Why children need to learn to play
Play is 'shorthand for imagination, curiosity, ... our creative dispositions,' says the author of 'The Hurried Child.' And it's in increasingly short supply.
from the July 18, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 4
Some children must learn how to play
Lisa Freeman, a Waldorf kindergarten teacher for 17 years, agrees. "Not everyone who comes to our kindergarten can play at first," she says. "They cannot act out their own ideas." One of her first responsibilities at the beginning of each school year is to help develop the children's innate ability to do just that.
Ms. Freeman describes a typical experience: "Groups of children were deeply engaged in building a houseboat, draping big cloths over wooden play stands," she says. "A boy was roaming from one group to the other, and suddenly he pulled down the wall of the boat, creating great indignation." The children repaired it, but he kept doing it.
At story time, which is told without books or pictures, this same boy could not sit still or be quiet, perhaps because he was not able to create inner images from the words.
Freeman took him aside. Using a stuffed cat, some blocks, and a cloth, she created a story that he could see, about a kitten looking for a friend to play with. The kitten met a mouse, but scared him away with his claws…. At first the story mirrored the boy's frustration, but it finished with a happy resolution. "I looked for opportunities every day, all day, to feed him stories that might prompt behavior modification rather than direct it," says Freeman. Eventually, the boy entered the world of imagination where everything dreamed becomes possible and – in his case, he became a good friend.
How play evolves
True play is self-initiated, says Elkind, such as the kindergarten children playing restaurant, described above.
Play takes different forms at different age levels. The babbling of infants, the dramatic play of preschoolers, and the simple games with rules (hopscotch, hide-and-seek, etc.). Through these activities, children learn about themselves, others, and about their world.
Freeman defines play in terms of emotional development, too: "Through imagination and interaction, children learn a passionate and compassionate respect for each other and the spiritual world around them."
One of her students insisted on putting Band-Aids on all the students. This boy rescuer was learning the importance of showing other kids that they could trust him – and building confidence that he really could help others. "Through imaginative play," Freeman says, "the children become empowered. They build self-confidence."
Role-playing is especially good for this. "Children are basically powerless," says Elkind. By pretending they are a train engineer or police officer, they can play the powerful adult and this provides a reprieve.
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