The Role of Play in Developing Critical Thinking at the Early Years Centre

Critical thinking involves the ability to analyse, evaluate, and solve problems—skills that begin to emerge in early childhood. Purposeful and spontaneous play provides children with meaningful opportunities to experiment and discover through hands-on experiences. 

For example, as children build with blocks, they learn about balance and structure by trial and error, they explore materials and their properties. They develop their fine motor skills and learn how to persist as they refine their approach based on what works and what doesn’t. This process fosters flexible thinking and resilience.

Stimulating Curiosity: Play naturally encourages children to ask questions such as “What will happen if…?” or “Why does this work this way?” Encouraging such inquiry promotes deeper thinking.

Problem Solving: Whether navigating social interactions or physical challenges, play offers children opportunities to think creatively and test solutions.

Decision Making: Play involves choices—selecting roles in a game or determining rules, deciding on what materials to use or how each item can be used to represent different things in their play— all of which help children evaluate options and consequences thoughtfully.

Communication: Through role-play and collaborative activities, children develop language skills that enable them to express ideas clearly and listen to others’ perspectives.

We cultivate an environment rich in diverse and stimulating play experiences, allowing children to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding both when working independently and when working with others. Our educators observe and support children’s thinking without interrupting their natural curiosity, striking a balance between structured activities and open-ended exploration. Each area of our environment provides the opportunity for children to thrive, both socially and academically, through planned and spontaneous experiences and supported engagements with their peers and our specialist educators.