At Playvolution HQ, we believe Peter Gray’s 5 Conditions Of Play is the most concise and clear working definition of play. Furthermore, his book Free To Learn is one of the best books on play in decades. All early learning professionals should read it. In the book, he expands on this November 19, 2008, post to his Freedom To Learn blog entitled The Value of Play I: The Definition of Play Gives Insights (another everyone-who-spends-time-with-children-should-read item).

We know that not everyone has the time or inclination to do so much reading. With that in mind, we’ve put together this handout featuring a truncated explanation of Gray’s 5 Conditions Of Play, excerpted from the above-mentioned blog post.

We also hope this handout will inspire some to dig deeper and check out Gray’s original works.

Peter Gray’s 5 Conditions Of Play Handout

Is It Real Play, Play-Like, Or Not Play?

This handout may prove helpful in distinguishing real play from play-like activity:

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