It’s not often that you hear the words play and research in conjunction with each other. Most would probably scoff at this idea that play and research are the same things. But in truth, that’s exactly what they are and even Einstein felt that way.
If you were to look at it through a child’s eyes, what is research other than play? It’s just an adult form of play. Children are new and fresh, and they don’t yet have the wisdom of those older simply because they have not had the time to learn or experience as much. So how can they get that wisdom and knowledge? They’re not going to sit and watch documentaries or read textbooks and encyclopaedias. No, they are going to research in a way far more suitable to their own age and abilities.
Most of us have experienced that adorable but ultimately annoying habit babies have of throwing their things, having us pick them up, just to throw them again. It can go on for ages and ages. Sometimes they’ll do the same thing again and again and we wonder why?
Simple. They are researching.
The same can be said when young children continually bash their toy cars or other toys, against each other or other things. Our first instinct may be to be mad because they are breaking things that are perhaps expensive or have sentimental value but think carefully about why they are doing it. They are researching. Doing it repeatedly too because each time they are learning something new. They are learning about the consequences of an action. What happens when they bash cars. What does it feel like, what does it sound like, what does it smell like or even what it tastes like. All their sense are invoked during their play and they are researching the world around them.
Play can oftentimes come across as just meaningless and trivial entertainment but if you were to intently watch what children are doing while they are playing, you would notice that they are discovering things about the world around them. This is often why you’ll find some children get bored with their toys very quickly. It could be because they have played with them so often and perhaps have discovered all there is to learn with it.
A tip I once heard about was the idea of toy rotation. The idea here is that you only put out a select few toys at a time, enough to allow for lots of research and discovery, but also not so many that they get overwhelmed and perhaps don’t explore them well enough. We sometimes tend to spoil our kids, which is a completely natural thing to happen if we are in a position to do so, but let's hold back a bit. By only giving them a few toys at a time you encourage them to truly explore those toys as well as encourage their creativity and imagination. Once you feel they’ve achieved almost all they can with those particular toys, at least at that point in time or in their development, you rotate them out with another set of toys. Once they have explored those you rotate back and you’ll find that the children approach the toys with a new sense of excitement as they haven’t seen or played with them in a long time (it’s like getting a whole goody-bag of new things). And perhaps some of the skills they learnt with the previous rotation of toys can be applied to these and allow new discoveries to be made.
Another reason children may get bored too quickly with their toys is because they require some guidance or assistance. Just like most adult researchers who work with colleagues and supervisors, sometimes children will need some extra help to research, explore and make discoveries. This is why guided play is so important. It’s important to give children the room they need to explore and discover while being close by enough to give them a new perspective or some new ideas.
Another super way to encourage research through play? No toys at all. Just good old-fashioned household items that you’ve got lying around. Kids love containers and water, pots and pans, blankets and pillow, you name it. In truth, anything that allows them to play and safely learn about their world should always be encouraged.
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