Play Is Not a Break from Learning — It Is a Bridge to Learning

I hope to share a different angle with play educators and advocates.  I'm guessing everyone is already pro-play here. If we want play to be taken seriously(in Singapore), we may need to change the way we speak about it. Not because joy, imagination or freedom etc are unimportant but because in a competitive academic culture, many parents and educators are listening for a different language.

They will be asking: Will this help my child cope? Will this help my child learn?

So perhaps our task as play educators is not only to protect play, but to focus on translating the play. To show that play is not a distraction from learning. Play is where children practise the very capacities that make learning possible.