When we appreciate the important role play serves in a child’s learning about self and world, we give children the time and opportunity to engage in the self-initiated play that is the surest way …

This excerpt from Developmentally Appropriate Practice illustrates the ways in which play and learning mutually support one another and how teachers connect learning goals to children’s …

There are many types of play: symbolic, sociodramatic, functional, and games with rules-–to name just a few. Researchers study play’s many aspects: how children learn through play, …

We can help families understand why play is critical for preschoolers’ learning and development—and how play sets children up for future school success.

Provide play materials that spark children’s curiosity and interest, allowing children freedom to explore and experiment. Help only when necessary (e.g., by scafolding, reorienting a toy, …

Play is essential for all children, birth through age 8. Play (e.g., self-directed, guided, solitary, parallel, social, cooperative, onlooker, object, fantasy, physical, constructive, and games with …

Sometimes our listening reinforces what we thought we knew—and sometimes it takes us in directions we didn’t anticipate, identifies consequences we didn’t envision, and helps us find …

In addition to being safe, good toys for young children need to match their stages of development and emerging abilities.

Teachers Support Content Learning with a Range of Scaffolding Approaches Within both teacher-initiated and child-initiated learning opportunities, early childhood educators support content …

NAEYC asked two researchers about what their work tells us about toys, children, and play. Jeffrey Trawick-Smith is Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Center for Early …