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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Play and Learning

Learning through play

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

phraseCore term

In child development & early education, learning through play means: An approach to early education in which children learn skills and ideas mainly by playing, exploring and experimenting, with adults supporting them.

In Turkish: oyun yoluyla öğrenme, oyunla öğrenme

How it is used

Found in curriculum documents, nursery websites and job adverts. A similar phrase is play-based learning. Teachers often explain to parents that children are learning through play even when it does not look like a lesson.

Example sentences

  1. Our approach is learning through play, so you won't see worksheets in the preschool room.

  2. In the shop corner, children practise counting and talking: that is learning through play.

Common collocations

  • play-based learning
  • learn through play
  • support learning through play
  • a play-based curriculum
  • playActivity that children choose freely and enjoy for its own sake, such as building, pretending, running or exploring; it is seen as a key way young children learn.
  • child-initiated playPlay that a child chooses and leads, deciding what to play with, how and for how long, while adults watch and support only when needed.
  • adult-led activityAn activity that an adult plans and leads with a clear learning purpose, such as a cooking session, a story or a small-group counting game.
  • learning environmentThe indoor and outdoor spaces, resources and atmosphere of a setting, arranged so that children can explore, play and learn on their own and with others.

More terms: Play and Learning

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