"Children should have more time and opportunity to play, not less." -Peter Gray
Child-led Play
Child-led play is where the child follows their own own play urges. Giving children freedom for uninterrupted play helps them to access the forms of play which lay the foundations for later academic learning. Adult interruption with little nuggets of knowledge and wisdom, although well intentioned, actually undermine the learning children naturally pursue. In fact, uninterrupted, child-led play is essential to brain development. During play children's brains are busy. Synapses are firing, connections are being made.
This is why adults working with children need to have a thorough understanding of child and brain development. They need to understand when interactions become interruptions. Julie Fisher has written extensively about this, including her book Interacting or Interfering. Less interfering, more interacting when the child invites us to.
For more information and to learn about uninterrupted play, please see Clare Caro's work, The Adult Role in Child-led Play - How to Become a Learning Ally.