How do toddlers learn through creative play?

Engaging the senses, self-expression, and promoting agency.

Perhaps one of the most popular questions in our inbox is: “How do you do this with toddlers?” and “What are your suggestions or ideas for open-ended, creative play with the youngest learners?” In our work with young children, we return again and again to the notion that children are capable, even toddlers and young preschoolers. They are deserving and ready for open-ended play experiences that communicate trust and intention, and that support all areas of their development. If there’s one place where prescriptive activities and step-by-steps don’t belong, it’s toddler and preschool classrooms.

This age group is naturally more attached to the process than the product. They experience the world with every sense; they move in twirls and sprints and squirms. We imagine creative learning environments designed with an image of these curious, questioning children in mind, embracing simplicity, celebrating beauty, and nurturing spaces and experiences that offer freedom, movement, and wonder, while building foundational skills along the way. How do we do this? Here are some intentional ways to shift our mindsets about engaging toddlers in open-ended experiences.