I agree that learning through play is an important part of early childhood education ("Early childhood education: Importance of learning through play"; ST Online, April 4).

Playing in the early years provides us with opportunities for social interaction, through which we get to understand more about others.

We learn about different personalities and the different backgrounds of people.

Through making friends, we learn to set aside these differences.

We reap benefits even when we play by ourselves. We can explore different ideas and experiment with different objects, and this can pique our curiosity and help in our understanding of various concepts.

Indeed, it is important that we get an ample amount of playtime as children, as it could be the key to helping us build a strong foundation for our future lives.

Angela Yang Qianjin ,16,

Secondary 4 student

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