6 Simple Ways to Prioritize Play
by Stéphanie McGuirt | View Bio
Stéphanie McGuirt is a homeschool mom and business owner living in beautiful Colorado with her husband, Bryan, and their 2 children.
She’s the author of Play: Simple & Creative Activities to Inspire and Engage, which she wrote based on the play she remembers as a child and continues to do with her kids. Her goal in writing this book is to inspire more hands-on playtime for children of all ages. She believes that play has the power to brighten our day in unexpected ways, and it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.
When she's not adventuring with her family or supporting clients in her business, she's busy with her chickens, Olivia & Cocoa, and working on a tiny homestead for sustainable living.
For resources and to learn more, visit stephaniemcguirt.com
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Adults need to also make time to include play during the day. When we allow ourselves the opportunity to play, we experience:
- Stress and anxiety relief
- Connection with ourselves and others
- Greater confidence in ourselves
- The ability to refine or adopt new skills
During the school year—with less flexible schedules, daily homework, and test preparation—how can we make sure that there’s still ample time for children to play? It’s part of their education, after all.
Summer vacation and school breaks during the year offer breathing room in our kids’ schedules. It’s when they’re most encouraged to go outside, play with friends, and enjoy creative projects like drawing, dancing, or writing. However, when school resumes many of those hobbies nurtured during the breaks are quickly replaced by after-school sports commitments, homework, and getting ready for all those tests. For some kids, this change can feel daunting and stressful, which may have a negative impact on their schoolwork and social life.
It’s essential, as parents, caregivers, and teachers, that we identify stress responses in school-aged children and steer them toward productive activities designed to fulfill their innate needs for play, exploration, and engagement with their passions. These activities, done consistently, help to reduce any effects of stress and anxiety they may be experiencing.
Perhaps they’re unable to articulate why they feel anxious, frustrated, tired, or not motivated. Or maybe they're just not finding enough time for their creative outlet, and that’s what they need. When we set aside moments to explore our interests and do something purely for fun, we disengage stress and can express ourselves more clearly. This has immense purpose and benefits for all ages.
So that our kids can reap these far-reaching benefits of play, here are 6 ways to prioritize play during the school year:
- Be mindful of schedules. If sports or extracurricular activities negatively impact a child’s ability to relax and unwind after a full day of school, it may be time to reconsider those commitments. You don’t have to do it all.
- After coming home from school, encourage relaxation, conversation, and play before starting homework. You could: Have a snack and a conversation about the day together, go for a walk-in nature, play at the park, or have supplies on-hand so they can sketch or paint. Put on quiet, classical music to help everyone unwind before diving into homework or other responsibilities.
- Have a list of go-to activities posted on your fridge or bulletin board. This list can include fun and simple things they could do independently or with a friend. Keeping it handy means that you can also suggest that your child choose an activity to do if you’re busy working or need to get something done.
- Make a “play corner.” Have supplies, ideas, toys, and anything else age-appropriate tucked away in one area they can go to whenever they need. Keeping play accessible helps to form the habit of nurturing it daily.
- Base play around their interests. Maybe your child loves the piano, but you’re not ready to invest in one just yet. You could purchase a used keyboard and try an app like FlowKey to practice. Or perhaps they’re interested in sketching. You could take a nature walk, find a pleasant spot to settle into together, and each sketch the scenery.
- Praise play! Let your child know that it’s an important part of their day and they’re doing a good thing by making time to relax and have fun. It has a big impact!
Intentionally setting aside playtime gives our brain a chance to rest. We get to discover new, fascinating things about ourselves and the world. And this allows us to tackle other tasks with a bit more ease and motivation.
Daily play is a good habit to start now and will serve us and our children well—especially as they grow older and have greater responsibilities and challenges. If we know we can always go back to playing and to nurturing our creative spirit, it just adds a bit of magic to the ordinary. And who wouldn’t want that?