I was interested to see you define a difference between play and being playful. I use the two words to talk about learning to write. When we explore an idea using prompts then we write in a "playful" explorative way. When children pick up materials for themselves and make books/signs/menus then that is writing "play". Many teacher have only learned to teach writing in a structured manner so bringing in both "playful" and "play" is important to instilling a love of writing. Thanks for your informative newsletters.
When I first 'discovered' play as a scholarly topic -- a strange confluence of a running injury, doctoral research into technology, and the US Air strategy school -- I printed 2 of your articles (Scholarpedia was one of them, I think). They served as a gateway into a more in-depth study that is nearing a decade now.
I enjoyed learning more about what is and is not play. I worked at an early childhood center that valued play, but adults (I have to include myself
here as well!) were often frustrated when children did not play with the items as intended or follow other adult-prescribed rules. I know educators mean well but I think we often miss the mark because we are worried what others might think or deem acceptable and of educational value.
I was interested to see you define a difference between play and being playful. I use the two words to talk about learning to write. When we explore an idea using prompts then we write in a "playful" explorative way. When children pick up materials for themselves and make books/signs/menus then that is writing "play". Many teacher have only learned to teach writing in a structured manner so bringing in both "playful" and "play" is important to instilling a love of writing. Thanks for your informative newsletters.
When I first 'discovered' play as a scholarly topic -- a strange confluence of a running injury, doctoral research into technology, and the US Air strategy school -- I printed 2 of your articles (Scholarpedia was one of them, I think). They served as a gateway into a more in-depth study that is nearing a decade now.
I enjoyed learning more about what is and is not play. I worked at an early childhood center that valued play, but adults (I have to include myself
here as well!) were often frustrated when children did not play with the items as intended or follow other adult-prescribed rules. I know educators mean well but I think we often miss the mark because we are worried what others might think or deem acceptable and of educational value.