Play for Kids and Adults

In an article that Elizabeth Jones contributed to Exchange 32 years ago, "Creating Environments Where Teachers Learn Through Play," which is as valid today as when it was published, she encouraged early childhood leaders "to think of the needs of adults in much the same terms in which they, as teachers, thought of the needs of children...."

"When a child is learning through play she gets to explore — there isn't a predetermined end product.  She has an idea or notion of a direction she would like to pursue and she is free within broad limits to do so.  Her motivation comes from within herself as she interacts with the possibilities in the environment. 

"Administrators responsible for training staff often find themselves trying to motivate the staff members to learn what has been predetermined that they must learn.  But if you want people to stay excited about their jobs, there has to be some opportunity for them to explore, to be decision makers, to say, 'This is what I want to do next.'  That's playful in the very best sense.  Children become active learners through play; and so do adults."

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