21/12/2025
"In early childhood, intelligence is often reduced to what is easiest to observe and measure. Labeling colors. Reciting sequences. Repeating symbols on command. These performances reflect exposure and repeated drills, not the kind of learning that actually reorganizes the brain.
The developing brain does not learn best through isolated facts. It learns through experience, movement, emotion, and problem solving.
Play is the mechanism through which this happens. During play, multiple systems in the brain are activated at once. Sensory input, motor planning, emotional regulation, memory, and executive function are all working together.
When a child builds a structure and adjusts it after it collapses, negotiates roles in pretend play, or experiments with materials to test cause and effect, the brain is strengthening neural networks that support attention, flexibility, persistence, and reasoning.
These experiences drive synaptic growth and integration between brain regions. This is what allows learning to transfer later into reading comprehension, mathematical thinking, and self-directed problem solving.
Rote drills operate very differently.
When children are asked to memorize symbols or sequences without meaningful context, learning stays superficial. Information is stored in isolation, without the rich neural connections needed for retrieval or application. This is why children can identify letters yet struggle to read, or count fluently without understanding quantity, relationships, or patterns. Memorization creates performance. It does not build understanding.
Play, by contrast, creates meaning. It embeds learning in the body. It engages emotion. It requires decision making, error correction, and sustained attention. This is the kind of learning the brain is biologically designed to do, especially in the early years when neural plasticity is at its peak."
We hear this all the time...
“My toddler is so smart. They know their colors, numbers, and letters. I don’t want them to be bored and need to challenge them!"
Or from teachers: “How do I get my class to learn their letters and numbers?”
This is where our definition of intelligence quietly goes off course.
In early childhood, intelligence is often reduced to what is easiest to observe and measure. Labeling colors. Reciting sequences. Repeating symbols on command. These performances reflect exposure and repeated drills, not the kind of learning that actually reorganizes the brain.
The developing brain does not learn best through isolated facts. It learns through experience, movement, emotion, and problem solving.
Play is the mechanism through which this happens.
During play, multiple systems in the brain are activated at once. Sensory input, motor planning, emotional regulation, memory, and executive function are all working together.
When a child builds a structure and adjusts it after it collapses, negotiates roles in pretend play, or experiments with materials to test cause and effect, the brain is strengthening neural networks that support attention, flexibility, persistence, and reasoning.
These experiences drive synaptic growth and integration between brain regions. This is what allows learning to transfer later into reading comprehension, mathematical thinking, and self-directed problem solving.
Rote drills operate very differently.
When children are asked to memorize symbols or sequences without meaningful context, learning stays superficial. Information is stored in isolation, without the rich neural connections needed for retrieval or application. This is why children can identify letters yet struggle to read, or count fluently without understanding quantity, relationships, or patterns. Memorization creates performance. It does not build understanding.
Play, by contrast, creates meaning.
It embeds learning in the body. It engages emotion. It requires decision making, error correction, and sustained attention. This is the kind of learning the brain is biologically designed to do, especially in the early years when neural plasticity is at its peak.
This is exactly what we unpack inside our in-depth, self-paced course: ALL ABOUT PLAY! https://www.weskoolhouse.com/courses
The course breaks down how play shapes brain development, how different types of play support different cognitive and regulatory systems, and why experiences like risky play, outdoor play, and even destructive play are not optional extras but essential for healthy development. It explores play schemas, stages of play, and the adult role in protecting the learning process without hijacking it through over-direction or premature academics.
This work is for parents and educators who want to move beyond surface-level achievement and understand how learning actually takes root in the brain. Because when we understand how children learn, we stop rushing outcomes and start supporting development in ways that last.
