When we watch children playing, we learn three important things: What they find fun; what they know; and what they are thinking about( Lifter et al. 2011). Even though Damaris, from the opening vignette, is very young, his play is intentional. He enjoys exploring the sensory aspects of the tools Leticia provided and is actively learning about them through his hands and mouth. While he knows these objects are things he can hold, he is discovering how they differ in appearance and texture. He is demonstrating agency: Because Leticia offered a variety of different tools to explore, Damaris has an opportunity to act independently and choose what to play with.
All children, and especially infants and toddlers, have the right to play and to use play as the primary way to learn about their world and themselves( Manyukhina & Wyse 2021; IPA 2024). Yet early childhood educators must find a balance between the two ends of the play spectrum, which spans from free, or self-directed, play to direct instruction( Zosh et al. 2022a).
What is the“ Goldilocks balance” for educators? Guided play is one approach to offering a balance of child-directed play coupled with educator scaffolding toward developmental or learning goals. Play experiences can be individualized to help children learn and construct meaning( Zosh et al. 2022b). Teachers view children— even infants and toddlers— as active participants in their own learning who bring prior knowledge and experiences to the moment and who are motivated and curious about the world around them( Toub et al. 2016; Zosh et al. 2016).
Infant-toddler educators can use a variety of strategies to facilitate guided play for the young children in their care. Here, we( the authors) explore four approaches: Using relationships to nurture agency and learning; using questions intentionally; aligning hands-on experiences with children’ s development; and considering power dynamics in early education settings.
Using Relationships to Nurture Agency and Learning
Infant-toddler educators are important to a young child’ s life. Research shows that very young children build strong secondary attachments to their early educators when
› The educator meets the child’ s physical and emotional needs.
› The educator’ s presence in the child’ s life is consistent.
› The educator is emotionally invested in the relationship and builds a bond with the child( Macagno & Molina 2024).
A strong educator-child relationship offers many benefits; most importantly, a secure base children can return to for comfort during stressful situations and a base from which they can explore their environments( Nivison et al. 2023). Research shows that once children develop positive relationships with early educators, their exploratory behaviors significantly increase( Macagno & Molina 2024).
Infant-toddler educators foster new learning when they scaffold a child’ s ability to learn, practice, and master a new skill. They can do this through modeling, asking open-ended questions to guide a child’ s thinking, temporarily reducing the difficulty of a task, or offering opportunities for guided practice. Scaffolding depends on relationships where children can rely on the teacher as a model from which they can learn new skills and as a steady, consistent emotional presence when they encounter difficulties.
For example, consider a toddler classroom where children have shown an interest in pouring from a pitcher. After observing how they play with toy pitchers in the dramatic play area and their interest in filling and pouring in the sandbox, the teacher introduces a small plastic pitcher at mealtime. Joining them as a learning partner, she models and
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