Play = Learning

Last week we celebrated the first-ever International Day of Play, and I’ve been thinking about this every day since.?

My older son doesn’t officially leave for college until mid-August, but his two week backpacking trip with friends after high school graduation has given our family a taste of what’s to come. His younger brother, now 13, immediately seized on this opportunity to double up his playtime on the PS5, making solid progress on his FC24 campaign. Missing his fraternal playmate, he turned to his father as the next best thing, instructing me on how to play Super Smash Bros. on the Switch, and embarrassing me heartily. I haven’t beat him in a match yet, but I’ve found my character and am making good strides, for which he is genuinely proud and encouraging. When watching a movie together the other night, he booted up the Switch at every ad break for us to fit in "just one more battle."

This is the nature of play. It’s captivating, exhilarating, and intrinsically motivating.?

When I suggested that we do something physical together, away from screens, he instantly suggested that we play ping pong. Again, driven to play. Agreeing to help me wash his Mom’s car at the weekend, he picked up the nozzle of the jet-wash, immediately likened it to a Luger pistol, and started aiming through the imagined scope to blast the dirt spots to smithereens. Later, when he spun around his sudsy sponge, spraying streaks of bubbles across the side of the vehicle, he said he felt like Jackson Pollock. Even for an activity that is not inherently playful, his instinct was to find the fun, to make it play-worthy.

Play is built into our DNA, as it holds evolutionary purpose. Play is the heart of every child’s life, and given the opportunity, they would play every single day.?

So, if play is instrumental for healthy cognitive development, then why is school so un-playful? Fun is not counterproductive to learning, but rather a catalyst for deeper and more personally felt connections to learning. With chronic absenteeism rates higher than they’ve ever been, it’s time to reconsider how play might be the age-old, low-tech answer that’s been under our noses all along. Maybe if we all take a step back to make sure that we honor the native creativity engine within each child, powered by their curiosity and their drive to explore and play, we could help them find the fun in any subject.