The Science of Play: How Preschoolers Learn Best Through Play

Picture this. Wooden blocks scattered across the floor, magnetic building tiles stacked and strewn about, and toy cars piled up. You look over to the kid-sized art table to see an explosion of crayons and papers seemingly everywhere. To you, it looks like clutter and you start to feel yourself start to spiral into total overwhelm. However, instead of giving in to your (very understandable) overstimulation, you take a deep breath and remind yourself, “This is evidence of imagination at work. This is the sign that my child is doing exactly what they’re meant to do: learn through play.”

Dealing with the mess that play can provide can be initially stressful, but once you understand the value behind what is actually happening in your child’s brain and how it relates to their learning process, it’s much easier to deal with. (Good job not giving in to your overstimulation above; come to find out, your child constructed an entire “city.” The strewn materials that looked like a mess were actually “roads,” “buildings,” and “maps” for them to navigate through the world they built.)

We’re going to unpack this together today: the importance that the concept of play has in a child’s learning journey. There are many different approaches to learning, and while none of them are objectively wrong, there are learning methods that are most beneficial to children. For young children especially, play is the utmost valuable learning style for their healthy development.

TRADITIONAL LEARNING VERSUS PLAY-BASED LEARNING

There are two major approaches to the learning process: traditional learning and play-based learning. Traditional learning is an educator-based approach to learning. In a traditional learning approach, the teacher is in the driver's seat of the child’s learning process. Traditional learning involves direct instruction, memorization, and evaluations of the child’s learning through assessments.

The main focus in traditional learning is on achieving academic goals, measured by a grading or age-appropriate evaluation system. While traditional learning provides structure and clear educational objectives, it can also hinder creativity, self-expression, and imagination, which is detrimental in the early childhood years.

Conversely, play-based learning is child-focused, meaning the child is in the driver's seat of their own learning journey. Exploration and experimentation through hands-on learning experiences are paramount within play-based learning. While engaging in play-based learning, children get to use their imagination to acquire skills and knowledge of the world around them. Children obtain information through their own experiences with trusted adults alongside them, rather than simply receiving direct instruction from a teacher.

Play-based learning tends to be a more enjoyable method of learning, especially for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. It helps them gain independence, which will serve them well in every area of their life. Your child is likely already participating in it, whether you’re intentionally facilitating it or not. That’s where we come in.

Our T is for Tot subscription play kits are designed to make learning fun and educational simultaneously, keeping play at the forefront. We strive to develop a lifelong love of learning within your child while also simplifying the learning process for you as you facilitate activities for your children. Through exploring our play kits, your child will feel more ownership over their own learning as they navigate the materials and themed activities. We will further discuss the concept of play in more detail to deepen our understanding of what play-based learning looks like in early childhood.

UNDERSTANDING PLAY

To emphasize and encourage play-based learning for your child, you must first understand what constitutes play, as it is an all-encompassing concept. Play does not have a perfect formula or a one-size-fits-all approach; it can look very different from person to person, which is part of what makes it so fun and unique!

One of the most important aspects of play is that it is independent and child-led. This helps children begin to refine their interests, develop their problem-solving skills, and discover what interests them. Play is open-ended, meaning there are no defined objectives or scored assessments involved. The child simply explores their environment, following their unique interests and natural curiosity. Play is a vehicle for discovery, and involves a hands-on learning approach, instead of simply listening to instruction in order to gain new knowledge.

TYPES OF PLAY

Play is very diverse. There is no right or wrong version of play; it’s all dependent on what works best for your child, and this can change from day to day. There are many different mechanisms of play, such as imaginative, physical, social, sensory, and messy play. Many benefits come from a child engaging in free play versus structured play. Free play is a more spontaneous type of play, giving the child the ability to more naturally follow their innate curiosity. On the other hand, structured play has more clear-cut boundaries and defined boundaries, making it less spontaneous.

Sensory play is an exciting component of play-based learning, offering many different opportunities for new experiences. Some examples of sensory play include (but are certainly not limited to) kinetic sand, playdough, sensory bins, and cut-and-paste activities. Our Five Senses Kit is a wonderful tool for you to get started with facilitating sensory play in your home.

Messy play is a part of sensory play, but it’s important to note that sensory play does not always have to be messy. A lot of people use these terms interchangeably, but they are not always mutually exclusive. Sensory play involves the use of the five senses to explore the surrounding environment.

BENEFITS OF PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Play is not only a vehicle for learning, but it’s also a tool to gauge the progress of a child’s overall development. Parents are bound to see their children evolve in many developmental areas the more they participate in open-ended play, specifically within social-emotional, physical, and cognitive development.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL

By engaging in play, children learn many social-emotional concepts, such as cooperation, empathy, resilience, collaboration, and self-regulation. As children engage in play with or around their peers, they will encounter situations that require them to work together constructively. Children learn emotional coping skills through role-playing independently or with others. Our Let’s Build Kit will facilitate the growth of your child’s emotional coping skills as they learn to practice patience while building their creations.

PHYSICAL

Learning through play helps children develop their motor skills, both fine and gross motor. Fine motor skills refer to the smaller muscle development in their hands and fingers, while gross motor skills work on larger muscle groups, such as the core and leg muscles. Hand-eye coordination and balance are also vital skills that are developed and strengthened through play.

COGNITIVE

Cognitive development refers to a child’s ability to think critically, ask questions, and find solutions to problems. While engaging in play, children are faced with many opportunities to cultivate their problem-solving skills. They are also given the opportunity to enact introductory hypothesizing skills by asking themselves questions and coming up with ways to test their questions and ultimately find answers. Try our Discovery Kit so you can facilitate your child’s ability to make observations, hypothesize, and find solutions!

Additionally, play is crucial in growing a child’s language development. As children play, they interact with peers, parents, teachers, and those they come into contact with in their environment. This simple act, especially when repeated multiple times, leads to language acquisition, further expanding their vocabulary.

THE DATA BEHIND PLAY-BASED LEARNING

The data and research backing play-based learning and neuroscience in play are truly fascinating. Play stimulates the brain and overall brain development by strengthening neural connections while children actively engage in play. Participating in activities that work on many parts of the brain at one time helps to strengthen the pathways between neurons in the brain. This helps the brain process and, ultimately, store information.

When your child is able to store information more easily in their brain, this can lead to more overall knowledge gained, more skills acquired, and, ultimately, future learning success. Additionally, when children engage in play, their brains release dopamine, the “feel good” chemical in the brain. Experiencing a dopamine release during play makes the experience more enjoyable, which also helps to solidify information in the brain.

PLAY TIME

Though play is a multifaceted concept, it is a lot more simple than people think. Don't overcomplicate it and let your child lead the way. Our children learn a lot from us parents, but it might surprise you all that you will likely learn from watching them play, explore, and follow their own curiosity. Our T is for Tot subscription box is designed to make learning feel like play and be a truly enjoyable experience for your child, while also simplifying the process for you. At T is for Tot, everyone wins, parents and children alike!

Play will teach your child more than traditional instruction ever could, especially in the early childhood years. When play is self-guided, your child is most likely to retain the information they learn. As they gain their independence through play, this will cultivate their love of learning, which will carry them through their entire lives.