It’s time to get serious about play.

That was the message of our 2018 UFT Early Childhood Conference, which is built on research that shows that play is the way young children learn. We want to boost that learning by sparking children’s natural curiosity and interests.

Not only is play developmentally appropriate, it’s a way for children to learn valuable social skills: how to share, how to take turns and how to respect others’ opinions and wishes. Maybe there are some lessons there for all of us!

While they play, students in pre-K and kindergarten are learning academic skills, such as categorization and patterns, colors, shapes and numbers. At the water table, they’re learning science through buoyancy, flow and motion and they are learning measurement and volume with cups and containers. And they’re mesmerized, self-directed and thrilled while learning.

I settled on this year’s conference theme after visiting a pre-K center where educators raved about the professional learning they received from Kristi Mraz, the co-author of the new book “Purposeful Play.” My team joined them at their next PD and we were so impressed that I chose Mraz as the keynote speaker for the conference.

Educators at the conference could choose workshops on an array of topics. A workshop we offered for the first time at this year’s conference was on intimate partner violence. Too many of our young students are witnesses to domestic violence. It affects classroom performance and the child’s sense of security and it can result in a student’s acting out or becoming introverted or depressed.

The workshop helped educators recognize the symptoms exhibited by preschool and school-aged children and learn best practices for supporting these students. The participants also got tips for working with other school personnel to support parents.

Joli Scollo, a pre-K teacher at PS 30 in Manhattan, found the workshop so useful that she said she thought it should be mandated for all education professionals. “Some teachers — whether new or seasoned — may not know how to identify the emotional and behavioral effects of domestic violence, and I think all pedagogues should have these resources and tools,” she told me.

Bonnie Isbey Sholl, a paraprofessional at PS 86 in Queens, said the strategies she learned will help her with her students. “Some are in crisis, some are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, and sometimes what we see is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

The key is building trust and listening to students. Children won’t open up unless you’ve built a relationship of trust.

Our youngest learners often don’t have the vocabulary to talk about what they’re experiencing, so some will hinge on our awareness of how they are playing with their peers and the clues we pick up from looking at the pictures they draw.

As we teach our young students, we aim to expose them to new experiences and set a foundation for a love of learning and a love of school. That foundation can provide the resilience that will help these students now and throughout their lives.

We are also there to ensure that our youngest learners receive the early interventions necessary for their success. Now that the city has introduced 3K (pre-K for 3-year-olds) and many more 4-year-olds are enrolled in full-day pre-K, some of those students are already receiving an intervention for a learning or speech disability, mental wellness or English as a new language.

We must be alert and attentive to ensure that there is no break in services. When we do, our students thrive.

For example, Jaden, a student in Brooklyn, had a hearing issue and began receiving services at his day care at age 21/2 thanks to the vigilance of his early childhood educators. Now in 5th grade, Jaden was decertified because he no longer needs hearing services, and he is a proud member of his school’s honor roll.

There are so many Jadens and Jessicas and Jeremys out there who, if they are given the right supports at the right time, will be able to thrive.

Elementary school teachers are there to ensure that students are on a positive path that will enable them to surmount the challenges they are sure to encounter — as we all will — in their lives.