Free play is the stretch of the day in which children decide what happens. The adult is present, watching and safe, but is not directing. This is where negotiation, invention, disappointment and repair actually get practised, because they are only practised when the outcome is not arranged in advance. It is the most easily cut part of a timetable and the most expensive thing to lose.
Our daily schedule is published in full, with a start and an end time against every block, precisely so that the parts children run themselves cannot quietly shrink into something more impressive-looking.
Related termsসম্পর্কিত শব্দ
- Play-based learningTeaching in which play — structured and free — is the main way children meet ideas.
- Child-centred learningAn approach where the child's interests, pace and questions shape what and how they learn.
- Experiential learningLearning by doing, watching and reflecting, rather than by memorising what someone else said.