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We Play: Because Childhood Is Not A Race

Sometimes the learning potential of a child’s play is not obvious to see. As adults we look and see boxes and pipe cleaners and scraps of tape…

…where a child delights in a house which needs more decoration, family members adorned with all manner of personal decoration, and vehicles to speed around a city of boxes. Places to go, people to see, conversations to be had. All stemming from the imagination and personal experience of a child.

Self initiated play is important for children’s learning. Play is the means by which children’s experiences are processed and made meaningful. These ‘pretend’ actions and conversations are an important part of a young child’s learning. It is why Immy has open access to recycleables and art materials, both of which she regularly accesses in her play and which assist her as she learns to make independent choices, to combine materials in different ways, and to represent her ideas symbolically. This is learning in action, learning through play.

What have you been learning through play this week?

To link up to We Play;
– Link to the URL of your individual post (not your home page)
– Be sure there is a link back to childhood101.com within your post
– And I would love you to show some playful love by visiting at least five links and leaving a comment!

If you are viewing this post via email or a blog reader you will need to click through to the post to see the links 🙂 Happy playing!

Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

Filed Under: We Play Tagged With: we play

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Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. Krissy @ B.Inspired says

    May 10, 2011 at 7:05 AM

    My kids went wild with pipe cleaners this week, too. They can be so many things! Thanks for hosting! :)
  2. Marthese says

    May 10, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    Love your concept of Immy having the resources of creating and using her imagination..
  3. Natalie says

    May 10, 2011 at 11:23 PM

    Pipecleaners are popular here as well. Immy has definitely inherited rich imagination of her mommy :)
  4. Susan says

    May 11, 2011 at 11:22 AM

    I love your daughter's creations! Great examples of the best kind of play :)
  5. Michelle says

    May 13, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Love this and so agree.
  6. Rachelle says

    May 13, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    I agree that art materials and found materials should be readily accessible for creative play...you never know what big ideas will generate (and need to be acted upon!) over the course of an inspiring day!!
    • Christie Burnett says

      May 15, 2011 at 8:03 AM

      I think we may just be kindred spirits, Rachelle :)
  7. youclevermonkey says

    May 15, 2011 at 8:07 PM

    My three have their own desk complete with drawers full of different materials for them to use. Our kitchen is half art room and I couldn't be happier that this is the case. I remember that one packet of pipecleaners kept them busy for a 2.5hr drive one day and the rest of the weekend we were away - amazing. 'If we allow people to shape their own small worlds during childhood, then they will grow up knowing and feeling they can participate in shaping the big world tomorrow’ (Sobel, 1990)

Trackbacks

  1. Autumn Leaf Mosaic Collage says:
    May 10, 2011 at 12:50 PM
    [...] We Play day today at Childhood101.com – pop on over for lots of ideas and inspiration! share the loveClose Bookmark and Share [...]
  2. Toilet Paper Roll Marble Run | TinkerLab says:
    May 13, 2011 at 12:23 PM
    [...] This post is linked to It’s Playtime, We Play [...]
  3. Project ::Deconstruct Monitor:: | TinkerLab says:
    May 13, 2011 at 12:25 PM
    [...] This post is linked to It’s Playtime, We Play [...]
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