2026 SPARC National Conference

Free play gives children a chance to work on their decision making, self regulation, friendships, personal interests and more! So much of a child's life is structured that they can easily miss out on the benefits of what it's like to manage your own time. Many kids know exactly what they want to do when school is out and many others are happy to do what their friends want to do. Some kids even feel bored when they don't have things scheduled for them AND THAT IS GREAT! All children are infinitely creative and as adults, we need to know when to back off and let their brains do some of this critical work. As teachers and program directors, there is a temptation to fill all of our kids' days with fun activities, check ins, social emotional programming and more, but in this case, less can be more! There is certainly a place for programming after school but it's not the only thing we should be doing for our kids. They need freedom, choice, boredom, risk, adventure, friendships and more that they can get naturally just by being in proximity with other kids.