When play and academics are intrinsically connected, play becomes the most powerful vehicle for a young child to inquire, explore, collaborate, think critically, and to expand their knowledge, skills and understanding of the world around them.

As a huge proponent of play-based learning, Jadis Blurton is another well-known expert in the subject area. As head of school at The Harbour School, Hong Kong, she says that parents really have to recognise that “play” is really the child’s “work”. She notes that there can be a real misunderstanding around play, especially in a school environment. Thanks to the traditional concepts of schools, it’s easy to separate play and learning into classroom time and recess or break, but in fact the two need to be balanced and intrinsically linked.

She emphasises that this concept is nothing new. From a cognitive perspective, renowned psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who is best known for his work on psychological development in children, pointed out through his research during the early 1900s that play is when children operate at their highest possible cognitive level. In other words, children are in the best mindset for learning when they’re playing.

“Anyone who has ever cooked with a four-year-old knows that a child is having fun – playing – but also learning to measure, hold and pour, sequence steps, and complete a project,” Burton says.

And there are plenty of other well-known experts in the field who conclude the same. O. Fred Donaldson, a PhD researcher in play, says: “Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play, children learn how to learn.” Another thought leader, Maria Montessori, founder of the educational method that bears her name, popularised the saying that: “Play is the work of the child.”

Understanding that this is how a child’s brain works, and that it is 90 per cent developed by the age of five, the American Academy of Paediatrics states that play is fundamentally important for learning. It is during this time that children figure out how to problem solve, collaborate and foster creativity.

“Children develop their positive sense of self as every child is viewed as an individual, a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured,” says Jacqueline McNalty, head of Malvern College Pre-Schools (Island West Campus and Coronation Circle campus).

A framework for learning

So, with that understanding, what should kids be learning during these early years?

According to Brendan Kean, head of primary at the Australian International School (AIS), children at this age should focus on honing social skills, core literacy and numeracy skills, to be able to access more challenging concepts later on in their learning journey. But this should be done in an engaging way that stimulates their natural curiosity – through play.

“Learning has to be developmentally appropriate, so we have a play-based programme based on the Early Years Framework for Australia which is designed to encourage the best out of students,” he explains.

“At AISHK, we encourage this focus to lay the foundations for critical and creative thinking, independence and student agency.”

And they are not alone in this. Most international schools in Hong Kong adopt various versions of play-based learning and adapt it within a national curriculum, but the general idea is the same – play forms the foundation for all learning.

“Children are brilliantly designed to explore, think, analyse and review. They do this naturally, so it is not necessary, or even possible, to ‘force’ them to learn,” Blurton says.

Instead, young children should be exposed to various activities and mentored and guided through their experiences to broaden and deepen their understanding of their world. Pinchbeck gives a more specific example of this by saying that flourishing child development can be split into four very broad categories: cognitive, social, emotional and physical, and that all children should receive an optimal balance of growth in all these areas, which naturally feed each other.

“When entering kindergarten, children need multiple opportunities to socialise and play with others, they need to experience all the joys and frustrations that come with sharing, interacting and collaborating, and in experiencing this broad range of social interactions, children can learn to understand and manage their own emotions and learn how to navigate an increasingly complex social world,” Pinchbeck says.

Another point that was highlighted was that play-based learning is not limited to just social and academic skills, but it also fosters physical development, which is equally important. Children need to be given the chance to run, climb, move and develop both gross and fine motor skills.

The physical confidence and fine motor skills developed in this way enable them to engage in activities like writing or other skills as they get older.

The great outdoors as teaching environment

For these reasons, creating a playful learning environment is crucial, and the good news is that international schools in Hong Kong are doing well in this space. Most are excelling in using their existing space and surrounding environments to create those learning opportunities.

For example, Malvern College Pre-School is guided by Reggio Emilia’s principle of “using the environment as the third teacher”. It is the only school in Hong Kong to operate the world-leading Forest-Beach School programme, where students take their learning outdoors to the school’s Forest-Beach School site which sits on natural woodland and a beach area.

The school encourages “playing and exploring”, “active learning” and “creating and thinking critically”.

“We encourage children to have a go and first try things independently, to not be afraid of failure and to think of solutions through problem solving,” explains McNalty.

And Malvern College isn’t alone. In much the same vein, ICHK is another school famed for using its natural outdoor environment to create classrooms outside the traditional classrooms.

“The access to the outdoors and access to nature is a big thing, because this focuses so much on those first-hand experiences, and we really want children to genuinely love coming here, and the enthusiasm sticks,” Pinchbeck explains.

Expressing a passion for learning is one of the key indicators of success, as that becomes the fuel that promotes future learning.

“The hands-on curriculum supports children as they progress through age-appropriate developmental milestones and prepares children for inquiry-based learning,” says Ross Armitage, primary principal of the International Stream at the French International School of Hong Kong.

By creating those rich experiences for children, they will be able to tell you why they are learning, what they are learning and why that is important. “This means there is meaningfulness for them, and they will take that positive attitude towards learning and take it forward to secondary school,” adds Pinchbeck.

When children can see the point of why they are doing something, rather than being forced to do something, the learning then comes from themselves and that is a real marker of success, they agreed.

Measuring success

So then, what are other telltale signs that a school is doing early years right?

According to both Kean and McNalty, the look on your child’s face every morning is the best indicator.

“Success in our students can be seen in their everyday school life,” says Kean. “From how they approach the teacher to how they show up to school and their classrooms, how they take responsibility and care for their belongings, and how they interact with their peers. Students flourishing in all aspects of daily school life is a significant gauge of success.”

And Blurton could not agree more. She said that with young children it is generally easier to gauge success because children themselves are so proud of mastery. When a child shows you a new skill or learns to collaborate, they will inevitably make friends, too.

“Success at this age is not conveyed in a letter grade, but through a description of the child’s own achievements, social development, emotional adjustment and understanding,” she says.

For this reason, McNalty says that as success can look different for each child, happy, smiley children coming through the door shows that they are getting it right.

So, when it comes to choosing the right school that supports a child’s learning, educators agree that each school has their own unique offerings and strengths, so the most important thing is that the school can provide the optimal learning spaces with the optimal social opportunities to develop all the right skills.

“Look for a school that feels warm and happy, bring your child to see how they would react to the learning environment, and see that they feel comfortable to ask any questions,” advised McNalty.