Play in the Early Years: Key to School Success

Play in the Early Years: Key to School Success, a policy brief produced by the Early Childhood Funders, describes the importance of play for early learning and emphasizes that play is not a break from learning—it’s the way young children learn. The policy brief, based on the work of the late Dr. Patricia Monighan Nourot, explains how play contributes to school success by helping children develop the skills necessary for the development of logic, literacy, self-regulation and social negotiation, critical thinking, and leadership. The brief also highlights the importance of children learning the most from play when they have skilled teachers who are well-trained in understanding how play contributes to learning. The brief is available at www.4children.org/ecf.htm; less academic versions of the policy brief are also available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

For further information, visit www.4children.org/pdf/play07.pdf.