Show Notes
What if play didn’t need a lesson plan? Or an outcome? Or a grown-up standing nearby explaining what’s supposed to happen next?
In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast, Rusty Keeler sits down with longtime early childhood educator, author, speaker, and unapologetic play advocate Lisa Murphy to talk about what children really need in order to play: time, choice, trust, and adults willing to get out of the way.
Lisa has spent more than 30 years helping educators understand that play isn’t something extra we squeeze in after the “real learning.” It is the foundation underneath it.
Rusty and Lisa are talking about why freely chosen, open-ended play matters, what happens when children (and adults) haven’t had enough of it. Curiosity might be one of the most important things we can protect, so let’s evaluate the danger of chopping a child’s day into twenty-minute pieces. Because play has its own speed.
This conversation is also a rallying cry for educators. Know what you believe. Own it. Stop apologizing for play before anyone has even questioned it. Play doesn’t need an agenda. Sometimes the best thing we can do is give it space and see where it goes.
Top 3 Takeaways from Lisa Murphy:
Give play time. Real play needs enough room for choosing, negotiating, experimenting, changing course, and deciding when it’s finished.
Protect curiosity. Children (and grown-ups) need opportunities to wonder, explore, get messy, and follow ideas without always knowing where they’ll lead.
Know your values. When educators are clear about what they believe about children and play, it becomes much easier to stand confidently behind their practice.
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More from Play Nature Podcast
Think about this…the best thing we can do for children is…less and then more. Less directing. Less correcting. Less rushing to the rescue. More mud. More mess. More wonder!
What if the answer to better learning, happier kids, and even easier classroom management is just outside the door?
What happens when one kid climbs up the slide while another is coming down? Is going up the slide really dangerous? Or is it just one of those playground rules we’ve inherited without thinking too hard about it?
What happens when children meet a muddy hill, a dangling rope, and a whole lot of possibility? They climb. They slip. They tumble. They try again.
Nature is everywhere. In the trees. In the rain. In the crack in the sidewalk where one determined little plant is doing its thing. In the tree that looks like a butt.