Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky was a proponent of the idea that children learn best when we build on their strengths, but accomplishing this can sometimes feel a bit frustrating. As we struggle mightily to develop kids’ stamina to ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes of reading and writing, we watch these same children deeply engaged in play during recess and choice time for long, extended periods. So while we firmly believe in building on children’s strengths, it can be frustrating when we find ourselves limiting the time we give kids to do what we know they do best: play.
Perhaps, we need to look at play from a different perspective; if the feeling of active movement toward a goal is what we call work, then play is the work of children. In fact, it is the work and the art of childhood: the essence of learning, discovery, and creating. In play, learners are developing ideas, taking on and assigning roles, collaborating, crafting the environment and deciding when to change it, developing and negotiating rules, and being active listeners. If play is the work of children, then to build on kids’ strengths, we need to ask, “How can we infuse an abundance of play and the crafting the environment and deciding when to change it, developing and negotiating rules, and being active listeners. If play is the work of children, then to build on kids’ strengths, we need to ask, “How can we infuse an abundance of play and the principles of play across the curriculum?”
