Learning Through Play
What is Learning Through Play?
Hint: It’s not just about giggles, sensory fun and tower-building triumphs, though we love those, too!
We believe when children feel safe, seen, and celebrated, they become lifelong learners. And that journey? It starts with PLAY.
At Kid’s Island Nursery, we like to say learning through play is our secret sauce and we drizzle it generously on everything we do. But if you've ever looked into a classroom full of children in costumes, stirring leaf potions, or building wonky towers and thought,
“That’s cute, but when does the real learning happen?”
this post is for you!
Here’s the truth: play is the real learning.
It’s not just downtime between “real” lessons. In fact, it is the lesson. When children are playing, they’re not just having fun. They’re deeply engaged, mentally, physically, and emotionally in experiences that stretch their thinking, challenge their abilities, and ignite their natural curiosity.
The Many Faces of Play
At first glance, play might look like:
A child building a tall, teetering tower
Two friends pretending to be a superhero and a dragon
A quiet moment digging through sand or stirring up a potion of leaves and water
But beneath those joyful moments, some seriously powerful learning is happening. When children play, they’re:
🌱 Solving problems
“How do I stop this tower from falling again?”
🌱 Negotiating with peers
“You can be the dragon after I’ve had a turn.”
🌱 Regulating their emotions
“I’m frustrated this didn’t work, but I’m going to try again.”
🌱 Developing empathy and trust
🌱 Building confidence through exploration and small victories
🌱 Laying the foundation for literacy, numeracy, and scientific thinking naturally
Yes, we want children to learn their colours, letters, and numbers. But that’s the easy bit. Those skills are absorbed like sponges! when learning is embedded in meaningful, playful experiences.
But What About Structured Learning?
We hear this question a lot:
“This all sounds lovely, but what structured learning do you actually do?”
Totally fair! Parents care deeply about their child’s education. And here’s where we love to gently challenge old-school perceptions:
When a child is immersed, focused, and engaged in play, they are engaging in structured learning.
It might not look like rows of desks, worksheets, or rote copying. But there’s structure. Intentional, thoughtfully-prepared structure.
At Kid’s Island, structure comes in the form of:
Purposeful environments that invite exploration
Educators who observe, scaffold, and extend learning through interaction
Open-ended resources that challenge children to think creatively
It’s structured, it’s planned and it works.
Play Isn’t Always Fun (And That’s a Good Thing!)
Surprise: play isn’t all sunshine and sparkles. Sometimes it’s tricky. It can be frustrating. It often requires patience, compromise, and resilience.
But that’s where the real magic happens.
When a child sticks with a problem, learns to share an idea, or tries again after a setback, they’re developing the kinds of skills that no worksheet could ever teach. These moments build:
Independence
Resilience
Emotional intelligence
Grit
We’re not just raising future students, we’re nurturing capable, confident humans.
🌈 Learning That Lasts a Lifetime
At Kid’s Island Nursery, play is not a break from learning, it is the learning!
Through play, our children are learning to:
❤️ Think critically and creatively
❤️ Work cooperatively with others
❤️ Communicate ideas
❤️ Solve problems
❤️ Take healthy risks
❤️ Embrace mistakes as part of the process
So the next time you see your child in a dinosaur costume, jumping between cushions in an imaginary lava field, take a deep breath and smile. That’s not just chaos, it’s cognitive development in motion.
Our Role in Their Journey
We take our role seriously (while having a lot of fun along the way). Our educators:
Create safe, welcoming environments that invite curiosity
Offer open-ended materials that inspire creativity
Observe and respond to each child’s interests and needs
Give children time and trust to lead their own learning journey