May 2025

Play Note: Message to Early
Childhood Educators

This month’s Play Note begins with a message of gratitude to Early Childhood Educators. It is followed with a second message that educators may find helpful when explaining to parents why play-based preschool supports the development of young children more wholistically than academically oriented curricula.

Profile: Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek

Advocate for Playful Learning, Brain Science, and 21st-Century Skills

Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek has long been a trailblazer in the science of how children learn — and how that science can shape public understanding and policy. In addition to her foundational research on language acquisition and playful learning, Dr. Hirsh-Pasek is a passionate advocate for embedding the “Six Cs” — collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence — into every child’s early experience. Her work is not only academically rigorous, but also deeply practical: she collaborates with city governments, educators, and designers to transform parks, sidewalks, and everyday spaces into rich learning environments.

She is a member of the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Temple University, co-director of the University’s Infant and Child Laboratory and co-founder of Playful Learning Landscapes –an initiative that transforms public spaces into environments for developmentally rich engagement. In a world where education too often drifts toward rote performance, Dr. Hirsh-Pasek champions joyful, brain-building exploration as a matter of equity, health, and future readiness. She is one of over 20 individuals listed on the Play Scientists and Experts page of our site.

Play News and Updates

Playposium 

Playposium 2025 (June 23-26 Denver) – an immersive gathering of dynamic educators, leaders, and play professionals. Consider attending this uplifting event that blends the best elements of workshop, camp, and conference experiences, with being outdoors in the glorious Colorado mountains.  Registration fee of $1,000 includes food, lodging and transportation to the mountain retreat location from Denver. More.

Alliance of Play Related Organizations

At the National Institute for Play, we’re building a movement to make play a public health and cultural priority. That means promoting not just the science of play, but also the organizations putting Play into practice. As part of this effort, we created a Play Organizations page to showcase the range and diversity of groups working in this field—from early childhood educators and outdoor play advocates to therapeutic practitioners and creative innovators.

As part of our play organizations effort we’re creating a Play Alliance to provide play-related organizations the opportunity to control how they are described on our site and to share their calendar of events. If your organization offers services, programs, or insights that support play, we’d love to include you, just fill out couple of fields in the form at the bottom of this page.

What Actually Brings Teens Joy?

The answers come straight from teens themselves via a recent New York Times Magazine article. It turns out that joy comes not only from grand adventures or big achievements, it shows up in the quiet, playful moments that give teens a sense of agency, connection, and calm.

One teen finds delight in “rubber duck debugging” —talking through coding problems to a literal rubber duck. Another draws transit maps to reimagine a more walkable world. There’s a soccer game watched with Dad, fishing alone by a lake, matching outfits with friends, or letting gospel music carry them through hard times. These stories remind us that amid the stress of life today, some young people are playing their way toward resilience and creativity. Each of their joyful experiences builds resilience (antibodies to stress), and creates neural pathways that support future flexibility and creative thinking.  Playful activities aren’t just hobbies — they’re lifelines.

At the National Institute for Play, we believe these moments matter deeply. As we continue to advocate for more play in and throughout our lives, this article is a powerful reminder that play isn’t optional. It’s essential.  Full article

Current Issues of Play Journals

• American Journal of Play – 2025  Issue 1
• International Journal of Play – 2025 Issue 1
• Int’l Journal of Play Therapy – 2025 Issue 2
• Journal of Play in Adulthood – 2025  Issue 1
• International Journal of Playwork Practice