Free Play Versus Guided Play

There are so many ways children can play, and as parents and caregivers, we want to foster as much learning in our children's play as we can.  We hope to give you a few tips, and explain why we offer free play and guided play in our story hours.

What is free play? 

Free play is really what it sounds like.  Children are free to use the toys and materials that are available to create their own playtime. 

Why is free play important?

Free play may look like children acting silly and goofing off, but there are some definite benefits of free play. Did you know that children who take part in free play have improved academic outcomes?! In the article, "Kindergarten Scores, Storytelling, Executive Function, and Motivation Improved through Literacy-Rich Guided Play*," the authors discuss the differences between free play and guided play, and why they are so important, academically.

• Free play encourages creativity.  Free play allows children to come up with their own ideas of what shapes and materials might mean for their play.  The world is their oyster!
• Children are able to work on collaborative and social skills.  This includes sharing, but it also encourages children to work together to come up with an idea and take turns or assign roles to play it out.  Have you seen our video on Facebook? This is exactly what our preschoolers were able to do! 
• Free play encourages independence.  Children are able to entertain themselves when given the freedom to play and create.  This is particularly helpful when that growing load of laundry really needs to be folded!
• Children are also able to work on their motor planning skills. Children learn to plan what they will use their toys for and use different motor functions to play with new toys!

Free Play = Trains!

What is guided play?

Guided play is very similar to free play, but instead of letting the kids run free and create on their own, there are adults involved to gently lead the children in a certain direction. I really like this article by PBS that explains a little more what this involves.

I like this version of play, because it encourages parents and other adults to interact with their children by asking questions and encouraging their children to think about new ideas.  

In this play, talk about what you're playing with and how that might relate to academics.  If you're playing with trains, you might talk about the different types of trains, how trains are able to move on the tracks, and why some trains are faster than others.

Encourage counting, calling out colors, and more to work on these skills.  You can also encourage reading and writing in your play.

This is the part I love in story hour.  While we offer free play, it is important that Miss Cindy and Miss Kelsey join the children in their play.  Our scarves that we use for some songs can be used to review colors, to become hats, or to turn us into scarf monsters!

Our cars and trucks can be used to create stories, crashes, or for a discussion about the different types of vehicles we see every day.

The game, Hullabaloo, by Cranium or the DIY version is a great example of guided play! Together, explore different animals, food, shapes, colors, and more!

We hope this is new information for some and review for others! Either way, let them play! As the weeks progress, we will change out the things we play with and offer different types of options for all of our children.  Have a request? Let us know!

*Cavanaugh, Dena, et. al. "Kindergarten Scores, Storytelling, Executive Function, and Motivation Improved through Literacy-Rich Guided Play." Early Childhood Education Journal, vol. 45, no. 6, Nov. 2017, pp. 831-843.