Webspiration Wednesday: Stuart Brown says play is more fun

A few weeks ago, I instituted Webspiration Wednesday at CHC.  To find out what exactly Webspiration Wednesday is, check out my original post here.

Continuing the play theme from last week’s Webspiration Wednesday, this is Stuart Brown’s take on the importance of play.

TED Talk “Stuart Brown says play is more fun”

Stuart Brown suggests that play is much more than just being a fun and joyful experience, it is intricately connected with intelligence.  So, why then, do we feel the need to strip it from education?  If play is such an important piece of learning and intelligence, then we should be taking every opportunity to connect learning with play.  Students should enter our classrooms every day, not with a sense of dread, but with a sense of adventure and excitement at what acts of play will happen there.  Play doesn’t have to stop in the early childhood classroom, play can, and should, continue into adulthood.  As Stuart rightly points out, play is necessary at every point in our lives.  It offers opportunities to experiment, and grow, and find new solutions.  Companies like Google and Pixar are keying into the necessity of play and if the work that comes out of those companies is any indication, play works.

How do you introduce opportunities for play into your classroom?  If you have a great story of play, I would love to post it on my other blog, Stories of Learning.