Learning Through Play

At AFIA, we believe children learn best when they feel connected to the content. We believe children will engage more deeply in learning directed by them. We believe we must learn from our students and follow their interests.

In our kindergarten room for example, you will see many examples of play-based learning. Recently I watched as a student crawled under a chair. A few minutes later, I asked him to tell me about he was doing. He told me that he was fixing his motorcycle. When I asked why, he told me it needed gas. Another group of children moved blue chairs together to make a long car, pretended to buckle two baby dolls into one of the seats and took off for the swimming pool. When they “arrived” at the swimming pool, they swam, saw sharks and floated on the water. I knew this, because the kindergartners narrated their play and engaged in conversation about swimming. When one child announced the arrival of sharks, they hurried out of the water.

Through all of this play, children are developing oral language, they are thinking, creating and developing stories…all of this translates to reading and writing. In fact, I then saw that another student had written a story about going to the swimming pool, based on that pretend play.

Children engaged in play in the grocery store they created.

Recently, I read an article about the importance of play and creativity in learning, something we believe in deeply at AFIA. The author wrote about her daughter’s classroom, which reminded me of the kindergarten classroom at AFIA. She wrote:

“Her work during ‘center time’ has all the hallmarks of what experts like psychologists David Elkind and Peter Gray define as play: she has choice in her pursuits, she self-directs her learning and exploration, she engages in imaginative creation, and she does all these things in a non-stressed state of interest and joy.”

This is what we do here at AFIA – we promote choice, provide opportunities for students to be self-directed in learning and explore ideas in a joyful environment. So, it was great to read this article to be reminded the importance of the work we do across all grades at AFIA.
You can read the article here: http://time.com/3726098/learning-through-play-teenagers-education/

And so…as we continue to support children in directing their own learning, engaging their imaginations, and building a school that supports children growing into their brilliance…we will keep playing.