Children learn more through ‘guided play’ than from teacher-led instruction, according to a new study by experts at Cambridge University. A play-focused approach to learning, where children are ...

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 ...

Social and emotional learning is crucial to childhood development. Unfortunately, children in areas affected by conflict and disaster are more likely to miss out on critical learning opportunities.

Kindergarten students play in a classroom in Washington state. Experts and researchers are calling for more play for young children to boost academic and interpersonal skills. Credit: Jackie Mader/The ...

A third grade student sets the last domino down in a row along the edge of a table while playing in Crystal O’Brien’s classroom at Shidler Elementary School in Oklahoma City. Credit: Ariel ...

Sonnets Academy focuses on helping its students feel heard. Two experts share how social emotional learning helps children learn to control their emotions and better communicate. When it comes to ...

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 ...

January 8, 2026 - It's time for John Fensterwald's annual predictions for what's in store for education in 2026. When it comes to early childhood education, child’s play may well be serious business.

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 ...