Think About It
Try It
Putting These Strategies to Work
Think About It
› What was your experience of play as a child? Did adults play with children in your family and culture? What values or beliefs do you hold about playful learning that may be rooted in your own experiences?
› Notice how you feel when you pause before intervening in a peer conflict. Does this pause bring up feelings of discomfort? Why might that be?
› Think about a new skill, like pouring, that you might want to introduce to children. What playful experiences can give them opportunities to practice? How can you invite children to guide and shape this learning?
Try It
› Observe children while they are playing. Think about some questions you might ask that would invite children to explore new materials. Try some of these questions during a future play period.
› What are children interested in right now? What skills are they working hard on? How might these emerging skills and interests be used to design play-based learning experiences that align with the overarching goals you have? What form might that playbased learning take?
› Take time to play yourself. What skills are you learning or practicing? How do you feel as you play: Are you challenged, having fun, joyful? What can you take from this experience into your work with children at play?
ROCKING & ROLLING
Final Thoughts on Guided Play with Infants and Toddlers
Because children during their first three years are learning almost exclusively through play, daily routines, and everyday interactions, guided play is an important strategy for infant-toddler educators. When adults take a guiding role during play and create the social and material environments that allow for enriching, play-led learning to unfold, they support— and expand— children’ s access to learning opportunities. Done well, these moments are joyful, organic, and driven by children’ s curiosities and questions. As observed by Thomson( 2025), this process offers adults an opportunity:“ To listen deeply, to hold space with care, and to reflect often.
It’ s not just about letting go, it’ s about holding hands while we step forward together.”
About the Authors
Rebecca Parlakian, MA, EdD, is senior director of programs at ZERO TO THREE, a nonprofit focused on promoting healthy development for children from birth to 3, where she directs a portfolio of projects related to child development, parenting, and high-quality teaching and caregiving. rparlakian @ zerotothree. org
Ijumaa Jordan, MA, is an early childhood education consultant with over 30 years’ experience as a classroom teacher, mentor teacher, resource and referral staff, adjunct instructor, director, and professional development provider. Her work mainly focuses on anti-racist educational practices, abolition, equitable play experience, reflective teaching and supervision, culturally relevant teaching, and developing anti-bias curriculum for young children and adults. ijumaa @ ijumaajordan. com
Fall 2026 Young Children 101