Nurturing Brilliance: Using Play-Activated Learning to Awaken Children's Potential

Sally has distilled decades of research and experience to create the Play-Activated Learning model for understanding children’s play and learning. The Play-Activated Learning model gives educators and families an understanding of a child’s behavior in the classroom during free play, including the growth unfolding in the brain. It also offers a view of the role of the educator in supporting the child’s learning and development. The model explains the incredible unfolding and blossoming that happens during play and provides a science-based approach to communicating that growth and development to parents. It builds on a foundation rooted in your view of the child and progresses through four stages:

1. Permission, allowed by the educator's preparation of a yes environment

2. Choice, supported by the educator's noticing of play schema and urges

3. Repetition, elevated by the educator's facilitation of play invitations

4. Voice, understood through the learner's identity

The Play-Activated Learning model will illuminate the expert you already are and provide you with tools to explain why you teach the way you do, so that all well-intended parties can support the ultimate goal—children’s growth and learning.

• Publication date: 7 August 2025
• Page count: 192
• Publisher: Redleaf Press
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN-13: 9781605548357