Fueling Real Learning During Unstructured Time

In one corner of the classroom, a child quietly builds a tower of blocks, adding and removing pieces in slow, deliberate patterns. Nearby, two others are deep in a game that seems to have no clear rules but plenty of negotiation. Another child lies on the rug, watching dust particles float in a beam of sunlight. To an outsider, this might look like a pause between “real” learning moments. But what if this is the real learning time?

In preschool, unstructured time isn’t a break from learning, it’s where learning often takes root. When children are given space to explore their interests, at their own pace, and follow their curiosity, they engage in deep, authentic learning that can’t be replicated through adult-led instruction alone.

And it’s not only about academic readiness, it’s about nurturing the foundational skills that help children thrive for life. During this time, learners may engage in solving problems (“How do I build this tower taller?”); practicing communication skills (“Can I play with you?”); and even exploring cause and effect, their imaginations, and emotions. 

In this article I suggest four key ways unstructured time supports children’s development, and how teachers can make the most of and even elevate this powerful part of the school day.

Supporting Autonomy: Learning to Trust Themselves

When children are free to choose what to do and how to do it, they begin to trust their own ideas. They might not even be fully aware of the questions that may be in their minds: “What do I want to explore?” “What’s pulling my attention today?” Nevertheless, these powerful decisions build confidence and ownership over learning.

Try this: Create a classroom setup that invites self-direction. Design a learning context that offers open-ended materials like loose parts; art supplies; building tools—for example, blocks, bricks, magnetic tiles, or cardboard boxes; and natural elements such as sticks, stones and pebbles, shells, leaves, pine cones, or even sand and mud, all materials that children can use in countless ways. In this context, the teacher’s role shifts to that of an observer and gentle guide. Often, being present, noticing, and offering support when needed is enough to facilitate deep learning.

Additionally, when a child finishes a project or activity, take the opportunity to engage in a reflective conversation. This helps the child become aware of their own learning process. Asking thoughtful questions and waiting for the child’s response can strengthen their understanding and give language to their experiences.

• How interesting the way you piled up the blocks! Why did you put them this way?
• Can you show me/teach me how to do it?
• Do you think your construction is fine like this, or you have to change or add anything?

Building Executive Function: Planning, Flexibility, and Focus

During unstructured play, children practice essential skills like planning, remembering steps, managing emotions, and adapting when things don’t go as expected. Whether they’re organizing a pretend restaurant or figuring out how to share limited materials, they’re developing core abilities that help them grow into flexible, confident, and capable learners. They’re strengthening cognitive and emotional abilities, like focus, flexibility, self-control, and problem-solving, that are fundamental for success in school and life.

Try this: Observe children in action, and document as much as possible. You might jot down a child’s shifting strategy while building a ramp or record how a group adjusts their roles while the play activity is actively happening. Use these observations to reflect on yourself and with the children, on how they are developing, the decisions they’re making, and how their play is shaping their problem-solving skills.

Nurturing Social and Emotional Growth: Real Practice in Real Time

Unstructured time offers rich opportunities for children to navigate emotions, resolve conflicts, and build empathy. These experiences aren’t artificial, scripted, or staged, they’re real moments of social learning.

Try this: Trust your learners and allow them to organize themselves during play. When conflicts arise, resist the urge to intervene immediately. Instead, be available for learners to call you if they need to, or offer gentle coaching or open-ended questions to help children reflect: “How do you think she felt when that happened?” “What could we try next?” Over time, these moments become the foundation for stronger relationships and emotional resilience.

Protecting Wonder: Keeping Curiosity Alive

A sense of wonder is natural in young children. Unstructured time allows wonder to surface—the child has enough time to observe things freely or to return to the same task with new eyes, or notice small details that others overlook, or ask questions the child has no clear answers about.

Try this: Make time for slowness. Instead of rushing from one activity to the next, allow space for children to linger, whether they’re watching a line of ants, experimenting with shadows, or storytelling through play. Here, again, is a good opportunity to document moments of wonder with photos, quotes, or drawings and revisit them together as a class.

A Shift in Mindset

Making space for unstructured time doesn’t mean giving up on goals—it means recognizing that some of the most powerful learning happens outside of planned instruction. It’s where children practice decision-making, develop a sense of self, and connect more deeply with the world around them. As a consequence, these moments of unstructured time might turn into a good source of topics and questions for future lessons.

You can start small, maybe allowing learners to enjoy some free time during transitions, and then try designing a consistent 20-minute block each day when children can take the lead with no worksheets, no assigned tasks, just room to explore. Step back, observe, document, and you might be surprised at the richness that unfolds.

In a time when early childhood educators are often asked to do more with less, protecting unstructured time is an act of trust: in children’s capacities, their skills development, and their inner rhythms.