综合运用各种类型的游戏
不同类型的游戏对孩子有不同的益处：
玩具和物体游戏
玩儿实物玩具的时候，婴儿们运用他们的感官系统去探索它的属性，像一个小科学家一样做实验。例如，他们可能会用它使劲儿敲地板，来确认这个物体是不是个固体。学龄前孩子也会用物体来发展抽象思维和象征性概念，比如，大家一起轮流玩着拿香蕉当电话使用的游戏。
体育游戏
课间休息时的自由体育活动，帮助孩子们发展运动技能，预防儿童肥胖症，并且建立良好的情商。比如，滑梯轻柔的震颤，让孩子在一个相对安全的环境中感受到冒险。像丢手绢和贴标签这样的游戏，帮助孩子们构建同情心之类的社会情感技能，教孩子们学会细心待人，不给其他人贴标签，不伤害他人。
户外活动
户外运动对于孩子们发展空间感和平衡感尤为重要。它也能改善孩子的专注力。研究表明，各国中允许更多休息时间的学校里的孩子长大以后，学术成就更多。然而，在美国估计有30%的幼儿园孩子没有足够的休息活动时间。
假装游戏
这种游戏让幼小的孩子体验不同的社会角色并学会合作。我们相信，扮演和想象游戏也鼓励发展创造性，构建更复杂的协商能力，交际能力和语言能力。（“你当老师，我当学生，”一个小孩可能这样说。）
原文：
Types of Play: Mix it Up
Different types of play have different benefits for children:
Toys and Object Play
When playing with an object such as a toy, babies are using their sensory-motor skills to explore its properties and conduct "experiments" like a tiny scientist might. To learn if an object is solid, for example, they might bang it on the floor. Preschool-age children also use objects to develop abstract thought and concepts like symbolism, using a banana as a telephone, for example, along with sharing and taking turns.
Physical Play
Physical fun such as free play during recess helps develop children's motor skills, prevent childhood obesity and build emotional intelligence. The gentle thrill of a playgroundslide, for example, lets a child build confidence as they take risks in a relatively safe environment. Games such as duck-duck-goose and tag also help children build other socio-emotional skills such as empathy as children learn to be careful not to hurt others by tapping someone too hard, for example.
Outdoor Play
Outdoor play, is particularly important because it lets children use all their senses to build skills like spatial awareness and balance. It can also improve a child's attention span. Studies suggest that young children in countries where schools allow more time for recess see more academic success as children get older, yet an estimated 30% of U.S. kindergarten children no longer have recess.
Pretend Play
This type of play lets young children experiment with different social roles and learn to cooperate. Dress up, make believe, and imaginary play also encourage creativity and builds more complex negotiation, communication and language skills. ("You be the teacher, and I will be the student,"a child might say.)