Adults should regularly encourage children to play and use their imaginations because doing so creates stronger connections in the brain, develops critical thinking skills and prepares kids for life, an international educator says.
Dr. Sarah Aiono, founder and CEO of New Zealand-based Longworth Education and informally known as “Dr. Play,” brought her philosophy of learning through play to Moose Jaw recently.
She presented to teachers and child-care workers on April 22 and 23, while she offered a free parent/caregiver session on April 24 at Vanier Collegiate about how the brain grows and develops when humans learn through play.
The world-renowned educator then spent April 25 and 26 visiting classrooms in several Catholic schools.
This article — part 1 of 2 — highlights Aiono’s talk from Vanier, which was entitled “Play and the brain: Unlocking children’s potential.”
Family life
Aiono explained that she has a “crazy family” with neurodiverse children, including a daughter who is “spunky” and creative.
She and her husband homeschool their kids because they know it gives them more opportunities to use all five senses when learning, which is better than simply reading a book. This experiential learning enabled their children to engage physically and be hands-on with their education.
While reading, writing, and arithmetic are important, Aiono said the most important attributes children require are social and emotional skills, responsibility, and the ability to think creatively and innovatively.
This is your brain
Aiono discussed how the brain develops in children — it matures at age 25 — and how areas such as the brain stem, diencephalon, cerebral cortex and limbic/subcortex are important for growth.
The brain stem and diencephalon develop in infants first, followed by the limbic system — which handles emotions and feelings — around three years old and then the cerebral cortex. The latter comprises 60 per cent of the brain and is responsible for “an enormous amount” of functions and is the “hub of operations.”
Developmental interruptions can set back children, but they can be overcome based on the scientific concept of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s capacity to continue growing and evolving in response to life experiences, said Aiono.
What is play?
Many factors influence how children play and the activities they pursue, such as the size and location of their hometown, whether they live on a farm or in an apartment, whether their activities are indoor or outdoor, and whether they’re the oldest or youngest, Aiono said.
Society also has expectations of what play is since it can involve Play-Doh and mud pies to sports and board games, the New Zealand educator continued.
For example, sport is different because youths must follow the rules of an established activity, wear a uniform, learn certain skills and attend practices. Similarly, children who play board games are following rules that someone created long ago.
While all this is “really important learning” for kids, it’s different from less structured and less formal play.
“We don’t ever stop playing — and this is what’s really important, that play should never be something we stop because it is so valuable for the brain,” Aiono said.
For example, adults play by building Orcs out of clay or Delorians out of Lego, dressing up for fashion shows and masquerade balls, programming robots through coding, and writing or publishing literature.
“Play is not the thing we do, it’s … the thinking behind it,” she continued. “And if we’re playful in our thinking, we are much more open to creative ideas and innovation and problem-solving because that’s the part of the brain we’re tapping into.”
Characteristics of play
The top characteristics of play are that it is self-chosen and self-directed, a process rather than product-driven, contains structures or rules that the players have established, is imaginative and non-literal and removed from reality, and occurs between those who are active and alert and non-stressed, said Aiono.
Children need to choose their activities so they can access higher brain functions, while they need to learn from their play — including what failure is — instead of making something for further development, she continued.
Most importantly, imagination is the “highest form of play,” is “very, very critical,” and is something adults should encourage and protect.
Meanwhile, negative events can affect children’s ability to play, such as trauma or neglect, which prevent areas of the brain from connecting, she continued. Trauma and stress can also affect adults, preventing them from developing solutions because they are in fight-or-flight survival mode.
Kids who experience challenges in life will not have play that is as rich and deep as children with healthy brain function, the international educator added.
Part 1 of 2.
