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CT, NH Mandate Play-Based Learning in Schools. Why All States Should Do the Same

Wagner: Young kids learn through play. Requiring it provides an education that is enriching and rigorous and sets the foundation for future success.

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If you were to shadow a family child care educator for a day, you might join a group of young children on an outdoor scavenger hunt. At a local park, children might be holding up magnifying glasses to examine the sidewalk and grass, studying the spots on a ladybug or noticing the weeds in the pavement cracks. They might inspect a hollow in a large tree, smelling the leaves and tugging at the branches.

Playful activities like these are an essential daily part of early learning, as children develop problem-solving, motor and social-emotional skills while making discoveries. Choosing activities based on their interests can also help build their sense of autonomy and identity.

The nation’s leaders are catching on to what early childhood educators have long known – kids learn best through hands-on exploration and play. With a growing body of evidence from developmental and neuroscience researchers demonstrating the effectiveness of play-based learning for young learners, my home state of Connecticut recently became the second in the nation to pass legislation requiring its implementation. Starting this year, preschool and kindergarten teachers across the state are integrating play into their curriculum, embracing a new approach to teaching that fosters creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.

Children are not only born ready to discover and explore the world, they also learn this way. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Early Head Start says play is especially beneficial to childhood development, as it supports healthy brain function and allows infants and toddlers to build relationships and learn social skills. Research also shows the importance of play to the emotional well-being of children of all ages.

Early educators — including providers who run licensed, small child care programs in their homes and have collaborated with All Our Kin over the past 25 years — often work with groups of children ages 0 to 5 and create learning environments that reflect their interests and curiosities. In one program, a 2-year-old helped set the table for lunch while another child watered the plants. In another program, a teacher led her children on a journey through the stars, encouraging them to create planets out of clay and transform their sleeping area into “space” with black paper and glow-in-the-dark stars as they searched for the sun and the moon in the sky.

Across the country, elementary school teachers are integrating this child-centered, active educational approach. A recent review of 26 studies from 18 countries found that learning through play bolstered children’s language, literacy and social emotional skills, making it an effective strategy for reducing achievement gaps between youngsters from different socioeconomic groups. Observing children at play reveals so much about their learning styles and needs, and can inform decisions about how to support students as they learn new skills or concepts.

While free play at recess has long benefited children through their elementary school years, educators have now introduced guided play in the classroom. These teacher-led activities or games can improve math skills, shape recognition and vocabulary for describing locations and movements. Because play can look different across cultures, there is also a need for activities that reflect children’s unique identities and values.  

To be sure, this style of teaching is a departure from schooling that has increasingly focused on standardized testing and emphasized academic expectations, even among the lower grades and amid a growing mental health crisis among children. 

Requiring play would provide every young child with an education that is both enriching and rigorous, but legislative action is needed to make that a reality. In New Hampshire, the first state to pass legislation requiring play-based learning, kindergarten teachers now have coaching and training to make play a fundamental component of their instruction. Oklahoma, Nevada and Maine have also adopted policies to help educators integrate this approach into their teaching. 

A mandate for play-based learning in every school — combined with the necessary funding and training for teachers to implement it — would transform early childhood and elementary education by establishing systems and policies that support young students’ academic growth. State and federal leaders should follow New Hampshire and Connecticut’s lead and take this critical step forward, while also encouraging parents to choose child care programs that prioritize play. In doing so, the country’s educational system would ensure a brighter, more equitable future for the next generation. 

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