“Tanu..? Tanu beta..? Tanuuuu.. TANUSHREE!!?!? Come inside right away! We have to complete two worksheets!”, exclaimed Archita hiding her exasperation. That is the daily ritual. Tanushree uses her gooey smiles and tender kisses and ‘Mumma only 5 minutes more’ to avoid studying and play outside. Archita, on the other hand, makes sure Tanushree’s time is well divided between study and play.

Is Archita right in seeing study and play at loggerheads? Are we also keeping our kids latched to books, despite them craving to sense the world with their curiosity? If yes, it’s time to get ourselves acquainted with the concept of ‘Play-way’ Learning.

Is study and play really different?

When Naveen, an otherwise exceptionally bright kid with big dreamy eyes, conveniently looked out of the window while I lost blood and sweat teaching concepts after concepts of Mathematics in class, I decided to change tactics. I would invite Naveen to play board games over recess, realizing that this way, he learnt the simple mathematical operations in no time. Soon most of my classes turned into play classes. In my 6 years of teaching, learning had never been so much fun. And teaching mathematics had never been so fascinating and rewarding either.

Scientists have described play as children’s work, their primary mode of learning, and thus play is indeed one of the best ways to teach children concepts.

What is play-way anyway?

Friedrich Fröbel was the first one to come up with the concept of play-way. He believed that ‘Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.’

This method of learning is child-centric where the teaching is informal and natural to suit the child’s interests. The schools that use play way method believe that learning is best through play activities. It rejuvenates the children in their learning and gives their insatiable curiosity its own space to blossom.

How to go about it?

For those of us, who are parents or parents to be, who were taught to put blinkers on and focus on books when it was time to study, play-way might sound too casual a way to learn. However, play-way methods are time tested and have evolved systematically, in keeping with the changing needs of children. We can teach children relevant concepts effectively, using the play-way technique. While we can use magic squares and checkers to teach mathematics, building blocks can be a great way to teach geometry. For languages there are story puzzles, role plays, scrabble, and description card games. When Aparna needs to teach her 5-year old Chanda spellings, she does not give her a spelling test. She instead uses flash cards. Similarly, to teach geometry, they play Pictionary.

Use of Technologies in play-way

While outdoor activities are a must, there is an ongoing effort to package play-way methods into easy-to-use devices. We are using the vast wisdom and experience behind play-way through new innovative products. CG Slate is one such learning solution that encourages ‘and uses play’ in learning. Simplification of education through gamification is our approach to raise a healthy kid. This not only makes learning fun for children, but also helps parents keep a track on their kid’s learning without the need of dragging them to the study table.

So for all those mums and dads looking to make learning fun for their children, play is the sure way to go!