Paediatricians confirm: play is a serious business
By Katie Terry, Owner & Rohini Ramadas, Principal, Rain Trees International Kindergarten & Preschool.
If you’ve ever seen a child build a fort from cushions or run through puddles, you’ll know how much they love to play. What you might not realise is just how important that play is. Paediatricians and child development experts agree that play builds brains, bodies and confidence.
Play: It’s not a break from learning – it is learning!
The American Academy of Paediatrics says play helps form vital brain connections and supports physical skills. The World Health Organisation highlights playful interactions as essential for healthy development. Research shows that children under five who have plenty of free, active play do better with problem-solving, communication and managing their emotions.
At Rain Trees, we see this every day. Play is where children:
- Try out ideas and solve problems.
- Learn to work with others.
- Build strength, balance and coordination.
- Discover how to manage big feelings.
We always make time for free play every day and join in when it helps extend their thinking. We can often see a glimpse of the future engineer or creative thinker in our lttle students! Yes, even at such a young age!
At home, you can encourage your children too: follow their lead, offer open-ended materials like blocks or fabric, and allow safe physical challenges like climbing and balancing. Get on the floor with them and ‘step into’ their imagination!
Some people worry that play takes time away from “real” learning. In truth, it’s the opposite. Our children are sponges and play is the means to development. These are young children, moving from toddler to small child. They need to see caring, nurturing examples every day, and feel good! That’s what we’re here for!
Rohini Ramadas, Principle, Rain Trees International Kindergarten, Singapore
Play builds the skills children need for reading, writing and maths later on. It’s how they explore, connect and grow – and that, we know is a serious business!
Your child’s future success begins in this small window of time.
Brain Development Peaks Before Age 5
The first five years of life represent the most critical period for brain development — with over 90% of brain growth occurring before a child turns five. Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child confirms that during this time, children form more than 1 million neural connections every second.
This window is when children’s capacity for learning, forming relationships, developing self-regulation and curiosity is at its highest.
At Rain Trees, our early years curriculum (based on the EYFS – British Curriculum) is designed specifically to nurture this development, not rush it. We focus on the foundations for lifelong learning — critical thinking, social confidence, resilience — rather than premature academics.
Fun Is Not Frivolous, It’s Fundamental
We believe something very simple: children learn best when they’re having fun. And that’s not just philosophy — it’s neuroscience. Play activates the brain’s reward systems and supports the development of executive function skills, which are essential for everything from planning and memory to self-control.
As early years specialist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek puts it so well, “Play is the work of childhood.”
Through play, children explore their world, test ideas, express emotions and connect with others. That’s why at Rain Trees, learning looks like dancing, building, painting, chatting, running, and always, laughing.
At Rain Trees, we don’t just know the science — we live it. Our team brings deep early years experience, a passion for nurturing each child, and a firm belief in the power of play-based learning. Families choose us not for flashy technology or rigid academics, but because we honour what the early years are meant to be: a time of joy, growth and wonder.
Come and see our small classes, big garden and fun learning in action. Arrange to visit Rain Trees or speak to the team to learn more.
References
Play is the work of childhood: https://www.royalgazette.com/other/lifestyle/article/20110203/letting-your-children-be-children/
Why small class sizes matter: https://classsizematters.org/research-and-links/
Playing outside why it’s important for kids: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/power-of-play/Pages/playing-outside-why-its-important-for-kids.aspx
Benefits of learning in natural settings: https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/5883452499427328
Brain Architecture: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/key-concept/brain-architecture/
Rain Trees International Kindergarten & Preschool is based at Holland Village in Singapore and was established in 1999 and attracts internationally minded parents working and living in Singapore.