Watch children at play and you might suddenly realize that they are not just frivolously wasting time or mucking about,” notes Paul Bailey in his book, Think of an Elephant (London: Watkins Publishing, 2007).  “Child’s play is deep learning: a self-directed state of deep connectedness and personal engagement.  It is also an enthusiastic and absorbing state of relaxed attention — healthy qualities often missing from adult life.  Play is a creative learning exchange between mind, body, and circumstance into one integrated and healthy whole.  Awash with symbols and mental imagery, children at play are learning in a way that can be wildly creative, insightful, and visionary….
”Research shows that the more animals play, the bigger their brains grow.  Moreover, brain imaging techniques show that social play seems to rewire our brain, increasing the activity of connections between our brain cells.  Play also helps develop our logical reasoning, our ability to learn, and our behavioral flexibility.”