Play is often viewed as the natural language of childhood. But beyond simply being fun, play is a vital component of early learning. Play-based learning is an educational approach that leverages play ...

Connecticut teachers want you to know that “play-based learning” is not an oxymoron. For years child development and education experts have praised the benefits of play-based learning — a pedagogy ...

Parents visiting their children’s kindergarten class for the first time may think they’ve arrived at the wrong room, especially if they expect it to resemble the kindergarten they attended as ...

Since a law passed in 2018 requiring New Hampshire schools to use play-based learning in kindergarten, many districts have struggled to define and implement the practice. An initiative from the ...

With the help of their stuffed animals or figurines, many toddlers and preschoolers play “teacher,” “doctor” or “firefighter,” drawing early inspiration from the careers they observe in their ...

When the doors to Mansfield Elementary School in northeastern Connecticut officially opened to students in the 2023-24 school year, Principal Kate McCoy had a lot to be excited about. She looked ...

One of my earliest posts here concerned the definition of play, which I developed further in an article on “Definitions of Play” for Scholarpedia (Gray, 2013) and in my book Free to Learn. I first ...

EdSource · The John Fensterwald forecast: What’s coming for California schools in 2026 The John Fensterwald forecast: What’s coming for California schools in 2026 January 8, 2026 - It's time for John ...

In May of this year (2024), a colleague and I traveled with a group of 15 American college students to Tokyo, Japan. The trip was part of an honors course on play across cultures. Before leaving, the ...

Written by James Cox, Head of Advocacy and Policy - Education, Save the Children International In this piece, James Cox, Education Policy and Advocacy Lead at Save the Children International, defends ...