Teach With Purpose: The Importance of Play

At University Child Children’s Center we respect and expect play. We know just how important play is to a child’s development, and that children need to feel safe and supported in their environment in order to play, explore, and grow. 

It’s More Than Just Play

In some cases, play is viewed as just play, a way to get rid of a child’s excess energy. We know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. 

“We as educators can get caught up in that, ‘Okay, yeah, you can play, but now we’ve got to get down to the learning.’ Where in reality the playing is helping the children gain those skills and learn about those concepts.” Explains Heidi Kehle, a LUME Early Childhood Specialist, “Play is a way to question, to wonder, to figure out, to problem solve . . .”. 

Play is crucial to a child’s development and it provides endless opportunities for them to grow physically, mentally, and emotionally. Through play, children refine and grow their gross motor skills like running, jumping, and grabbing. Play also lets a child explore new concepts on their own, even if they don’t quite understand them yet. A child may play at a water table, and begin to understand volume, even though they may not know that word.

Play also is an avenue for children to grow emotionally and gives children opportunities to build relationships with both other children and adults, empowering them to communicate and problem solve with others. 

Taking Risks

Just like grown-ups, children can feel scared to take a risk, whether small or large. When children feel safe playing in an environment with an emotional partner, they can begin to take small risks, like stacking the block tower just a bit higher or trying something new. 

Brittany Brewer, an educator at UCCC explains, “Once they feel safe and comfortable doing and taking those risks, they’ll take another risk. So they'll reach further and blossom into who they're going to become.”

The risk-taking that children learn through play helps them prepare for the risks they’ll need to take as they learn and develop both inside and outside the classroom. 

Teach with Purpose

At UCCC, teaching with purpose includes understanding the value of play. Sometimes that means getting on the ground and getting a little muddy. Learn more about what it means to teach with purpose at University City Children’s Center.