Play with Purpose: Elevating Early Learning Through Play

If you’ve ever stepped into a preschool classroom during dramatic play or watched a child proudly finish building a block tower, you’ve seen learning in action, even if it doesn’t look like traditional instruction. As an early childhood educator with a master’s in early childhood education, I’ve spent the last decade watching young children thrive when given the time, space, and support to learn through purposeful play.

But what exactly does “play with purpose” mean?

It means creating a learning environment where children’s natural curiosity is nurtured, where play is both joyful and intentional, and where the teacher plays a critical role in guiding, extending, and documenting the learning that happens moment by moment.

Many families, educators and community members are beginning to recognize that play isn’t just fun, its foundational.

According to a recent report by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 2022): “Play, in all of its forms, is a teaching practice that optimally facilitates young children’s development and learning. By maximizing children’s choice, promoting wonder and enthusiasm for learning, and leveraging joy, playful learning pedagogies support development across domains and content areas and increase learning relative to more didactic methods.”

Research also confirms that guided play — where educators scaffold and support learning — leads to stronger outcomes in academic domains like early math and literacy. A 2022 analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge found that guided play was just as effective, and in some cases more effective, than direct instruction for promoting skills like early numeracy, literacy, and executive functioning. Guided play allows educators to gently steer learning through playful activities while still empowering children to explore, imagine, and problem-solve independently. For example, when children engage in a pretend store game where they count coins or weigh produce, they’re building real math skills in an engaging, meaningful way. The study also noted that guided play encourages important traits such as creativity, persistence, and confidence, all of which are crucial for long-term academic success.

Now that we understand the powerful role purposeful play can have in a child’s development, let’s take a look at how this translates into meaningful moments in real classrooms.

1. Block Play Becomes Math Talk

• Children build a city together using wooden blocks.

• I join them with questions like: “How many blocks tall is your tower?” and “What shape did you use to make that bridge strong?”

• We bring out rulers and tape measures to record and compare heights.

• Children explore measurement, comparison, and spatial reasoning, which are foundational math skills, all through play.

2. Dramatic Play Reinforces Social Studies

• We set up a pretend grocery store.

• Children take turns being roles of cashier, customer, and stocking clerk.

• I help students create signs, prices, and a checkout system with toy money.

• Children develop literacy through writing, math through exchanging money, and social skills like turn-taking, cooperation, and cause-and-effect.

3. Sensory Play Builds Language and Science

• In our sensory bin filled with rice and scoops, I introduce vocabulary like “pour”, “grain”, “volume”, and “estimate”.

• Children are encouraged to describe textures and make predictions

• A hands-on experience becomes an opportunity for language development and early scientific thinking

While purposeful play begins in the classroom, its impact grows even stronger when families and communities join in to support and extend these experiences at home and beyond.

Families and community partners play a powerful role in supporting purposeful play.

1. Turn playtime into learning time without worksheets!

• Build with blocks or recycled boxes and talk about shapes, balance, and patterns.

• Ask questions like, “How tall can you build it?” or “What would make it stronger?”

• This supports math, engineering, and spatial reasoning.

2. Use errands as learning adventures

• Let your child help create the shopping list (drawing or writing).

• At the store, ask them to find certain colors or count the fruit.

• This encourages early literacy, numeracy, and real-world problem solving.

3. Cook or bake together

• Talk through measuring, mixing, and sequencing steps.

• Let them crack an egg, pour ingredients, or set the timer.

• This supports science, language, and fine motor development.

4. Encourage pretend play

• Set up a simple "restaurant," "doctor’s office," or "grocery store" using household items.

• Join in with role-playing and expand vocabulary with words like "receipt," "prescription," or "menu."

• This fosters language development, empathy, and social skills.

5. Embrace outdoor play

• Go on a nature walk and collect leaves or rocks to sort and compare.

• Create obstacle courses or play movement games like “Follow the Leader.”

• Outdoor exploration builds physical health, observation skills, and creativity.

These everyday moments show children that learning isn’t just something that happens at school, it’s a joyful part of life. When families engage in play with intention, they become co-teachers, helping their children grow through laughter, curiosity, and connection.

Purposeful play isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity for strong early learning. As educators, we must guide play with intention. As families and community members, we can protect the space children need to grow, wonder, and discover.

Let’s work together to ensure play remains a powerful pathway to lifelong learning, because when we play with purpose, we build futures with promise.

References

Hirsh-Pasek, K., Zosh, J. M., Golinkoff, R. M., Hadani, H. S., & Galinsky, E. (2022). The power of playful learning in the early childhood setting. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/summer2022/power-playful-learning

University of Cambridge. (2022, June 28). Learning through guided play can be as effective as adult-led instruction. https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/learning-through-guided-play-can-be-as-effective-as-adult-led-instruction