Play Types

hildren’s play is rich, varied, organic and constantly evolving. It can explore different types at the same time, flow from one to another and back again. As such, these definitions are by adults, for adults. They’re useful in helping us be more specific when we’re talking about play and play provision but will only ever capture a narrow aspect of the wealth of children’s play. This list is also evolving and should not be assumed to ever be complete.

There has also been controversy over the years about the last play type, Recapitulative. It is left off of some lists entirely but I have included it here (in spite of my own hesitations) because it addresses forms of play not found elsewhere in the list and because this controversy ought to be openly engaged with.More..