When we think about what makes learning meaningful, play might not be the first thing that comes to mind, especially when we’re feeling the pressure of outside expectations or an unfinished curriculum. But in the quiet, curious, wonder-filled world of homeschooling, play has a powerful role to play. Not just for children, but for teens…and yes, even for us as adults.
Let’s explore how time for play is not just a delightful extra, but a vital piece of what helps homeschooling thrive.
Play as the Root of Meaningful Learning
There’s a growing body of research (and a lot of lived experience) that confirms what many homeschoolers come to know firsthand: play fuels deep, lasting learning. As David Elkind writes in The Power of Play, “Combining play, love, and work is the means of successful academic achievement.” When all three come together, children learn best, especially within the context of their own unique circumstances.
But here’s the thing—children don’t play because it makes them smarter. They play because they’re wired to learn through joyful exploration. They don’t need their play justified, but adults often do. That’s why we rush to explain that “play builds executive functioning!” or “play boosts cognitive growth!”
Those benefits are real, but they’re not the only reason play matters.
In a slow homeschooling environment, we don’t have to rush past play. We can honor it as a core part of how our children grow, make sense of the world, and discover who they are.
What Play Looks Like for Children
Ask any child what they’re “working on” and you might hear stories of dragons, spaceship crews, animal rescues, or adventurers on a quest for a magic gem. In the slow, open space of play, children are synthesizing what they’re learning through pretend, movement, storytelling, and more.
When we slow down, we get to notice that play. We see the connections they’re making, the ideas they’re testing, the roles they’re inhabiting. This kind of learning is active, rich, and deeply self-directed.
The Alliance for Self-Directed Education describes it beautifully. Children:
- Play imaginatively as they think and create
- Play physically as they explore their bodies and strength
- Play socially as they interact with others
- Play with rules, explicit and implicit
- Play through risk and adventure
- Play with words, tools, logic, and mathematical ideas
In short, they’re not wasting time. They’re weaving the threads of real learning.
What About Adolescents?
We don’t talk enough about how older kids play, but they still do. It simply changes shape. As adolescents stretch into greater independence, their “play” may look like designing a board game, building something in the garage, experimenting with photography, diving into a new skill, or planning a passion project with a friend.
This is what self-directed learning advocate Blake Boles calls “hard fun”—challenging, immersive, and internally motivated experiences that teens willingly pursue. It’s the kind of play that cultivates problem-solving, creativity, and grit.
When we give teens time and freedom to pursue their interests, they learn more than we could ever fit into a formal lesson. They test ideas. They develop identities. They begin to envision the adults they’re becoming.
Play helps make that possible.
Adults Need Play, Too
This might be the most surprising part. Play doesn’t stop being important when we become parents or educators. In fact, it becomes even more essential.
As psychologist Susan Linn writes in The Case for Make Believe, sustaining a sense of playfulness into adulthood helps us discover meaning and fulfillment. That’s not just feel-good fluff; it’s about doing things that require effort, concentration, and creativity. It’s about entering what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi famously called “flow.”
In a homeschooling environment, that might look like:
- Diving deep into a subject that fascinates you
- Finding joy in preparing lessons or creating materials
- Learning alongside your child in an area that’s new for you
- Embracing experimentation, uncertainty, and imperfection
Playful energy doesn’t make your homeschool less serious. It makes it more alive.
When you pursue your own interests—reading, painting, gardening, researching—you model what lifelong learning really looks like.
Creating Space for Play in Daily Life
Here’s the practical part. How do we make room for play in our homeschool days, especially when schedules feel tight or expectations feel heavy?
Start by going slow.
Play thrives in unhurried time. Consider loosening your daily rhythm so there’s space for spontaneity and curiosity to unfold.
Protect open-ended time.
Whether it’s afternoons spent building forts or an hour dedicated to “interest work,” resist the urge to fill every block with productivity.
Lean into seasons.
Use winter for imaginative indoor projects. Let spring draw you into the outdoors. Follow nature’s rhythm, because play naturally shifts with it.
Notice and name the learning.
You don’t have to turn play into a lesson. But when you observe what your child is doing, reflect on the real skills and growth you see.
Reclaiming Play as an Act of Resistance
In a culture that often values achievement, consumption, and efficiency above all else, protecting time for play (for our children and ourselves) is a radical act.
We’re not just opting out of rigid systems. We’re choosing something more human, more connected, more joyful.
We’re choosing a way of learning that prioritizes wonder, growth, and creativity over standardized outcomes.
And in doing so, we’re showing our children, and ourselves, that who we are becoming matters more than how fast we’re getting there.
Closing Thoughts
If homeschooling is about building a life that reflects your values, then play belongs at the center of it. Not as a reward or a filler, but as essential groundwork for everything else.
So the next time your child is knee-deep in cardboard creations, or your teen is tinkering with a new idea, or you find yourself lost in something that lights you up, take a breath. That’s learning, too.
Play isn’t a distraction from the real work of homeschooling.
It is the work.
Looking for some more inspiration? I discuss these ideas, and more in my book The Joy of Slow: Restoring Balance and Wonder to Homeschool Learning.
I’ll leave you with this:
10 Ways to Invite More Play Into Your Homeschool
1. Start with Space, Not Stuff
Make room, literally, for open-ended play. Clear a corner for building, crafting, or imaginative storytelling. The fewer instructions, the more inventiveness.
2. Schedule Less to Make Room for More
Leave pockets of unscheduled time in your rhythm. Play needs breathing room. Avoid filling every hour with curriculum or “outings.”
3. Follow Their Fascinations
Is your child obsessed with birds, baking, or Beyblades? Let that interest lead the way. Play becomes deeper when it’s self-chosen and relevant.
4. Say Yes to Silly
Join in the corny jokes. Try the funny dance. Laugh with them. When you model playfulness, you make it safe and valued.
5. Let Play Be Messy
Mud kitchens, cardboard forts, science experiments gone sideways…resist the urge to clean it up too quickly. Mess is sometimes part of meaning-making.
6. Create Invitations, Not Assignments
Set out a provocation: a magnifying glass with an interesting nature find, watercolor paints, problem-solving challenges, maps of an interesting place. No instructions necessary. Just the invitation is enough.
7. Trust the “Unproductive” Moments
That long paper airplane-making session? The day spent inventing a board game? It may look like dawdling, but it’s brain work. Stay curious.
8. Play With Big Ideas
Use storytelling, debate, or improv to explore complex topics. Learning doesn’t have to be dry to be rigorous.
9. Give Teens Time for “Hard Fun”
Support passions that blend challenge and creativity—film editing, coding, cosplay, garage projects. Respect their version of play.
10. Protect Your Own Play, Too
Carve out time for your interests, whether it’s writing, hiking, crafting, or cooking with flair. Let your kids see you lit up by your own creative pursuits.
