Play has been shown to have a large number of benefits, for both socioemotional and academic learning.

However, play time is consistently being reduced in schools.

As children return to school, three elementary teachers weigh in on the importance of play each school day.

As I have discussed in previous blogs, teachers, parents, and children all appreciate the benefits of play while at school. However, the amount of time allotted for play in schools has decreased in recent years (Russ & Dillon, 2011) (see also the Playtime Matters Report). For example, a 2010 survey of 1,951 schools showed that half reported having recess periods of 30 minutes or less each day (Russ & Dillon, 2011).

Research supporting the inclusion of both structured and unstructured play in school curricula has consistently shown positive results (e.g., Dearbury & Jones, 2020) When children engage in structured play, they practice following directions, taking turns, cooperating, problem-solving, memory, social skills, language development, and self-regulation. During unstructured play, children practice sharing, problem-solving, creativity, organization, negotiation, time management, patience, empathy, self-regulation, how to win and lose, how to make and correct mistakes, recognizing strengths and weakness in self and others, and physical movement and coordination.

Several studies have illuminated the benefits of play-based learning (PBL) in the classroom. For example, Blinkoff and colleagues (2024) examined the effects of an intervention designed to help kindergarten teachers transition to a play-based kindergarten mandate in the state of New Hampshire. After the intervention, students were more engaged with learning, more active in their use of learning tools, and more communicative.

Similarly, Scott et al. (2025) found that preschoolers from disadvantaged backgrounds (who are often at risk for lower vocabulary) learned just as many new words in a playful learning context as they did in shared book reading, with........

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