We\u27re Not Just Playing Around: A Workshop Focusing on Incorporating Play in the Early Childhood Classroom

Since children learn naturally through play, it has a critical role in their early childhood development. Therefore, play should be a key component in any early childhood classroom. As advocates for the use of play in school, we have implemented it in various ways across five K-4 classrooms. Through the use of signals, transitions, technology, rewards and kinesthetic strategies, we embedded play at various points throughout the school day. Assessing the ways in which these strategies affected our teaching practices and classroom management, we reflect on the impact play has in a K-4 classroom and how our belief in utilizing it affects both our students and ourselves