For Galesburg kindergartners, school doesn’t always mean sitting at desks with pencils in hand. Sometimes it means raising monarch caterpillars, building their own city out of blocks, or retelling The Very Hungry Caterpillar on a felt board. These moments aren’t filler. They are the heartbeat of a new approach called playful learning in CUSD#205 and kindergarten teacher Kristin Fox is at the center of it.

Fox, who has spent 18 years in early childhood education, has watched how young learners arrive in her classroom with different needs than even a decade ago. Post-pandemic, she and her colleagues noticed more dysregulation, shorter attention spans, and behaviors they hadn’t encountered before. “We knew we had to make a change,” Fox explains. “Kids aren’t developmentally ready to sit at a desk all day. But they are ready to learn through play.”

Her classroom now ends with a 40–45 minute block of free-choice play. Students choose from science, social studies, blocks, dramatic play, fine motor and storytelling centers—with activities carefully designed to extend the morning’s academics. The results are striking. “We had kids build Galesburg out of blocks,” Fox recalls. “They made McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Silas Willard. They even created stoplights for their cars. They were learning math, engineering, and community studies—without even realizing it.”

Fox’s belief is simple: “Anytime we can be hands-on is best.” That philosophy has reshaped her classroom, where joy is as central as curriculum. Her students leave school smiling, eager to return the next day, because the day’s final memory is one of creativity and discovery.

She hasn’t done it alone. The district’s ‘Playful Learning’ initiative—which is known by many as play-based learning—was championed by Jennifer “Jenny” Graves, principal of Bright Futures Early Learning Center. Graves, whose family background is steeped in education, recognized the need to give kindergarten teachers freedom, resources, and support. “Jenny got the ball rolling,” Fox says. “She brought us together, ordered supplies, and made sure we had the space to make this work.”

Graves describes her role as behind the scenes, but her vision is unmistakable. “Kids today can find facts online in seconds,” she says. “What they need from us is the opportunity to develop and nurture their curiosity, creativity, and resilience. Play builds all of that.” With Superintendent Dr. John Asplund encouraging teachers to design their own model, the district has created a homegrown shift that reflects Galesburg’s students and community.

Research backs up what Fox and Graves are seeing. The National Institute for Play has documented how play strengthens brain development and social skills. The LEGO Foundation’s global studies show playful classrooms can close achievement gaps. And several teachers across the district are reading Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, which warns of the ways screen time has eroded opportunities for creative play outside of school. For Fox, that makes what happens inside her classroom even more vital.

Importantly, playful learning isn’t always unstructured. Core instruction still anchors the day, and play is  intentionally woven throughout familiar math, reading and writing curriculum; but science and social studies is where play really shines. . Fox might teach a mini lesson on life cycles in the morning, then place magnifying glasses beside a caterpillar habitat in the afternoon. Children return on their own to observe, explore, and tell stories, turning knowledge into lived experience.  In addition a variety of materials are available for students to explore in unique and playful ways. They may use playdough to recreate the life cycle, act as entomologists in the dramatic play center, create butterflies using patter blocks or create animal habitats out of blocks.  There is no limit to where their imaginations will take them.

The shift is spreading. Galesburg’s unique Begindergarten  class serves very young five-year-olds with an even more play-rich approach, while first-grade teachers are being invited to observe and encouraged to adopt playful elements for their own students. “There’s room for play all the way through high school,” Jenny notes. “Kids need joy in learning every day.”

Fox, a Galesburg High School alumna herself, sees the work as both professional and personal. Her daughter has grown up in the district and is now thriving at Lombard Middle School. That perspective deepens her conviction: “We know what’s best for kids—and this is it.”

In Galesburg, playful learning isn’t just a new program. Through Fox’s classroom and Jenny’s leadership, it’s becoming a new culture—one where curiosity, creativity, and joy prepare students for a lifetime of learning.