Archive for January 21st, 2010
Self-control, self-regulation and play
January 21st, 2010 | Author: Shannon
This post is written in response to this article; I recommend reading it too then forming your own thoughts about play and children. I’d love to hear your stories and read your posts. So please send me links that I can compile to post here again.
Let’s work together to preserve play for our future generations!
Thank you!
****
I walk into the classroom. A teacher is sitting in a rocking chair and it appears she is knitting. There are a few children playing in a small kitchen area and some others on the floor building with blocks.
I have not disturbed the children; the teachers looks up, smiles, nods and directs me towards an empty chair.
I am here to observe.
After some time, two of the children want to play with the same object, a wooden tea cup; the teacher gracefully gets up from her chair, putting down the knitting, and sits closer to the children on the floor. She also places another cup on the table.
The classroom is by no means “quiet” there is a great deal of chatter. What is noticeably absent is the sound of adult voices.
Then, the teacher begins to sing a song, very softly and all at once, the children begin to clean up. The teacher is participating without directing the clean up. At last most toys are picked up, some blocks remain on the ground, and the teacher sits down and sings with the children, creating a “handing line” where together the children put the last few blocks into a big box.
****
A week later, I attend another classroom.
The environment is different. There are lots of loud colors. A few children are playing together while a teacher stands over them. When the toy doesn’t work correctly, the teacher shows the children how to use it.
There is a small radio playing beautiful music very softly. I recognize “twinkle, twinkle, little star”.
It much tidier here then the other classroom, toys are strategically placed in similar groupings. There is another teacher in the room working with a small group of children using flash cards. They are learning their shapes.
****
I notice that in both situations the teachers are very loving towards the children. The kids are well taken care of and the classrooms are safe and sound.
I’ll admit though, I am drawn to the first classroom. Why?
There are children playing. There is some messiness, but it is kid created. I like that the adults are guiding not leading the play. I like that there are muted natural colors. I like that there isn’t any background music. I like to hear children’s voices, not mechanical noises.
From my observations, I draw the conclusion that there is creative play happening in the first classroom.
But what do I mean by play?
Children Imitating: I see kids pretending to do what they see adults around them doing: washing dishes, cleaning floors, staking wood; helping each other; cleaning up; and singing.
Children Telling Stories: I see children being creative, making up their own games, working out rules, strategizing. Some might call this self-regulating. I see that the teacher isn’t the only one telling the story or regulating the activities.
Children Learning: The children playing with the blocks are learning about shapes because some blocks fit with others, some can be piled on top of each other; some can be corners or some roll and need to be pillars. What I like is that the children are learning this through their experience.
****
There are many ways that children can play. It is my belief that children learn best when left to their own devices.
BUT I read a great post about Free Range Kids… and one parent’s concerns that children need some regulation.
They do. They need to have great role models of self-control; and my concern is that our children are being raised by young adults who never had the experience of playing without adult regulation; they never learned SELF-control. So our children are being raised by folks who don’t have as much self-regulation.
What kinds of problems will follow us if we continue down this path?
