Free play during PE? Isn’t that just “glorified recess” or “rolling out the ball?” Let’s get past the stigma and give our students what they need to thrive: ample opportunities for child directed play. Research shows that child directed play helps children develop cognitive, social, emotional, and motor skills, and is key to developing executive functioning skills. Hear what the research says about the importance of child directed play, and discover ways to infuse play into your curriculum. Explore how child directed play aligns perfectly with the features of Meaningful PE (fun,challenge, personal relevance, social interaction, & motor competence). Examine both the democratic and reflective aspects of child directed play as well. Come away from this session with ideas on how to incorporate child directed play into your lessons.