Play arguably defines childhood, but is this reflective of early childhood education? This guide serves to provide practical, evidence-based ways to increase joy during the learning process and bring back play into preschool.

This guide includes tips on how to create a play-based classroom with 15 units, including Back to School, Transportation, Farm, Fall, Feelings, Food, Fairy Tales, Winter, Weather, Valentine, Space, Zoo, Baby Animals, Pond, and Ocean. Each unit includes a detailed description of the activity, the standards addressed, kindergarten standard correlations, skills addressed, special needs adaptations, expansion ideas, and additional activities within the same theme. This guide was created by an occupational therapist as part of a Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy to empower teachers to bring play back into our classrooms.