Reconsidering the Place of Games with Rules in the Early Elementary Classroom

Engagement in play is vital for children to learn 21st-century skills, especially problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, focused attention, and collaboration (Hillman et al., 2014; Singer, 2015; Yogman et al., 2018). These require developing executive functioning skills crucial for school readiness and success. Play fosters brain development and nurtures the learning of complex skills in a natural and joyful manner for children. In addition, it promotes children's learning of academic concepts (O'Neill & Holmes, 2022). This article examines how play is a fundamental human activity that involves people of different ages and cultures (Van Hoorn et al., 2014). It is pivotal to children's learning and development (The National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2020), and it is central to the early childhood curriculum (Van Hoorn et al., 2014).