In over 17 years of working with children, families, and teachers in schools all over the world, I have observed one consistent feature of childhood:  play is a vital activity in the lives of children.  Play helps children connect all the elements of life as they experience it. It allows them to grab hold of experiences and make them their own. It is an absolutely critical part of their childhood.

“Play is fun!” This how children usually respond when asked about play. But play is more than just fun. Play is engaging, voluntary and spontaneous. Play is a way for children to learn more about who they are and what they can do. Play is a way for children to test limits, engage in fantasy, and learn about others. Play encourages children to blossom and flourish; without it, they suffer a serious decline. I am far from the first to note this fact.

The critical importance of  play in a child’s development is well supported by decades of research.  Yet, children’s play is now seriously endangered.  Gone are the days of games, role playing, dramatic play and even  free play in classrooms.  Schools, too often concerned with academic development, have sacrificed play, and administrators may not be aware of the dire consequences for children.  Schools now place all of their focus on textbooks, worksheets, homework and structured activities.  Teachers no longer encourage children to solve problems on their own, play with one another, use nontraditional methods of teaching traditional subjects.  Every teacher and parent wants their students to be the best they can be. They push them to work harder and do better than they did the day before. All the while, they are forgetting that the students are developing and cannot possibly fit the unrealistic mold set before them. “Much of children’s cognitive development is triggered when they play.  Jean Piaget, one of the most highly regarded early childhood theorists, believed that play performs a major role in children’s expanding mental abilities (1962).  It is through play that children develop language and manipulative skills and enhance their means of discovery and creativity (Bodrova & Leong, 1996; Fromberg & Gullo, 1992; Isaacs, 1933; Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990).” [1]

As an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher, I find that Play is a vital part of the success of my students. When a child is learning a new language, it is important for them to immerse themselves in all aspects of the language.  I have been in classrooms where the principal (usually not an educator or a former teacher with very little, if any current professional development) has asked me to only speak English to the students. That would normally be fine, except when the students are five years old with absolutely no English whatsoever.  I was expected to teach concepts like making friends, classroom rules, manners and so on with absolutely no way to communicate with students other than English.  Clearly this principal had never taught ESL students before. As an experienced teacher, I knew that techniques I used in the United States with Spanish speaking children would be a great way to start with my Chinese students.  Through games, songs, movement and fun, the students learned how to behave in the classroom, how to behave toward one another and how to say basic sentences within the first month of class.

Teaching ESL through play allows a child to engage their whole body and therefore helps them to remember concepts and vocabulary faster.  For example, when teaching the students parts of the body, I would have the children sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” while doing the movements, thus engaging their entire bodies in the learning process. We would sing the song as a warm up each class period for a week.  During the vocabulary portion of the class, the students would see flashcards with pictures of body parts.  They would be asked to repeat after me in English each time I said the word.  Then, as a whole, I would ask them to give me the word for that body part in their native tongue.  By having the students give the word in their native language, it connects the two words together and gives the child a way to bind them together as one.  Later in the week, I would introduce a game, “Teacher Says” where I would ask them to touch different parts of their body as directed.  During the conversation portion of the class, I would have them learn sentences and dialogues pertaining to their body. (A: My head hurts.  B: Oh no! Are you ok?) This way the students have an opportunity to use the vocabulary in a real life context. By the end of the week, the students will be able to name at least ten body parts, they will be able to point to each one, they will be able to say a sentence about the body part and they will be able to respond regarding someone’s complaint.

When allowing a child to learn with their whole body, in a relaxed and engaging environment, the child becomes more enthusiastic about learning, more confident in their abilities, more willing to take chances when speaking, and more respectful of those around them who are learning as well.

When students are forced to sit quietly in a classroom, there is very little speaking or engagement, everything is written, and very little excitement is found, students tend to be shy, fearful, lackadaisical, unenthusiastic and bored. Test scores are lower and it takes students as much as three times longer for them to grasp the concepts presented to them.

“Play is older than culture…Civilization arises and unfolds in and as play.”

(Johann Huizinga, 1938)

“Huizinga believes that play is the root of our cultural and social development. Play is a foundation of human history as well as a system of transformation. As we play, we imitate and reflect the games and activities of the historical world around us, and we are transformed. He also believes that through play we transform our culture into something new. As children take games and change them to fit new sets of playmates and new play materials, the transformed activities become a part of a new generation’s culture.”[2]

If as educators and parents, we continue to dismiss the importance of Play, in and out of the classroom, we are stifling the creativity and possibilities of our future.

[1 & 2]          The Importance of Free Play to Children’s Development
Pei-San Brown, John A. Sutterby, James A. Therrell, Candra D. Thornton