“Play is the highest form of Research”
…….German-born
Theoretical Physicist and Scientist, Albert Einstein
“One
of my clearest childhood memories is slithering through the tall grass like a
snake with my brother and sister”
……..Marcia L. Nell and Walter F. Drew authors of Five Essentials of Meaningful Play
CHILDHOOD CONNECTIONS TO PLAY
When I reflect back
on my childhood play experiences, I feel a great sense of inward “joy” as I
remember the social sounds of laughter at recess and the imitating conversations
between me, my school friends who lived nearby, my cousins who came to visit and
my two sisters. My dad was also very playful as he always made time to romp and
play with us before dinner for a few moments after homework checks and on Sunday
mornings he would sing a few choruses of a familiar “blues” song with us while my mother was
making one of her delicious breakfasts.
I grew up in a very
structured environment and during the school year, child-initiated play took a
back seat to homework which was often pushed back until the weekends because
homework had to be completed and checked by my dad by dinner time when my
mother called everyone to wash-up and help set the table. After dinner, homework was then extended to all
children in the house who needed more time to either study, practice or answer more
questions, up until bath-time. Then, it was time to go to bed.
On the weekends
however, I was eager and looked forward to following my own preferences for play.
I loved to play house for example, with one or two of my mother’s old kitchen pots
or pans. I also loved to play outside--I made mud pies. I played jump rope,
dodge ball and I loved going to the playground around the corner from my house.
Except for my father though, I hardly ever
played with adults because it seemed they always managed to be painfully restrictive
and emotionally draining as I noticed that whenever they showed-up, playtime
was always abruptly cut-off and I often felt like I didn’t have enough play time
and it was this abruptness that often left me feeling frustrated to the point
of tears.
Now as an educator, I
keep these feelings in mind as I recommend and ask teachers to: provide lots of
opportunities for various types of play during the day; try to keep children’s
choices in mind; provide adequate materials for play; try to keep children informed
about how many minutes they have to play and how many minutes they have left
before counting- down to cleanup to help children transition well to the next activity;
be flexible and make room for more of what the children want to do so that more joyful child-centered and child-initiated opportunities can be experienced.
