Play is pivotal in supporting young children’s holistic development. The COVID-19 crisis further highlighted the importance of play in supporting children’s well-being and in providing a sense of normalcy. Guided by the phenomenographic method, this study aimed to examine Korean in-service infant-toddler teachers’ experiences in fostering play in early childhood educational classrooms during the COVID-19 crisis. The study involved 10 infant-toddler teachers working with children under the age of three years at a large university-based childcare center. They participated in drawing tasks and in-person focus group interviews. The findings revealed that the pandemic caused and exacerbated barriers to everyday play. However, despite challenges, the participants demonstrated their strong commitment to play in the classroom, exhibiting resilience, adaptability, creativity, and resourcefulness. They continued to create a playful environment, support play in various forms, and prioritize play-based learning, demonstrating their strong commitment to play. One notable change expressed by the participants was limited social interaction during mealtime. This study found that the much-needed, unavoidable public health interventions during the COVID-19 crisis may have resulted in unintended consequences for infants’ and toddlers’ social-emotional and language development. Such findings reinforce the idea that play should remain at the forefront of education during the pandemic and beyond.

游戏对于支持幼儿的全面发展至关重要。 COVID-19 危机进一步凸显了游戏在支持儿童福祉和提供正常感方面的重要性。本研究以现象学方法为指导，旨在探讨新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 危机期间韩国在职婴幼儿教师在幼儿教育课堂上培养游戏的经验。这项研究涉及 10 名在大学大型托儿中心从事三岁以下儿童工作的幼儿教师。他们参加了绘画任务和面对面的焦点小组访谈。调查结果显示，疫情造成并加剧了日常玩耍的障碍。然而，尽管面临挑战，参与者还是表现出了在课堂上玩耍的坚定承诺，表现出韧性、适应能力、创造力和足智多谋。他们持续营造寓教于乐的环境，支持各种形式的游戏，并优先考虑基于游戏的学习，展现了他们对游戏的坚定承诺。参与者表示的一项显着变化是进餐期间的社交互动受到限制。这项研究发现，COVID-19 危机期间急需且不可避免的公共卫生干预措施可能会对婴幼儿的社交情感和语言发展产生意想不到的后果。这些发现强化了这样一种观点，即在疫情期间及之后，游戏应继续处于教育的前沿。