Is Learning Through Play Effective for Children Who Struggle at School?

When Traditional Learning Doesn’t Work

You sit at the kitchen table beside your 9-year-old. Math homework is spread out in front of you, and already, tears are forming—in your child’s eyes and maybe even in your own. You’ve tried everything: flashcards, extra tutoring, stickers for motivation. Nothing sticks. Your child feels defeated, and you feel helpless.

For many children between the ages of 6 and 12, especially those with learning difficulties or school-related stress, the conventional sit-down-and-focus model of education just doesn’t work. And honestly? That’s okay. Not every brain learns the same way. What if we told you that there’s another route—one that doesn’t feel like school at all, but still builds strong educational foundations?

Play Isn’t Just for Fun—It’s a Learning Strategy

It’s easy to dismiss play as something that happens after the real work is done. But for many children, especially those who struggle with memorization, focus, or processing, play IS the real work. When children engage in imaginative, physical, or collaborative play, they’re practicing problem-solving, exploring emotions, testing mental models, and taking intellectual risks—in a space that doesn’t punish mistakes.

Consider this: a child building a LEGO tower is also exploring geometry, engineering, and spatial awareness. A game of pretend shopkeeper involves numbers, communication, and critical thinking. And in contrast to worksheets, these activities invite joy and engagement.

“He Just Doesn’t Retain Anything Unless He’s Moving”

That’s something parents tell me all the time. If this sounds like your child, you’re not alone. Some children are auditory learners. Others absorb better through touch or movement. Some feel overwhelmed in rigid, seated environments. Their pace isn’t broken—it’s just different.

Take Zoe, an 8-year-old I worked with who struggled to follow written instructions in class. Her mom noticed Zoe could remember entire movie scripts by heart. So together, we shifted her learning style. Instead of reading through textbook paragraphs, Zoe began listening to her lessons turned into stories—sometimes in the car, sometimes while coloring or pacing the living room.

Today, tools like the Skuli app make that possible with ease. It can transform your child’s lesson notes into personalized audio adventures—complete with their name as the hero—so every listening session becomes a playful story that helps them learn without the stress of static textbooks.

Blending Play into Homework—Without Losing Structure

It’s important that play doesn’t feel like another assignment. So how do you weave it in naturally?

Try this: if your child needs to memorize vocabulary, turn it into a scavenger hunt. Hide cards around the house and let them "discover" words as they walk through each room. For math facts, use blocks or cereal pieces to build visual equations. If literature is the challenge, let them act out scenes or draw comic strips about the characters.

One father told me he started using his son’s superhero toys to re-enact historical battles. Guess what? His son, who once groaned at the word “history,” began asking questions about Napoleon at the dinner table.

Redefining What Progress Looks Like

If you’re raising a child who struggles academically, one of the most painful realizations is how often their efforts go unnoticed by the traditional system. While other kids get stars and cheers, your child’s hard-won progress—finally memorizing five vocabulary words, reading one chapter without giving up—gets buried under red pen corrections.

But when learning happens through play, progress is reframed. There is no “wrong way” to build a tower or pretend you’re solving a mystery. This allows your child to experience success, build confidence, and stay motivated to try again. And confidence, as studies repeatedly show, is a better predictor of future achievement than grades alone.

What If My Child Still Isn’t Interested?

First: compassion. Not just for your child, but for yourself. It’s exhausting to adapt, to stay patient, to keep passion alive in the face of so much daily resistance. But your continued effort matters—immensely. Children who've developed an early sense that learning can be joyful are more likely to persist even when tasks get hard.

If your child remains disengaged, begin with curiosity. What lights them up outside of school? Is it animals? Space? Cartoons? You can often attach academic concepts to their passions. A child who loves Minecraft can use it to build Egyptian pyramids (history), count blocks (math), and write design instructions (writing).

And most importantly: remind them that every child learns at their own pace. Just because your child hasn’t clicked with the material today doesn’t mean they won’t tomorrow. Comparison is not the goal—growth is. If you find yourself slipping into unhelpful comparisons, this gentle reminder can help reroute your mindset too.

Letting Go of the “Right” Way to Learn

There is no one-size-fits-all method. For children in difficulty, breaking away from rigid expectations and embracing learning through play isn’t a shortcut—it’s often the most effective path forward. It connects brain to body, emotion to idea. It makes space for who your child is rather than who the curriculum assumes them to be.

So the next time you see your child building with LEGO, writing a silly poem, or narrating their made-up fantasy story—lean in. You just might be witnessing learning in its most natural, powerful form.