Why Play Matters- Growing Resilience, Joy, and Deep Learning
At Rain or Shine School, we believe childhood is not something to rush. It is a sacred season filled with imagination, connection, discovery, and play, which is the true work of childhood. What researchers are continuing to confirm aligns beautifully with what we witness every day in our forest, fields, and classrooms. Play is not extra. It is essential.
Recent research highlighted in The Hechinger Report shares decades of evidence showing that play is deeply connected to healthy development. Play supports resilience, emotional regulation, social connection, and brain growth. When children are given meaningful opportunities to play, they are not stepping away from learning. They are stepping directly into it.
Dr. Stuart Brown, a leading researcher on play, has found that when children lack unstructured play opportunities, there can be developmental consequences, especially in areas like empathy and social connection. On the other hand, children who engage in rich play experiences tend to show stronger social skills, greater adaptability, and an increased ability to navigate challenges. They learn how to cooperate, how to take healthy risks, how to repair conflict, and how to bounce back.
Neuroscience also supports what many educators and parents intuitively know. The developing brain is most activated by movement, imagination, problem solving, and joyful engagement. Play releases chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin, which strengthen memory, motivation, emotional balance, and bonding. In other words, play biologically prepares children for resilience and lifelong learning.
Play does not look the same at every age. It can be wild and unstructured or gently guided and imaginative. It might look like fort building, negotiating roles in a game, stacking rocks by the creek, caring for animals, or inventing stories under forest canopies. In each of these moments, children are practicing life. They are building executive function, flexibility, creativity, and confidence.
Today’s children often carry heavy expectations. Academic pressure starts earlier. Schedules are fuller. Screens compete for attention. In this environment, play can quietly shrink. But when we protect space for play, we protect the very foundation of healthy growth.
At Rain or Shine School, we choose rhythm over rush. We choose relationship over pressure. We choose mud pies, storytelling, tree climbing, and long stretches of imaginative exploration because we understand that these experiences build the skills that matter most.
Childhood is not a race toward adulthood. It is a season of becoming. When we allow children to unfold at their natural pace, rooted in play and connection, we are not holding them back. We are giving them the strongest possible foundation to thrive.
Because when we protect play, we protect resilience, joy, and the deep roots of lifelong learning.
