The Play Cycle in Practice

Supporting, Observing, and Reflecting on Children’s Play

Pete King

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781040411070
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Elementary Education

This book explores how the Play Cycle can help practitioners to observe and understand children's play and support their interactions with children. It explains the six elements of the Play Cycle – pre cue, play cue, play return, play frame, flow, and annihilation – and shows how practitioners can use this to guide their interventions.

Building on the author's research and including an updated and revised theory of the Play Cycle, the book applies the Play Cycle to key aspects of provision alongside examples from a wide range of settings. Chapters cover:

• The indoor and outdoor environment and resources
• Child-led and non-directive play including risk
• The adult role, play maintenance and interventions
• The Play Cycle and Play Cycle Observation Method
• The Play Cycle in Policy and Practice

Including vignettes and reflective questions, this text brings the theory and application of the Play Cycle fully up-to-date and is essential reading for practitioners and those studying play-related courses, for example, playwork, childcare, and early years education.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Endorsement Page
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Foreword by Dr Shelly Newstead and Kathy Brodie
• Acknowledgments
• Glossary
• Introduction: The Play Cycle: how it all began
• 1 The Play Cycle revised and updated
• 2 The Play Cycle and the play environment
• 3 The Play Cycle and child-led play
• 4 The Play Cycle and the role of the adult
• 5 The Play Cycle Observation Method (PCOM Play Cycle Observation Method)
• 6 The Play Cycle in policy and practice
• Conclusion: A brief recap of the Play Cycle and potential challenges for professional practice
• Appendix
• References
• Index