What if Children Designed Their School Day?

This past weekend, my children and I had an intentional schedule-free Sunday. I was reading, one of my children was watching a documentary on bugs, and my youngest—a kindergartener—pulled out the craft supplies. Over the next hour, I watched her work steadfastly at her creation (paint pens and stencils on a wooden egg). After about 10 minutes of intense work, she hopped up and ran outside to climb and swing on the playset. Then, after a few minutes outside, she came back in, worked for another stretch of time on her project, and then ran outside. I watched her go back and forth until her creation was finished—about an hour later. She was happy, productive, and regulated the entire time.

My child’s learning experience this past weekend stands in stark contrast to what most children experience in public education. Children are asked to sit and attend for long periods of time, with free movement and play restricted to a brief 20 minutes once or twice a day. Children’s autonomy has been sacrificed in the name of academic advancement, with schools trying to maximize hours in the day for “learning.”

Interestingly, my daughter was learning. With the freedom to choose, she identified an activity, listened to her body, gave it what it needed, and completed her task. And it made me wonder—what if children were allowed to design their school day?

1. Children would move.

Jumping, running, wiggling, dancing, rolling, and crawling in school would be the norm. While this movement may appear counter-productive to learning to adults, it is a key tool that children use to learn about their bodies and their environment, process new information, and regulate their nervous systems.

2. Children would be noisy.

Children become proficient communicators by experimenting with sounds. They learn and process by expressing themselves out loud—singing, talking, making sounds—and by choosing when to be quiet.

3. Children would play.

Play is not a break from work but rather the primary means through which children learn. Children use all forms of play to make sense of the world, integrate new learning, and practice skills they need in their environments.

4. Children would follow their interests.

There isn’t a deadline for learning. Specifying the ages at which children need to learn to read, do math, and conduct science experiments is an artifact of our educational system. Children would be able to choose when they were interested in learning new content and manage the speed at which they mastered each concept.

Children’s tendencies toward learning align with research on child development.

Children learn with their entire body—not just their brain—and it looks different than what adults have deemed academic. There is copious research touting the effects of child-directed play, movement, and self-expression on academic learning. Children who have time and space to be fully human in their learning not only make more academic gains over time but are more self-regulated, experience fewer mental health crises, and become life-long learners.

This child-designed system of education is more than a wistful narrative. Indeed, child development centers across the nation allow preschoolers opportunities to learn in play-based environments without the pressure to “be ready” for kindergarten. For elementary-age children, nontraditional schools such as micro-schools, self-directed learning centers, and homeschooling co-ops are emerging, embedding learning into developmentally appropriate practices such as time in nature and child-led play.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough. According to a 2021 Census Bureau report, over 89 percent of U.S. children attend public education. While nontraditional schools are modeling effective learning systems, public education must follow suit, making significant—radical—changes to the structure and design of learning spaces by incorporating developmentally appropriate practices informed by child development experts and children themselves.

This radical design? It’s possible. My daughter taught me much about her learning system on that Sunday. My family has the resources and good fortune to have found a micro-school that leans into her existence as a young learner, and both of my children are thriving as a result.

All children deserve this experience. As a nation, our future depends on it. Yet we won’t see a necessary change in children’s learning trajectories and well-being until developmentally appropriate practice—learning designed for children—is embedded within public school experiences.

Education Essential Reads

High School Student Researches Fascism and Emerging Themes

The Siren Song of "Evidence-Based" Instruction

Watch children. Believe children. They will show us how they learn best.