Playful learning or learning through play? - There IS a difference

When we talk about 'learning through play', the emphasis still so strongly falls on the learning. And of course learning is a good thing, but when we piece it apart from play, we are still popping them in different baskets.

And then we grab a bit from the play basket and drop it in the learning one and ta-dah, learning through play. Yes, we've popped some play in, but…how about we just have one basket? In it goes the play and the learning, all swirled in together, melded and meaningful - PLAYFUL LEARNING!

Playful learning suits our young (and not so young) children to a tee. It takes their innate play urges and their desire to make sense of their world, and literally puts the idea-making and outcome-making into their hands, heads and hearts. They don't analyze, "hmm, does this count as learning", or, "oh gosh, does this fit in this trajectory I'm supposed to be on". They just play. Explore. Discover. Invent. Create. And when amongst other children they do so with the added sprinkling of collaborating, negotiating, communicating, compromising.

Every single one of these things counts as learning. And even more so because it's not thrust upon the child. Children are just like us in that they far more easily absorb and grow from experiences of their own choosing, and those where they find joy. 

Too often, learning through play has an adult agenda. We want them to learn this, but rather than old-school style teaching it, we dress up our intended outcome as a play based activity. That we make the plans for, and absolutely have expectations of.

Playful learning is more than a language shift. It also shifts the 'planning' to the children. It holds off on the expectation, the "are they going to do…", and instead lets us marvel at what is happening when the child plays. Not the product so much as the process. Not the what as much as the how, and the why.  

We know that learning is inherent in play. If we 'heart know' it as well as head-know it, we can stop feeling we have to spell it out explicitly. Stop with the 'through' play as a way of jollying up learning. And learning always taking 'the top spot' with play pottering on behind. 

Play is learning. It is our children's way of learning. Their innate way. Their preferred way. A power-full way. We don't need to always be overanalysing, or interjecting tidbits of knowledge or 'extensions' "in case" the learning is not being had. It is being. We can trust in that. Especially if we have lovingly prepared our environments to honor our children's playful spirits. And poured our hearts into caring, warm, genuine relationships. 

We adults may have this idea of what learning looks like, or see how relaxed a thriving playing child is and think, "surely learning isn't that easy or happy". But it can be. And should be. It is true that learning might not always feel or look like learning, but playing should always feel and look like PLAYING!