The Importance of Self-Directed Play

A group of children are gathering blocks, silks, and long strands of knitted fabric. It’s February, and today, in the Kindergarten, children are celebrating Christmas. They’ve adorned a small table with garlands of yarn for the Christmas tree and have created presents by wrapping wooden blocks in silk and tying the knitted strands in a bow. The presents are placed carefully by the foot of the tree while other children cook the Christmas breakfast. After having their meal, they take turns exchanging presents and expressing gratitude and joy for what they’ve received from their friends. This is what self-directed play looks like.

In early childhood, self-directed play is imperative. An opportunity for indoor and outdoor play is offered each day in a Waldorf kindergarten and allows children to explore their bodies, environments, and imaginations.

The young child is constantly taking in new sensory experiences. Play is an activity that allows them to process these experiences. By allowing the child to freely enter their own space for imagination and creativity, we are allowing them to make sense of the world and to explore new ideas and concepts.

Self-directed play is essential. This means that the child is creating their own play experience without the direct influence, interference, or suggestion from adults. Children benefit from this form of play because they can synthesize their own ideas, thoughts, and feelings with their observations of the world around them. Adults help to facilitate self-directed play through seasonal songs and verses, open-ended play materials offered, and purposeful work such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning. This allows the child to expand their repertoire of play and thus their understanding of the world.

Open-ended toys allow children to deeply engage in this type of play. Board games or toys that have clear rules, explanations, and expectations hinder the child’s ability to create from within. A child can use a single block to be infinite things but can only use a firetruck to be a firetruck. Using couch cushions to build forts and houses, however, offers endless opportunities for learning.

I often hear parents talk about how their child loves the box the toy came in more than the toy itself. Such open-ended objects offer children freedom to create masterpieces and explore the mysteries of the world.

Further Reading:
Supporting Self-directed Play in Steiner/Waldorf Early Childhood Education
On the Play of the Child
What Do Early-Learners Need Most? Play!

The Need for Pretend Play in Child Development
Health benefits from free play confirmed by research
Playing Around in Science: How Self-Directed Inquiry Benefits the Whole Child