The Power of Heuristic Play

Written by Bea Garcia-Choy and Kay Bernandino

Have you noticed that most of the time, babies/ toddlers would rather play with everyday objects such as pots and pans, boxes, tissue paper and so on rather than store bought toys? You may have noticed already just how engaged they are in exploring these things. Best of all, when given the chance to do so, uninterrupted, they would tinker with it for a really (really!) long time and use it in many ways unimaginable to us. It is through this kind of play that children learn best. Through real life objects, they can explore using their multiple senses. Everyday objects create endless play opportunities. This is why we have embedded heuristic play in our Tumblers classes.

What is Heuristic Play?

Coined by a child psychologist Elinor Goldschmeid in the early 1980's, Heuristic Play describes the activity of babies and children as they play with and explore the properties of 'objects'. These 'objects' are things from the real world. Sheley Auld tells us that “it is the play that allows children to experience and put together objects in a way that engenders the excited feeling - 'I have found out about this object' (Auld, 2002). 

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of our little ones. Imagine, having seen an object for the first time. You have no idea what it is, what it does or how you are supposed to use it. What do you do? You explore it! Feel it with your hands while looking closely. You manipulate it in different ways, you use your senses to know more about it. You might smell it, shake it to listen to it, drop it or even taste it! Imagine what kind of feeling you must get from all this. At Casita, we believe that this feeling can be likened to finding treasure! And exploring what this treasure can bring. This is why heuristic play is presented as treasure baskets.

And this is precisely why a treasure basket with real life objects provides rich mental stimulation for your child. It also provides your children with experiences and opportunities to discover the world around them. 

The recommended age for this would be for babies from the time they can sit unaided or when they are starting to move and explore around 10-18 months. 

Casita’s Top 5 favorite benefits of heuristic play for your children: 

1. Heuristic play develops the creativity and imagination of your child.

2. Enhances gross motor skills and brain development in infants and toddlers. This kind of play requires sensory exploration that supports a child’s cognitive development. Because of the open-ended nature of the objects, a child is able to explore on a wider range and scale compared to toys that already determine what is to be done with them.

3. The use of their multiple senses allows for children to develop critical thinking. The different things they can do with the object allows the children to analyze and think about what led them to where they are. For example, if a toddler opens and closes a box, and this makes a sound, they can answer questions such as: what would happen if I did the same thing but to a different object? This kind of thinking requires certain skills such as resourcefulness, creativity and critical thinking.

4. Early numeracy and mathematical skills. When a child sees a number of different objects that can be compared in terms of texture, shape, size, weight etc., they are exploring their mathematical thinking. They can ask questions such as: 

   - Which object can roll and not roll? 

   - What can be stacked and not? How come not all of them can be stacked? 

   - Why is this heavier than the other? 

   - Which one can fit into my hand? If it doesn’t, what does it mean? Is it bigger? 

5. Finally, heuristic play allows children to gain an understanding of the world around them and encourages independence, focus and concentration.

How to Encourage Heuristic Play at Home

Photo credit Play at Home teacher

Prepare your environment. Make sure that the environment/ your home is free of clutter or distractions such as television or loud music. This way, you will be able to provide a space where your child can focus on what he/she is to explore.

Do not leave the items available all throughout the day. You may take out the bag, at any point of the day, for example in the morning, but once your child is all done, or has moved on, keep the basket. 

You may take out the basket and introduce it again for next time.

Prepare to be an observer. It’s very easy for us to show children what to do with objects and toys. However, by doing that, we are robbing them of the opportunity to make the discovery themselves. 

Remove all your expectations. There is no right or wrong way of manipulating the objects. Remember that learning takes place during the “process” and avoid interrupting your child while he/ she is at play. 

TIP: It is best to pretend to do something while you observe your child. Avoid interrupting by saying things like “good job” or even asking questions. If your child invites you to play with him/her, go ahead. You can sit beside him/ her and touch the object and pretend that you are exploring too. Remember, leave the discovery to the child. 

Follow your child’s lead. Expect that the objects will probably be used in many ways or they might have already seen you use it and would try to practice with it. Embrace your child’s natural curiosity and allow them to explore and play and make choices for themselves. 

TIP: This could end up being a little distracting / messy / noisy to us adults. Let’s remember, they are little explorers discovering what they can do with the object so making all that mess and noise is part of the process.

Time your play right. Make sure that your child is not hungry or sleepy during this kind of play. Choose a time when they are most likely to be settled. Offer this kind of play all throughout your week. It also cannot be the only kind of play they are doing as it will lose it’s magic if this is the case. 

Overall Play Tip: Add everyday objects from your home to add to the experience. You can use spice jars, vitamin / medicine bottles, etc! This will help your child develop their fine motor skills too. Use your own judgment in adding objects to the selection. You can also present it in a basket for your child to choose objects from, if you have a basket at home. 

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Our Tumblers classes introduce heuristic play for little ones. We hope you enjoy it with your child at home! Feel free to share with us what you learn and discover and take pictures and videos of your children “at work”. We look forward to hearing from you soon! 

Happy playing!

References:Auld, S. (2002) 'Five key Principles of Heuristic Play', New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, Issue 2, Volume 4, pp. 36-37. (Accessed: 28 November 2020).(Heuristic Play Little Acorns to Mighty Oaks. 2020. Heuristic Play Part I - The Treasure Basket. [online]. [Accessed 30 November 2020].Part I - The Treasure Basket, 2020)