Childhood101

playing. learning. growing.

We Play: Because Childhood Is Not A Race

Sometimes the learning potential of a child’s play is not obvious to see. As adults we look and see boxes and pipe cleaners and scraps of tape…

…where a child delights in a house which needs more decoration, family members adorned with all manner of personal decoration, and vehicles to speed around a city of boxes. Places to go, people to see, conversations to be had. All stemming from the imagination and personal experience of a child.

Self initiated play is important for children’s learning. Play is the means by which children’s experiences are processed and made meaningful. These ‘pretend’ actions and conversations are an important part of a young child’s learning. It is why Immy has open access to recycleables and art materials, both of which she regularly accesses in her play and which assist her as she learns to make independent choices, to combine materials in different ways, and to represent her ideas symbolically. This is learning in action, learning through play.

What have you been learning through play this week?

To link up to We Play;
– Link to the URL of your individual post (not your home page)
– Be sure there is a link back to childhood101.com within your post
– And I would love you to show some playful love by visiting at least five links and leaving a comment!

If you are viewing this post via email or a blog reader you will need to click through to the post to see the links 🙂 Happy playing!



Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.

Read more of Christie's adventures at https://childhood101.com.

Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  6. Rachelle says

    May 13, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    I agree that art materials and found materials should be readily accessible for creative play...you never know what big ideas will generate (and need to be acted upon!) over the course of an inspiring day!!

  7. youclevermonkey says

    May 15, 2011 at 8:07 PM

    My three have their own desk complete with drawers full of different materials for them to use. Our kitchen is half art room and I couldn't be happier that this is the case. I remember that one packet of pipecleaners kept them busy for a 2.5hr drive one day and the rest of the weekend we were away - amazing. 'If we allow people to shape their own small worlds during childhood, then they will grow up knowing and feeling they can participate in shaping the big world tomorrow’ (Sobel, 1990)

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