✍🏾Learn how to add play to everyday lessons and boost student engagement. Simple, low-prep strategies you can try tomorrow!🎲
Traditionally, teaching is framed as the teacher at the head of the class, students sit in neat little rows, and listen.👩🏾🏫 Not only is this ‘old school’ thinking, it’s also super boring 😑and developmentally inappropriate for early childhood spaces.
Well, I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way.
Play can be integrated into your academic lessons without diluting the content. 🎯
Play is the “seasoning”🧂 your lessons need to heighten learning while having fun!
Why Play Boosts Learning 💡
Playful Activities creates a pathway to learning because:
Better Retention: Engaging in play activates multiple parts of the brain, increasing learning. 🧠
Higher Engagement: Students become willing participants when learning feels fun.📈
Lower Stress: Both you and your students can enjoy the learning process more when play is involved. 🔋
🎉Play is the secret ingredient for authentic learning and engagement in the classroom.
3 Ways to Add Play Right Now ✨
🪄Sprinkle some play into your lesson by:
Gamify a Lesson 🏆
Turn your lessons into a relay race, bingo game, or Simon Says!Role-Play Concepts 🎭
Time to make believe by acting out vocabulary words, math problems, or historical events.Incorporate Movement 🕺🏾
Put on some music and dance! Have students get up, move, and physically represent answers when possible.
🎯Adding a little flair to your lesson with playful activities leads to a happy classroom!✨
Quick Win: Try This Tomorrow ✅
🎀Take one learning activity you already planned and turn it into a scavenger hunt around the classroom. Same content, but seasoned🧂with play, for more fun.
Final Thought 💭
Play and Academics can be members of the same team. With a few tweaks to your lessons, play can become a powerful tool to facilitate learning in your classroom. Remember: Learning + Play = A Classroom Kids Love!✨
