Why we should let children play

Children develop high-order responsibility by playing because they approach play just like adults approach work.

We have often heard that “play is a child’s work”. Attributed to renowned child psychologist Jean Piaget, we early childhood educators see the magic of these words being lived out every day in a preschool setting. Last month, I wrote on play among peers as the central component to helping develop creativity, imagination and problem-solving techniques. According to the Montessori philosophy (as shown in the graphic below), integrated play is called experiential learning. Through playing and working, children develop high-order responsibility as they regard their tasks as serious work the way adults approach tasks—now you know why a …