Younger children are expected to be playful, and play generally is an acceptable activity in preschool classrooms (Wiltz & Fein, 2006). However, once children enter the primary grades (i.e., kindergarten through 3rd grade), time for play is often dramatically reduced (Bergen, 2002), leaving children like Micah wondering what happened to the toys. Actually, Micah was one of the fortunate children. He had known the joy of learning through play during his kindergarten and 1st-grade years. For many children, textbooks and worksheets take over their lives beginning in kindergarten. Too often, parents, administrators, and teachers see the primary years as a time to get down to business and begin the real work involved in learning; play is considered a frill or add-on that has no place in the academic setting. Nevertheless, as Elkind (2007) proposes, "Play is not a luxury but rather a crucial dynamic of healthy physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development at all age levels" (p. 4). Furthermore, according to Copple and Bredekamp (2009), play is developmentally appropriate for primary-age children and can provide them with opportunities that enrich the learning experience.
