Stop Treating Play Like a Break From Learning
As a new school year begins, there is always pressure in early childhood education to make sure we’re doing enough. Are children learning their letters? Are they ready for Grade 1? Are we preparing them for what comes next?
But what if we started somewhere else?
In my conversation with Amy Reyes-Hauff on the ShiftED Podcast, we talked about something that feels particularly relevant to preschool educators here in Québec: free play. The Québec Preschool Cycle Program places play at the heart of early childhood education and focuses on the global development of the child. Yet, as Amy and I discussed, there can still be a disconnect between what the program intends and what adults sometimes expect to see when they walk into a classroom.
Amy’s definition is wonderfully direct:
“Play is learning.”
For her, that means children exploring, experimenting and problem-solving rather than simply receiving instruction. In free play, children have agency over what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, who they play with and when the activity ends. And that’s important because Québec preschool isn’t simply pre-Grade 1.
What if the “mess” is the learning?
Amy describes a familiar pressure: educators can feel they need to demonstrate constant academic production. We can look at a busy, noisy classroom and wonder whether enough “real” learning is happening. Amy challenges that assumption directly:
“We treat play as a break from learning.”
She argues that the opposite is closer to reality — play is where significant cognitive work is happening, including problem-solving, emotional regulation and working memory. That connects beautifully with Québec’s emphasis on developing the whole child rather than treating preschool as a checklist of academic skills.
Nature doesn’t need much help
This is where Amy’s outdoor learning work becomes especially compelling.
She describes outdoor learning as:
“…the ultimate delivery mechanism for movement, regulation, and play.”
Nature creates opportunities for movement and sensory experiences that can be difficult to replicate indoors. Uneven ground, balancing, changing surfaces and open space all give children different ways to move and explore. Amy connects those experiences to spatial awareness, eye tracking and skills connected to reading and mathematics. And her advice for educators doesn’t involve redesigning the entire school. Start small.
Take snack outside. Go for a short walk. Practice routines indoors first. Help children and families become comfortable with the change.
As Amy puts it, taking snack on a walk is “a really great way to just ease into” movement and getting children outdoors.
“Start the year with joy.”
Near the end of our conversation, Amy offers perhaps the most powerful response to the pressure around school readiness:
“Wouldn’t you rather have a child entering kindergarten that has a joy for learning?”
That feels like a pretty good place to begin a school year in Québec. The Preschool Cycle Program gives us a framework for supporting the whole child. Amy gives us a practical reminder of what that can look like: movement, exploration, relationships, outdoor experiences and child-led discovery. We don’t need to make preschool more complicated. Open the door. Go outside. Let them explore.
Maybe nature has already given us a pretty good plan.
