Mängusaalid

Mängusaalid, known in English as play rooms or play halls, are dedicated spaces for children’s recreational and educational activities within kindergarten and elementary school settings in Estonia. They are designed to complement formal classroom instruction with free play, which research links to social, emotional and motor skill development. Typical dimensions range from 30 to 100 square metres, and the rooms are generally divided into zones such as an imaginative play area, a construction block corner, a sensory station, and a quiet reading nook. Walls are usually painted in bright colours or with educational charts, and the flooring is made of soft, easy‑to‑clean materials such as rubber mats or foam tiles.

The equipment found in a mängusaal usually includes age‑appropriate toys such as building blocks, puzzles, costumes for role‑playing, and gross‑motor items like climbing frames or ball pits. Furniture tends to be low‑profile with rounded edges for safety. Some play halls also house small libraries with picture books and board games. In many schools the play space is regulated by safety guidelines from the Ministry of Education and Research, which set limits on the number of children that can occupy the room simultaneously, and specify the minimum size per child for free‑play activities.

In addition to daily use by enrolled pupils, mängusaalid are often opened to the wider community during weekends or special events, offering after‑school programmes or parent‑child workshops. While the focus is on unstructured play, educators often observe and encourage collaborative projects, language use, and problem‑solving behaviours. Several studies conducted in Estonian primary schools show that children who have regular access to well‑equipped play halls demonstrate higher levels of self‑regulation and social competence compared with those who lack such facilities.