All in a Day’s Play: Boosting Brain Power through Play with Teacher Tom

The St. John Parent Association, in partnership with ParentMap, provided an opportunity to hear Teacher Tom Hobson, early childhood educator, education consultant, parent educator, and author, speak to our community on December 4, 2024. Teacher Tom is best known for his namesake blog Teacher Tom’s Blog. During this hour-long interview, he explored how to embrace your child’s natural playfulness, foster creative problem-solving and self-motivation, and encourage cooperation over obedience. See below for some of the insights discussed during this session.

  • Experts do not offer an agreed upon definition of play. Most can agree play is characterized as being unstructured, child-directed, and not part of activities organized by adults. Play teaches kids to be self-motivated, find their purpose and passion, and come alive. Teacher Tom describes play as how we learn the connection between failure, perseverance, and success.
  • Short of dangerous situations and safety/wellbeing concerns, Teacher Tom advises adults not to intervene in kids’ play. Let the kids lead and adults observe. If necessary, adults can begin a dialogue based on observations and help kids talk to each other to promote problem solving and conflict resolution.
  • As kids get older, play-based learning becomes self-directed learning.
  • Encourage independent play by making informational statements rather than commands. For example, say “I see some paper and pencils over there” rather than “Go draw a picture.” Be ok with your kids saying they are bored! They will find something to do.
  • Play does not have to involve expensive or new toys. Some of the best play things are water and plain red clay, paint and cardboard boxes, mud and puddles of water, and clean mud (mixture of toilet paper, Ivory soap, and warm water).

Additional Resources

Click below to access the recording of the event. Use the password: ed*talks*replay
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