complex as groups have a more formalized leader and children are assigned roles as they work together to accomplish goals developed by the group. Think about children playing house – the “leader” assigns roles to each child (the dog, the mom, the baby, etc.), and they work together to cook and serve food or take care of the baby.

  • This kind of play brings together skills from all other stages and is the foundation of friendships and social skills.
  • Cooperative play is necessary for social and group interaction in preschool and early elementary school.
  • After age six, most play is divided in male/female groups.
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Risky play is really important for kids—all kids—because it teaches hazard assessment, it teaches delayed gratification, it teaches resilience, it teaches confidence. When kids get outside and practice bravery, they learn valuable life lessons.
Caroline Paul
Author and former firefighter
Nature-Based Learning

Risk Taking and Play

Risky play is play that has perceived elements of risk and helps young children test their limits. It can look like running down a hill, balancing on a ledge, or climbing up a slide. Children may fall or skin a knee, but they will also learn what their bodies can do!

What is risky play?

For many caregivers, what they fear the most about risky play is injury. However, allowing little ones to take developmentally-appropriate risks can actually make them safer, because they learn how to safely navigate their environments and what their bodies can and cannot do. Risky play does not mean handing a child a saw and letting them to go town. It means allowing children the opportunity to explore developmentally-appropriate risks and develop their own risk management skills.

There are six categories of risky play:

  • Great Heights – Climbing and learning to balance
  • High Speed – Riding a bike, running, sliding down a slide
  • Dangerous Elements – Playing near a body of water
  • Rough and Tumble – Wrestling or play-fighting
  • Lost/Disappear – Hide-and-go-seek
  • Dangerous Tools – Using a hammer or scissors

The benefits of appropriate risk taking

By giving children an opportunity to explore developmentally-appropriate risks, you’re allowing them to develop their own risk management skills.

Other benefits include:

  • Critical thinking skills – Children learn how to find creative solutions to problems and how to assess danger for the future.
  • Self-awareness – Children learn about what they are good at and feel powerful when they reach new heights and speeds.
  • Resilience – Children learn that it is okay and safe to fall down or fail. Through risk-taking, they develop strength to learn to try again and again.

Incorporating risk taking into play

Think about where and how you played when you were a child. Most of us spent our childhoods playing outside and in nature. Risky play was much more accepted a few generations ago! Keep this in mind when you’re attempting to loosen your boundaries and engage in appropriate risky play. Here are some other tips:

  • Explain safety rules without making it sound scary. Find other ways to say “be careful” that don’t limit exploration.
  • Go outside every day. There is no bad weather, only improper clothing!
  • Encourage small risks without putting pressure on children, like taking a big step or navigating a climbing structure.
  • Offer choices, such as taking a riskier path or using a different tool they may have never used before.
  • Instead of phrases like, “that’s not safe” or “that’s too high”, try “do you feel safe?” or “how high do you want to go?”
Outdoor Play

Children’s bodies are wired to be active.

Time outside daily is important for children’s physical and mental health. It’s part of how they learn to use their bodies and strengthens connections in the brain. Additionally, children who spend time outdoors have a greater ability to self-regulate their behaviors and impulses. No matter the weather, put kids in layers and outdoor clothes so they can get in their green time.

Outdoor play helps children:

  • Sharpen reflexes
  • Work on movement control
  • Improve gross motor skills
  • Develop greater balance
  • Build strong muscles
Featured Resource

Exploring the Outdoors

Nature play provides young children with tremendous opportunities for authentic learning as they take risks. Moreover, it benefits their intellectual, emotional, and physical growth. Learn more about how you can support nature play for ages birth to five.
View PDF Download
Creative Play

Hands-On Play Ideas

Art is a sensory experience for young children. It is about the process of exploration – not about making a product. Choose materials that are safe and non-toxic, because young children like to learn by touching and tasting!

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Infant/Toddler Art Ideas

Art doesn't always have to be messy. Check out these messy and mess-free experiences for infants and toddlers.
Download

Sensory Bottles

Sensory bottles can be used to stimulate, entertain, or calm a child. They are easy to make and loads of fun to explore.
Sensory Bottle Ideas
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Preschool Art Ideas

Art ideas that are all about doing and making, rather than on the finished product.
Process Art Ideas
Process art

Art is about the process.

Approach art like open-ended play. For example, provide a variety of materials and see what happens as a child leads the art experience. Think about the materials, rather then the outcome, and let children create without step-by-step instructions or samples to follow.

Focus on the experience and on exploration of techniques, tools, and materials, like:

  • Fingerpaint or edible paints made from yogurt or other foods
  • Paints (e.g. watercolors, tempera)
  • Writing tools (e.g. markers, crayons, pencils, oil pastels)
  • Homemade playdough and tools
  • Different colors and types of paper (e.g. construction, white, wrapping, cardboard)
Creative Play

Sculpting with Playdough

Playdough is a classic way to encourage creativity at home. Children have the opportunity to sculpt, knead, cut, roll, and design. Not to mention, they are developing their small muscles needed for handwriting. Make your playdough at home! Try adding:

  • Spices (e.g. basil, cilantro, rosemary)
  • Scented oils (e.g. lavender, eucalyptus, citrus)
  • Shine (e.g. glitter, sequins, glow-in-dark paint)
  • Texture (e.g. sand, coffee grounds, cocoa mix)
31 Days of Playdough
Math Play

Practicing math skills through play

Young children can learn important math skills while playing! As the teacher, you can support them by modeling counting, creating problems to solve, and providing toys that encourage sorting and measuring.

 

Math Play & Learning Math Tips for Families
Language & Literacy

Practicing literacy skills through play.

Young children can learn important literacy skills while playing! As the adult, you can support their literacy by modeling reading and letter recognition, creating problems to solve, and providing toys that encourage story-telling.

A foundational part of literacy in early childhood is language development. Starting in infancy, one of the best ways to support language development is talking and listening to children.

Literacy Development Language Development
Building Play

How to enhance learning in building play

By adding materials or posing a challenge, building play can provide the perfect opportunity to practice critical thinking and problem skills. Try one of these ways to enhance your child’s learning when building!

PDF Resource

31 days of LEGO play

LEGO Ideas
Online Resource

Non-traditional ways to build structures

Building Activities
blocks
PDF Resource

25 ways to build with blocks

Building Ideas

20 Play Based Learning Ideas for the Curriculum Aligned Classroom

While playing, children are developing important social, cognitive and physical skills, as well as a love for learning and desire to engage in the learning process.
Learn More
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Featured Video

How to get into play-based learning

Curious about play-based learning but unsure where to start? Check out this video series by Ontario Science Centre.

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Let’s Talk about Language: Engaging with Families of Multilingual Children

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Anti-bias Literacy Approach

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Using Sign Language Without Being Fluent

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Getting Creative: Unique Ideas for your Preschool Artist

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Winter STEM Challenges

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Tots & Touch Screens! Making Sense of Technology for Young Children

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