Last week I was fortunate to attend the Australian Primary Principals Association conference. The theme was reCONNECT, reENGAGE and reIMAGINE.

As a life-long learner I appreciate the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers on a diverse range of topics. But this always leaves me wanting more, to go deeper with the learning and to find answers to my additional questions. It leaves me thinking that this is also what we want for our students, when they leave our classrooms. Just because the classroom doors have closed at the end of the day, or a unit of work has finished it does not mean that the learning is over. We want our students to be empowered to take charge of their own learning, to be an active participant and to continue their learning without us. So how do we do this?

One speaker – Pasi Sahlberg spoke about the idea of playful learning. Engaging in play develops 21^st Century skills. Play develops curiosity, risk-taking, resilience, creative problem-solving, communication, collaboration and creativity. It develops working memory, flexible thinking and self-control. All of these skills lead to independent thinking and action. All of these skills lead to students becoming life-long learners and continuing their learning outside of the classroom and without us.

So, let the children play!

Kristen Smith - Assistant Principal - Primary (Kalkallo)