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Gillian and Joelle talk about the importance of including scheduled time to play in the school routine. Recess is unstructured child directed play and offers students a time for movement, fresh air, social connection, creativity, and a break from responding to task demands. Elementary school students also have semi-structured child directed play in which the teacher creates stations in the classroom and children choose among play options. These times are often called “choice” or “explore” time. Choice time includes the presence of the highly skilled regular educator who can model and teach emotional regulation and social cognition in situations that are typically highly motivating and quite natural. Joelle and Gillian wonder together if a noted reduction in semi-structured child directed play in the past few years is contributing to an increase in student dysregulation, low stamina, and overreliance on adult support to engage in the routines of school. If so, isn’t the solution well within our reach?

Find us on Instagram!

Gillian: https://www.instagram.com/clearconnectionpsychology/

Joelle: https://www.instagram.com/joelle.vanlent/

Why should play be prioritized in school?