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The word “play” doesn’t often feature in educational settings outside of preschool and nursery school, and it can even instil a bit of fear into teachers of older students. “We don’t have time to play,” many of them say. “We’ve got too many objectives to meet, we need to get evidence in books, we must make sure our students are ready for the next test!”
Over the 15+ years that I’ve taught primary school in the U.K., I’ve been there and have felt exactly the same. I work with Key Stage 2 learners (ages 7–11), and often it feels like there is so much material to cover and simply no time for fun and games. However, over the years I’ve been given the freedom and trust to use play-based methods in my classrooms, and I have discovered that not only can it be done, but using play can make a huge difference, in many ways, to the children I teach.
Liz Forbes has been a primary school teacher and deputy head for over 15 years and now runs Playful Learning Games, which specialises in producing English and math play-based teaching and learning resources for children ages 6–11. Her aim is to support teachers and parents in facilitating learning through play for all children, no matter their age.
