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Abstract

The importance of play in children's development has been widely studied and confirmed in academic literature over the decades. This article studies the intertwining of children's play and learning processes, focusing on unplanned, spontaneous instances of children's undirected play within the constructivist educational setting of the Reggio Emilia approach. The findings include several characteristics of undirected play, such as choice of objects/materials as playthings and reinventing known games and attention to detail leading to meaningful learning. The focus on process rather than result highlights the value of undirected free play, when children are the designers of their play and builders of their knowledge. This analysis aims to offer insight on observing and considering children's play.

Keywords

children’s play free play learning play Reggio Emilia undirected play

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Children as designers of their play and builders of their knowledge

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