Discover how guided play, with insights from Vilnius, can enhance your child's development and growth.
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend an early childhood education summit in Vilnius, hosted by LearnED. The theme was simple but thought-provoking: “Guided Play or Play Guided?”
It stayed with me long after the sessions ended—not because it offered a clear answer, but because it challenged how we think about play in children’s lives.
I went there expecting to learn new techniques. What I came back with was something more important: clarity.
Play is not separate from learning
One of the strongest messages throughout the summit—and consistently reinforced by leading research in Early Childhood Education—was this: play is not a break from learning. It is learning.
We often feel the need to “add learning” into children’s day-structured tasks, outcomes, measurable progress. But when children are deeply engaged in play, they are already developing:
- Language through conversation and storytelling
- Problem-solving through trial and error
- Social skills through collaboration and conflict
- Emotional resilience through challenges and small failures
Play is where children make sense of the world. It is how they test ideas, build understanding, and develop confidence.
What does “guided” really mean?
The idea of guided play can sometimes feel unclear. If adults guide, is it still play?
What I observed during the summit and in discussions shaped by approaches such as Reggio Emilia approach and Montessori education helped reframe this.
In the classrooms we visited, teachers were not leading the play; they were shaping it. They created environments, chose materials carefully, and used subtle prompts to extend children’s thinking without taking control.
The play remained in the hands of the children. The role of the adult was to gently influence the direction of learning, not define it.
That distinction matters.
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