When infants and toddlers feel safe, they play, and when they play, they learn. 

In this episode, we explore what intentional play-based learning looks like alongside children from birth to three years, and how deeply it is woven into relationships, care and everyday moments. 

For infants and toddlers, play doesn’t begin with learning experiences or resources. Rather, it begins with emotional safety. Learning at this age is profoundly embodied, sensory and relational. Care, play and learning are not separate; they are deeply intertwined. 

We reframe intentional teaching as being less about planned experiences and more about noticing, responding and making thoughtful decisions. This might look like how we design our environments, how we use time, and when we step in and when we intentionally step back. 

We acknowledge that the environment acts as an open invitation to play. Open-ended real materials, indoor and outdoor play every day, and seeing children as co-designers of their environment all deepen engagement and thinking. 

We also return to caregiving routines, which make up most of the day for infants and toddlers as the curriculum itself. When educators slow down, invite participation and respond to cues, these moments become rich opportunities for language, learning and connection. 

Intentional play-based learning with birth to three-year-olds is about creating the safety, time and environments children need to explore and learn in their own ways. 

Host:  Michelle Richardson & Victoria McDowell

Guest:  Fiona Veld-Brown  

Recommended audience:   Aimed at educators and teachers working in service settings with young children aged birth to three years at any stage of their professional career, who are interested in intentional teaching through the lens of play-based learning.

Links: 

• Education Hub Gowrie NSW Education Hub 
• Professional Learning Calendar 2026 Online Flipbook 
• Thought Leadership Article: What is Play Based Learning? - Gowrie NSW
• Thought Leadership Article: Play Ideas and Games for Babies and Toddlers - Gowrie NSW
• Thought Leadership Article: Types of Play for Early Childhood Development

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