Guided Play Principles and Practices, Pre-K to 3

This comprehensive book reveals how guided play—the sweet spot at which child agency meets adult intention—creates optimal conditions for deep learning while addressing required standards.

The authors present a practical, three-part framework that shows readers how to design responsive environments, facilitate meaningful guided play experiences, and document children's playful learning. Through compelling stories, authentic examples, and strategic advocacy approaches, Guided Play Principles and Practices, Pre-K to 3 demonstrates how guided play simultaneously enhances student engagement and aligns with academic standards. This is essential reading for educators committed to honoring how children naturally learn, while successfully navigating today's demanding educational landscape.

Book Features:

• Evidence-Based Framework Based on Real Implementation—provides the first systematic framework for guided play developed through actual classroom implementation and documented success.
• Free Downloadable Supporting Resources—contains visual documentation from real classrooms, reflection prompts, communication templates, and step-by-step implementation guides.
• Comprehensive Documentation and Assessment System—features detailed protocols for capturing and analyzing children's learning through play, transforming documentation from simple photo-taking into a powerful tool for assessment, reflection, and advocacy.
• Multi-Level Advocacy Toolkit—includes strategic advocacy approaches for engaging administrators, families, and policymakers, featuring research summaries and strategies for building institutional support for play-based learning.

Karen DuBois-Garofalo is the Playful Learning Project director/coach at the University of New Hampshire. Jennifer Berube is a coach, educator, and researcher in play pedagogy and teacher well-being. Sarah Bond is an educator, coach, and consultant in early learning, leadership, and systems design.

“Karen Dubois-Garafalo, Jennifer Berube, and Sarah Bond offer the field a language for talking about multiple forms of play which can and must coexist in the daily life of the child. This book helps us to avoid the all-too-common black-and-white thinking about play and opens our minds to a third space where teachers can be active collaborators alongside children, enriching children's lives and their own."
—Lisa P. Kuh, program director at the Sheva Center, JCC Association of North America

“This book is an exceptional resource for educators and advocates looking to implement guided play practice, offering not just theory, but an impressive array of practical elements including classroom observation guides, play-based learning standards, and stakeholder communication templates. The wealth of ready-to-use implementation supports makes it an invaluable guide for anyone committed to establishing and championing guided play in educational settings.”
—Erin M. Casey, associate professor, early childhood education, instructional leadership and academic curriculum, University of Oklahoma

“A common struggle across schools in America is how to reignite the passion that fueled many of us to get into education. Guided Play Principles and Practices, Pre-K to 3 provides a blueprint for how to bridge theory and practice and build agency in our learners by enhancing academic learning through guided play. The authors offer a framework that balances the clear, actionable steps and conditions necessary to allow our youngest learners to flourish through playful learning.”
—Jonathan G. Vander Els, author and consultant

“This is a powerful and timely invitation for early childhood educators to return to what matters most: play. Drawing from the latest research on playful learning, the authors seamlessly synthesize these insights with developmentally appropriate practice. Whether you are a seasoned teacher eager to deepen playful pedagogy or a novice educator seeking to honor the whole child, this book offers clear guidance, inspiration, and practical strategies. Every early childhood practitioner will find both affirmation and a renewed sense of possibility within these pages.”
—Julie Jones, associate professor of child and family studies, Converse University