What Is Spontaneous Play in Early Childhood?

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Let’s say your toddler is practicing putting his foot on a scooter. He relentlessly tries to position, decide, and assess where his foot should go. Now, if his older sister comes along, he may stare at her for a moment until she effortlessly goes zooming by.

Spontaneous free play is argued to be children’s innate tool for personal well-being and health. It provides children a sense of social and emotional structure and helps them cope with everyday stressors.

Children decide on various ways to play, interact, and watch educational materials –blocks, games, dolls, books, etc.– without relying heavily on adult guidance or support. Children may play alone with sand or fly planes with a friend during spontaneous play.

In this post, I wanted to focus on the meaning of spontaneous play and the various ways children engage in play in early childhood settings. There are many different ways young children learn to play; watching others, manipulating, or playing pretend. We will go through some differences between structured and spontaneous play; I’ll provide examples.

Spontaneous Play

Play is often a child-directed activity or game that helps children learn social skills, build muscles, and learn behavioral patterns. When children are involved in uninterrupted play with peers, materials, tools, games, and props, they are experiencing spontaneous play.

Also called free play, children are independent of teachers or instructors and do not rely on their instruction or guidance.

Instructors and caregivers do not pressure children to play during spontaneous play; instead, they provide the tools, materials, games, and toys and let them naturally experience the environment. Children learn about emotions, behaviors, and others’ bodies as they watch, engage, and imagine.

What the Research Says

Allowing children to play shows researchers that when children are naturally engaged in play, they are experiencing the natural environment and learning how behaviors affect the world. According to this study, children playing freely are introduced to science-based phenomena, preparing them for STEM.

Scientists identified play patterns in their studies; Attunement play, body play, object play, social play, imaginative or pretend play, storytelling play, and creative play. These types of play are crucial for the development of earlier learners; I explain play types thoroughly later on.

It can look different depending on the environment, the child, and temperament. Some children might spend a long time observing other children and watching their movements before taking a dive at manipulatives or choosing a book; others may head right for the paintbrushes without hesitation.

Learning about play was one of my favorite things to study and observe in school. Children are naturally aware and want to assess the situation out of safety and genuine curiosity. Young children especially take in so many stimuli; they hear the other classrooms, smell the yogurt on their sleeve, and watch other kids cry when they fall.

Types of Play in Early Childhood

Here are six different ways that children play in early childhood settings.

Unoccupied Play
Solitary Play
Spectator (onlooker) Play
Parallel Play
Associative Play
Cooperative Play

Unoccupied Play is when young children –typically infants– randomly explore their environment. It will appear unorganized, messy, and lack control, but it is a part of learning about one’s situation.

During Solitary Play, toddlers are not engaged or interested in other people; they play solo. Independent play lets young children experience their feelings and learn to value their problem-solving methods. They will learn to stay occupied with themselves and explore personal interests.

Spectator (onlooker) Play allows children to observe and assess a situation before committing; they watch, learn, and hear how others play. Children have their reason for watching other people play; they might want to see a skill before trying or know the outcome of a game.

Parallel Play is a type of play that involves multiple kids playing near one another. 3-year-olds will have different games but are near each another. They typically do not interfere with the other person’s game; they play separately beside their peers.

Associative Play requires more in-depth social interaction and communication. During this kind of play, children decide and negotiate together. They learn to ask questions because they work together to build, create, or play with something.

Cooperative Play is a playtime that includes communication, negotiation, and collaboration. This is when their learned skills mesh together to provide a unique experience based on a common goal. When 5-year-olds play together, they want to build, play, and engage in competitive games or sports.

Other Types of Play in Early Childhood

Competitive
Dramatic (fantasy) Play
Manipulative Play
Symbolic Play
Physical Play
Sensory Play
Nature-based Play
Music and Art Play

The Difference Between Structured and Spontaneous Play

Rules and adult objectives trap children; they are free to play at their will during spontaneous play. Kids explore without firm boundaries and can create, imagine, and experience tools and materials. Spontaneous play is very open-ended and directionless.

Structured or adult-led play involves a parent, teacher, or instructor. Structured play is highly regulated because the instructor has created boundaries for safety or practical reasons. There are clear adult motivations during structured play; teachers have rules, requirements, assessments, etc.

Children explore freely during spontaneous play; Children must follow the rules during structured play.
Spontaneous play is child-directed and open-ended; Adults have goals, objectives, and an ending point.
Children may choose materials during spontaneous play; Adults choose materials and props during structured play.
Kids may communicate freely during spontaneous play; Adults might facilitate communication with young children during structured play.

There are more differences between structured and spontaneous play; I have written an article about it. I will link it here!

Benefits of Spontaneous Play

When children develop naturally, they have a chance to experience problems and engage in problem-solving methods. Researchers find that unstructured, spontaneous play benefits are directly related to brain health and social-emotional development.

Older kids building a fort together will talk about how to make their ideas happen. They might notice the blankets falling and introduce new ideas to keep them from falling. Some children will propose using clothespins, while others will try using tape. Once they learn which works and doesn’t, they will recall that information later in life and use that memory as a framework for future problems.

Peer interaction teaches children to value communication; playing within appropriate boundaries helps children find solutions to everyday problems. Because children are drawn to finding solutions, their ability to turn the play into an opportunity for growth helps them identify common issues in the world.

Children given the time to experience uninterrupted play often learn stress management skills and take their time because they aren’t pressured to achieve a goal in a particular amount of time. Kids are less impulsive and more likely to challenge themselves because they identify problems within the environment halting their success.

Often, kids are bossed around; they aren’t allowed to control the environment. Free play allows children to be involved in their own exploration without judgment from adults.

These are some things that benefit from spontaneous play.

Brain development
Motor development
Confidence
Patience
Health & wellbeing
Creativity
Child-led pace
Independence

Language skills
Risk-taking
Flexibility
Mindfulness
Attention-span
Lower Impulse
Lower stress
No pressure

Examples of Free Play in Early Childhood

Spontaneous free play looks different depending on the center or school. Some children will play dress-up; others will drive cars through the water tables. There are many opportunities to engage in free play in early childhood, especially when given a safe and well-stocked environment.

Kids may be homeschooled or go to traditional public or private school. No matter the setting, tons of things come to mind when thinking of particular examples of free play.

Here is a post with plenty of different examples of spontaneous play!

Here are some other examples of free play in Early Childhood.

Arts and crafts
Dramatic play
Cars and trucks
Painting/coloring
Puppets
Books
Blocks
Swinging

Climbing
Stacking
Sorting
Water play
Sand play
Glue art
Puzzles
Dolls

Building a Curriculum in Early Childhood

There are a few things to note about play in early childhood; developmental domains, curriculum areas, and specific content (subject) areas. Many people use these terms interchangeably; this is how I learned to categorize them.

When composing a curriculum, it is good to know the areas of development, curriculum area, and specific content that will reinforce the curriculum area to stimulate development.

Here is a simple run-down of the developmental domains, curriculum, and content areas that are typically used in childcare.

Here are five areas of development (developmental domains) in early childhood.

Cognitive
Language
Social-Emotional
Gross Motor
Fine Motor

Spontaneous play opportunities are generally related to the following curriculum areas.

Science
Math
Language Arts
Social Studies

Here is a list of more specific content areas for spontaneous play in early childhood.

Sensory
2-Dimensional Art
3-Dimensional Art
Blocks
Manipulatives
Dramatic Play
Puppets
Music
Movement
Indoor Games
Outdoor Games
Media
Computers

Final Words

Spontaneous play involves children in long periods of child-driven interests and skills. Young children learn to manipulate their environments, communicate problems, and identify needs. There are many different ways children play in early childhood, and the benefits are increased health and wellness, social-emotional development, and motor development.