Reviewing research-based evidence to inform pedagogy is a powerful process that can validate some existing practices and suggest changes to others. This process of review inspired reflection on a range aspects, including: working towards balance in my Kindergarten program, enhancing my understanding about the benefits and purposes of play, developing strategies used to incorporate play into my classroom, applying a range of roles to take on in play and learning activities, and navigating challenges of integrating play.

There is a lot of ground to cover in the first year of school, and as a result, there is a great deal of responsibility for educators to work towards holistic, inclusive, and dynamic programs. When looking into literature I discovered a push and pull between academics and play (Peterson, Forsyth & McIntyre, 2015). I also learned that there is no one size fits all model to program development. Each program should be a collaborative effort of adults and children to meet the unique needs of the class community. Some examples of ways I aspire to do this include; planning with students so that they can feel accountable and involved in the learning process, planning for students so that their interests and needs can be met, using student self-reflection and assessment as feedback, and re-evaluating and changing plans based on needs. This ongoing process strives towards establishing a joyful, engaging, and balanced curriculum by supporting optimal learning and development during the important early years of a child’s life

Observations and experiences over the past 20 years of my teaching career have led me to the philosophy that play, playful learning, and play-based learning are essential parts of Early Childhood Education. Reviewing literature on benefits of play, validated my beliefs that play can support many aspects of development, learning, and well-being of children. Specifically, I learned that play positively influences children’s social cognition, emotional development, self-regulation, and academic learning (Pyle & Danniels, 2017; Pyle, DeLuca & Danniels, 2017). Furthermore, two distinct perspectives of the benefits of play have emerged including; play for developmental learning and play for academic learning (Pyle, DeLuca & Danniels, 2017). These insights were extremely rewarding, as I have acquired a framework I can use to explain why it is important for children to engage in play in the classroom, which can be used to describe some benefits of play to colleagues, parents, and even students.

Reviewing some specific types of play and play-based learning provided guidance about integrating play into my classroom. Pyle and Danniels (2017) identified five different types of play, situated along a play-based continuum. This conceptualization allowed me to revise my plans to include a range of play experiences in my classroom, from child-directed ‘free play’ to adult-guided play. Now, I will be making time each week for different types of play, including child-centered free choice endeavours such as building roads for cars, building blocks, kitchen centre, dress-up centre, and creation station. Concepts of inquiry and collaborative play were used to guide me in extending child initiated play by bringing in some learning aspects. For example, providing support for students to write a menu sign in their restaurant, record customers’ orders, or use money for transactions. I have made time for playful learning activities such as; a magnet station, a weigh scale (measurement) station, a nature science station (natural objects to explore), and a variety of literacy stations (magnetic letters on cooking sheets, letters hidden in a sand bin, lacing letters, letter puzzles, etc.). I have also added time for learning through games, including a variety of exercises such as BINGO (letter, number, colour, etc.), matching games, rhyming games, card or dice games.

I have often been uncertain about what role I should take when children are engaging in play and play-based learning activities. Reviewing research by Pyle and Danniels (2017), and Pyle and Bigelow (2014) helped me learn some specific viewpoints regarding adult roles, determine my own perspectives, and discover what it can mean in my own classroom context. In free play activities, I decided that a passive role is important to avoid interrupting or disrupting play, unless help is needed to resolve a situation. In inquired or collaborative play, I determined that a shared role is appropriate to support students’ play and learning experience. In teacher directed or playful learning, guidance is required to ensure children have an opportunity to develop specific skills (literacy, numeracy, etc.). Learning about specific roles helped refine my teacher strategies for assuming a range of roles depending on the goal.

There can be challenges concerning integrating play into the classroom, including; pressures from academic standards, unclear messages from policies, lack of time and resources to provide students with opportunities to engage in purposeful play, lack of access to research, knowledge, and strategies to inform my philosophies and practices, or overwhelming information about play pedagogy. However, exploring research related to this topic has expanded my teacher toolkit, improving my ability to work with students, families, and other community members to build a meaningful Kindergarten program together.

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