What Is Play?
Most early childhood educators agree that play is an active and enjoyable activity that is internally motivated, process-oriented, and directed by the players. The International Play Association (2009) has this to say about play:
[It should be] controlled by children rather than adults, and . . . undertaken for its own sake and not for prescribed purposes. The term “free play” is often used to distinguish this from organized recreational and learning activities, which of course also have important roles in child development. However, the characteristics of free playsuch as control, uncertainty, flexibility, novelty, non-productivityare what produce a high degree of pleasure and, simultaneously, the incentive to continue to play. Recent neurological research indicates that this type of behavior plays a significant role in the development of the brain’s structure and chemistry.
Play seems to be a universal. Left to their own devices, all children play, regardless of parental or teacher involvement. We examine and research play, then, in terms of how children engage and the influence and impact that play has on child development and learning.