in the context of learning. So what are some of the ways that educators should be thinking about how to approach play and learning?
Kathy: When you have children in a preschool, they’ re not just children in a preschool. They’ re families in a preschool. They’ re families who come with all their rich experiences. They come with their holidays; they come with their cooking traditions. We can invite the families to come in and do a recipe with the children. Bring in pictures of where they are from. Make a child proud.
When we talk about language, I can say so clearly from the research out there that more than one language is not only the norm across 70 percent of the world, but it is better for children. If you are lucky enough to be bilingual, you have to code switch back and forth. What does that mean? It means that when your grandmother comes, you have to speak one language. When a child from school comes over, you have to switch to the other language. That means you have to control the impulse to speak language A so that you can speak language B. Do you realize the cognitive effort that goes into that, the mental brain building? In those schools where different cultures are represented, celebrate them. Create activities that not only honor those cultures but allow us to play within them.
Michelle: Back when I was young and my parents initially brought us to an early learning program, the research had not yet shown up showing that the use of a language other than English was actually positive and helpful and not harmful. At the time, it was seen as harmful. So my parents said,“ We have to stop speaking Korean to you because you have to start speaking English, and otherwise you’ ll never be able to speak English.” And now we know from the research that that’ s not true.
Kathy: We tend to look at these young children sometimes and think,“ What do they have to offer?” Especially when they’ re babies. They’ re not talking; they’ re just cooing and gooing. But the truth is you can even have a conversation with a 10-week-old baby. Research shows that those back-and-forth conversations where we build on what the child has said builds brain structure.
And we can play with that. We can play all sorts of games. Let’ s just take math. We now have tons of data showing that when children are playing with blocks, playing these simple games like Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light, it makes a difference for how well they learn. Coloring is good for children. The arts are great for young children. When you read a book, have the children act it out. They may not be perfect, but they’ re taking different perspectives. When they take those different perspectives, what can come out of that?
Michelle: One of the things educators sometimes ask about is how to help support families in understanding how to bring play from early learning environments to home. What should families be doing as they think about how they can best support their children in these early years?
Kathy: Obviously, the best thing we can do is love them.
Michelle: Yes.
10 Young Children
Fall 2026