The Power of Vertical Play:

How Elevating Learning Boosts Retention and Recall

In early childhood education, we often focus on the tangible benefits of play: fine motor development, social skills, or emotional regulation. Yet, one often overlooked dimension of play is vertical play—interactions that take place on upright surfaces like easels, chalkboards, windows, and magnetic walls. While it's widely known for supporting motor development, vertical play is also a powerful cognitive tool that enhances retention, recall, and memory formation in young children.

Engaging the Whole Body for Deeper Learning

Vertical play engages a child’s entire body in the learning process. Reaching, stretching, and stabilizing at a vertical surface naturally incorporates embodied cognition, a theory suggesting that cognitive processes are deeply rooted in the body's interactions with the world. According to Barsalou (2008), when children physically interact with materials—like tracing letters on a window or manipulating magnets on a board—they encode information in a more meaningful and lasting way. This full-body involvement supports not only physical coordination but mental encoding of new concepts.

Alertness and Attention: The Foundation of Memory

The act of standing during vertical play increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain, enhancing alertness and attention. These physiological changes are important because they directly affect how children take in and process information. The more attention children give to a learning task, the more likely it is to be stored in long-term memory. This connection between movement and memory is why activities like easel painting or window writing can feel more engaging and novel than tabletop tasks.

Spatial Anchoring and Visual Memory

Vertical surfaces allow for spatial placement of information, which supports spatial memory. Children begin to associate certain information with a physical location—placing numbers in sequence across a wall, for example—which creates mental maps that make it easier to retrieve the information later. This principle is similar to the well-known memory technique called the method of loci, where individuals remember information by associating it with specific locations.

Moreover, working at eye level supports visual tracking and visual spatial awareness, which are key components of reading and early math skills. As children visually scan a board from left to right, they build skills aligned with print tracking and symbol recognition.

Kinesthetic Encoding: Learning Through Doing

Young children are kinesthetic learners by nature—they learn best by doing. Vertical play enables kinesthetic encoding, where movement becomes part of the memory. For instance, when a child places magnetic letters to spell a word, the movement involved in locating and placing each letter contributes to the memory of the word itself. This kind of procedural learning builds strong neural pathways, especially in early learners whose brains are still developing foundational cognitive systems.

Social Learning and Verbal Recall

Vertical play often promotes peer interaction and verbalization, especially when children work side-by-side at a shared easel or wall chart. These social dynamics lead to verbal reinforcement, where children talk through what they're doing, ask questions, and explain their thinking aloud. According to Shams and Seitz (2008), learning that incorporates multiple senses—including auditory input through verbal exchange—leads to more durable memory formation.

When Vertical Play Matters Most

The benefits of vertical play are particularly impactful during the early years—ages 3 to 7—when children are developing core cognitive and motor functions. It’s also incredibly effective for:

• Introducing new concepts in literacy and numeracy

• Supporting children with attention or sensory processing needs

• Reinforcing learned skills through active engagement

  
  

In essence, vertical play helps children move their bodies while activating their minds. By integrating movement, space, and social interaction, educators can create learning environments that are not only developmentally appropriate but also optimized for cognitive retention and recall.

References

Barsalou, L. W. (2008). Grounded cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 617–645. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093639

Shams, L., & Seitz, A. R. (2008). Benefits of multisensory learning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(11), 411–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2008.07.006

Medina, J. (2014). Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five. Pear Press.