How To Raise A Curious Child? Let Them Play

When thinking about preschools for kids, we keep coming back to one deceptively simple question: What kind of childhood do we want for our kids? Every single time, the answer was the same: Play. Not as a reward. Not as downtime. Not as a break between "real" learning. But as the most powerful, most natural form of learning there is. Because here’s something many people forget: for children, play is work. It’s how they make sense of the world, test ideas, ask questions, express themselves, and discover who they are.

The magic of learning is evident every day in interactive, play-oriented learning centres. Toddlers can be found exploring textures and colours in preschool ateliers, while older children solve design problems in robotics labs or captivate a room with stories in public speaking classes. Confidence, curiosity, and creativity—these qualities all take root through play.

Play Isn’t a Bonus. It’s the Foundation

The first five years of life are a whirlwind of brain development. The foundations of language, emotional regulation, motor skills, and social awareness—they're all built through real, hands-on experiences. And nothing delivers those experiences quite like play.

When a child pours pretend tea, builds with blocks, or runs a make-believe grocery store, they’re not just having fun. They’re learning math, picking up vocabulary, understanding social dynamics, and developing empathy.

And this isn’t just a personal belief. India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 places strong emphasis on play-based and discovery-led learning. Countries like Finland, New Zealand, and Singapore have long embraced it too. Around the world, early education is shifting—finally—toward what children have known all along.

What Play-Based Learning Really Looks Like

Walk into any innovative family learning centre and you’ll see it: bookshelves that invite exploration, cosy corners filled with stories and puzzles, sandpits for sensory play, a vibrant art studio splattered with paint and imagination, and a makerspace filled with building blocks, wires, tools, and wood.

And in the middle of it all, educators—guiding gently, observing, nudging play toward learning. They don’t interrupt play with lessons; they embed lessons into play. That’s the essence of guided play. Whether it’s vocabulary during a puppet show or math in a cooking game, facilitators are trained to spot learning moments and expand them with care.

Routines That Feel Like Home

A new age learning centre must have rhythm. Children thrive in environments where the day flows like a well-loved story: free play, music and movement, snack time, story time, art adventures and quiet rest. Each part of the day is intentional. Each one builds confidence and independence.

Lunch becomes a lesson in sharing and communication. Rest teaches self-regulation. Even putting toys away builds a sense of responsibility. None of this happens with worksheets and bells. It happens in warm, familiar routines that feel a lot like home.

A child building a mini solar panel in our robotics class isn’t just learning about renewable energy. They’re learning that they can make something, do something, be someone. Just like the child in our music class finding rhythm for the first time, or the preschooler stringing words into a story—they’re all moments of joyful learning.

The Bigger Picture

Too often, play is dismissed as fluff—a distraction from “serious” learning. But I’ve seen how powerful it really is. I’ve watched children walk into our spaces shy, quiet, unsure—and I’ve seen them, through play, find their voice. Make a friend. Lead a group. Ask big questions. Tell bigger stories.

Play builds resilience. It teaches empathy. It unlocks creativity. It lays the foundation for academic learning and for navigating the world. It’s how children become confident, curious, and collaborative—qualities we all want for them.

So no, play isn’t an extra. It’s not fluff. It’s the real work of early childhood. And it’s time we started treating it that way.
Because the future belongs to the playful. And that journey? It starts right here.

Authored by Yashovardhan Poddar, Co-founder, Openhouse - Preschool, Daycare, Extracurriculars | Views expressed by author are their own.