Young Children Don't Need Adults to Make Their Play Meaningful
I was watching a boy named Henry carry a yellow traffic pylon across the playground. He carefully placed it on the ground, not on it's base, but on it's side, taking care to get it "just so," before climbing atop an old packing crate. He stood poised atop the crate for a moment then launched himself, coming down on the pylon. Crack! I heard the sound of the pylon breaking from across the yard.
Stupidly, I asked him, "Henry, why did you do that?"
Without missing a beat he replied, "I wanted to see if I could break it." Duh.
We had a brief conversation about property after that, although in hindsight I think that "property" has a somewhat different meaning when we spend our time on a junkyard playground like ours, but I keep this episode in mind whenever people begin to talk about "play with a purpose," a mantra for those who have accepted the importance of play CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Young Children Don't Need Adults to Make Their Play Meaningful
Stupidly, I asked him, "Henry, why did you do that?"
Without missing a beat he replied, "I wanted to see if I could break it." Duh.
We had a brief conversation about property after that, although in hindsight I think that "property" has a somewhat different meaning when we spend our time on a junkyard playground like ours, but I keep this episode in mind whenever people begin to talk about "play with a purpose," a mantra for those who have accepted the importance of play CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Young Children Don't Need Adults to Make Their Play Meaningful