The Right to Play (and Why It’s Superfood for Kids’ Brains)

Welcome to the start of the year at Children’s Garden! Around here, you’ll hear two kinds of noise. First, the calm, satisfying sounds of Montessori life: the clink of a tiny spoon on a porcelain bowl, the quiet swish of a rug being unrolled as sunbeams make a slow dance over knobbed cylinders and bead chains. And then—just beyond the calm—you’ll hear the wonderful chaos of play. Someone in the studio may be building dino houses out of blocks and scarves while someone else operate a fairy hospital (there can be a surprising number of wing injuries at the start of school). Outside, our mud kitchen is in full swing, alongside clay, and sand boxes where tiny grains of rock slip through fingers like time. Play isn’t something “extra” at our school.  It’s part of the main experience. Dirt, clay, sand, and water are more than mess—they are elemental teachers. In their textures and transformations, children discover laws of physics, practice collaboration, invent worlds, and reconnect with something older and wilder than any lesson plan could ever hold. Creativity grows best in the open air, with mud under our fingernails and laughter on the breeze. Let’s remember that play isn’t what happens when “real learning” is done—play is how real learning happens. So, If your child comes home and says, “We played alot,” that means their brains eating superfoods —complete with a side of mud. Keeping this in mind, remember to send your child in mess-friendly clothing to let the mud do its magic.