Deep Play - A Play Type...

This example of a "deep play" play frame was discussed at a recent workshop conducted by Angus from The Outsiders and we thought we would share as it illicited some fantastic discussion...

As playworkers we recognise 16 play types (Hughes, 2002) that help us identify what is going on in children's play and to also acknowledge the benefits occurring. One of the harder play types to explain to parents and guardians is "Deep Play"... This difficulty is most likely due to the definition...

"Deep Play – play which allows the child to encounter risky experiences, to develop survival skills and conquer fear. E.g. light fires with matches, make weapons, conquer fear such as heights, the dark, snakes, and creepy crawlies. In this play children find strength (both physical and mental) they never knew they had to climb obstacles, lift large objects, overcome phobias etc.."

Clearly we can knee jerk when the idea is floated that we are intentionally allowing "fear"... Until we reflect and apply logic. There are reasons we ride bikes down steep hills, watch movies that scare us and ride roller coasters. This reason is to give us a little jab of thrilling fear, but on our terms, and in an environment we control. Play, is of course an environment the children, if allowed, have control over and is thus perfect for testing their own boundaries.

Facilitating Deep Play allows children to conquer fears and anxieties in a realm they control and thus despite offering some challenge, is possibly one of the most important play types!

So now to an observation taken a week or so ago on a very interesting and complex play frame occurring that is a great example of Deep Play.

"Observation: Some of the older girls today were playing a game they were calling "dead for a day". The game involved an upturned bath tub. Someone would go under the bath tub and it was slowly lowered over them until it was more or less pitch black. The lowering was not rushed with lots of dialogue between the girls outside the tub and the one inside such as "is that to dark", "can we go a little further". Presumably one could withdraw at any time based on the caring empathetic voices but while I was watching all children participating saw the challenge through to completion and were visibly proud/happy when they emerged. Other statements like "this will make sure we are not scared of the dark" and even "this will cure claustrophobia" were heard. Before long a long line of other children of all ages had formed outside the water tank (where the play frame was occurring) waiting for a turn. It was satisfying to see the extra dialogue and slower pace the older girls running the activity applied when younger children came for a turn".

Not only is the above a great example of Deep Play, but a perfect example of why we should not trivialize play. Consider the depth of thought, moderation, planning and scaffolding these children were demonstrating with no adult intervention whatsoever.

"Hughes, B. (2002) A Playworker’s Taxonomy of Play Types, 2nd edition, London:

PlayLink.

The New Normal

During the COVID 19 Pandemic social media has been abuzz with many topics from finances to management plans. One topic that creeps around, a little less prevalent but none the less there are the conversations surrounding the silver linings. Educators, teachers, playworkers have been seen to make remarks such as “the smaller numbers are actually quite nice”, “despite everything this is actually pretty relaxed and calm”, and even more interesting “it will almost be a shame when things return to normal”. These sentiments, despite being productive in the maintaining a positive mindset in a challenging time are flawed in the fact they suggest the new normal, will be less good.

What I propose to you now is… Why? Why do we make these statements like a decline in benefits is a given? Why does the new normal need to be less appealing. Why however can we not learn from what is working, bottle and distil the “good” and bring it into the new normal with us? Critical reflection demands of us that we at least try to capture the essence of whatever is working.

From a play perspective there are several examples of this I have heard from teachers, teacher aids and OSHC educators. For example:

Teacher aid: “The children have really been enjoying the lower numbers and playing with children in other grades”…

Teacher: “The conversations about what the kids are playing have been very interesting”.

OSHC Educator: “The relaxing of a lot of routines has been really nice. It feels like less pressure on the children which means less of the staff”.

OSHC Educator: The children have been playing in far more diverse groups than usual. Lots of mixed age groups. Almost feels like the packs of kids in the streets when I was a kid.

What I read here are several very realistic to maintain and bring with us into the new normal! Every persons unique circumstance and setting will differ but this is certainly a time to reflect, give thought to and strategize how to maintain a hold on whatever is working in these crazy time.

Angus Gorrie

Loose Parts: Ugly or???

One of the enemies of loose parts is perception... The trouble is that this perception is almost always an adult one. Loose parts may look messy, untidy, unruly, unsafe, unappealing, unintentional, and not fun said just about no child ever!

A key to appreciating loose parts is taking the time to consider them from a child's eye. If, as with most adults, this is overly challenging, take the time to observe children in real play.

Below are two pictures taken last week at Spring Mountain SS during the Festival of Learning. The first picture was before children arrived. The scene, left over from recess, was a typical kitchen environment. There was mud, it was "untidy", it was "unsightly". It was enough, in our experience, to make some adults knee jerk a negative response.

The second image shows 6 children from 4 schools 15 minutes after being introduced to the environment. These children for the most part had never played with each other before. They were of mixed ages and genders. Despite this the play came easily. The environment, due to having been left out gave all the cues and implied permissions required to understand what was allowed without an adult being involved. Despite from an adult lens things being a bit messy, the play was beautiful.

Play Cues - Getting Started

We often get asked what are some ideal loose parts to start things off... The obvious answers are usually crates, pallets, buckets, tarps, ropes etc. These are all great in their own way but consider, especially in environments brand new to loose parts, some items that can serve as play cues.

When I answer the above question with "a kitchen sink" it often results in a few funny looks. However sinks, like the one pictured serve as amazing play cues and have a habit of pulling in a large number of more arbitrary loose parts in symbolic play (Hughes, 2002). Don't forget water either! A very under rated loose part!

What are some play cues that would or do work to create amazing play frames and flow where you work? Consider this in context to your children, their interests, current play themes and so on. Although arbitrary loose parts can serve to better foster creativity and divergent thinking, sometimes, loose parts that do suggest their intention (or scream it) are amazing at kicking off complex frames. Well executed and placed cues, supported by an abundance of other parts are thus a great starting point for those starting, or wanting to shake up their play environment.

Angus Gorrie

Play As Therapy: COVID 19

Play as therapy...

It's amazing how a world event can significantly affect play themes and how much children need play to express and process ideas so big and intangible.

This morning while I was doing a lap of the Adventure Playground the ominous presence of COVID-19 was ever present. From building "survival bunkers" to "cooking at home as we cannot go out at the moment", the themes and dialogue were everywhere. On social media and other play spaced we often see themes like this that are deemed “heavy” by adults shut down, or more accurately shut down on the surface and at face value. This knee jerk reaction, like most knee jerk reactions serves not the child’s agenda, but rather the adults.

Time to process and organise thoughts is so important and is a window into exactly how to support the play which supports the children. The content was confronting and heavy but one theme flowed through all play frames... The children were in control. They were working on solutions to the problem not living in fear of it. They were maintaining a growth mind set and strong internal locus of control... These key ingredients in anxiety avoidance.

Angus Gorrie

Is It Play?

A common discussion we have with those we work with, practitioners, parents and other stakeholders is one around deciphering, or justifying "is what the children doing play"? This is problematic as it is subjective. Is rough and tumble play really play? Can music, math and science be play? Is banging a nail to join two pieces of wood together play, or as many adults would consider it, work?

To help explain this to to others we need to go back to our own definition of play, one that any playworker would recognise... “Play is a set of behaviours that are freely chosen, personally directed, and intrinsically motivated” (Wilson, 2009). This definition is important as it speaks to the motivation of play, not the activity itself.

In the words of evolutionary psychologist Peter Gray (2008) “Two people might be throwing a ball, or pounding nails, or typing words on a computer, and one might be playing while the other is not”. This is important. This presents critical context to analysing play as it focuses not on a tangible activity, that may or may not be play, but the intangible cognitive process that determines it is play. This lens of understanding is a valuable tool for any teacher or educator facilitating or observing play in any environment.

The answer will lie not in wondering what activities are or are not play, but asking why the children are involved in those activities.

Evolution & Play

Evolution & Play...

One of the greatest things about multi age play, loose parts and a playwork way of working is the very real examples of children holistically learning and developing ideas as nature and evolution intended... By trial and error, in play and without adult but rather peer guidance.

A great example of this are the semi circular plastic objects pictured below. These are actually repurposed sections of a pre fab slide a playworker brought to this play space a couple of years ago. Funnily enough no child has ever tried to piece these together back into a slide. But they have had a myriad of uses.

Probably the most remarkable is the use you can see pictured. A long while ago now some industrious children put good divergent thinking to use and worked out (with no adult suggestion) that they could be connected into various fixed structures, and be used as essentially floating seats. Once you sit in them the downward force locks them in and they cannot move. This alone is a great outcome for loose parts and free play. They are now reguarly connected into any structure that has a suitable gap between two support beams.

However, even more interesting is that over the years, with no additional guidance or adults saying to younger children "look what you can do with those" the children, by falling within the Zone Of Proximal Development of their slightly older peers have observed, learned, mimicked and in some cases even refined their usage. This is a perfect example of how the affordance of play and the environment gives subtle permissions the children innately and holistically pick up on.

This is just one example of how a play environment operates as a village or tribe in a cycle. Children come in, take in ideas, rise to challenges and develop by being pulled forward by those older that them or more skilled than them, and pulling forward those younger or less skilled in their turn. Play in effect become a culture.

The children pictured below witnessed older peers today early on. When the older children moved on they moved in. They had to work together to lift the heavy pieces into place. The goal... Just chilling out up high. Perfect.

Angus Gorrie

Risk Detection

There is no doubt that when Children are in care, keeping them safe and secure should be a primary focus. However, we must all critically reflect on what our overall purpose is as childcare workers and how does the experience of pain and adversity fit in to our model or growth and development. Furthermore, how do we interpret the ideas of ‘safe and secure’?
What does it mean for a child to remain safe as they grow and develop through childhood...? What is ‘safe’ for a 6-year-old child now, will drastically change in a year as the child develops biologically/socially/physiologically, not to mention the rapid responsibilities and requirements that are placed on their own rapidly evolving capabilities.

For a child to be and remain safe it is critical that they have the ability to ‘risk detect’ accurately. A reasonable, but accurate understanding of the limits of our own capabilities and how they relate to the level of risk at hand are fundamental elements of accurate risk detection. If we strip away the consequence of pain and adversity in our care, how is it that we are affording children the ability to hone and sharpen their ability to risk detect? And how is it we are affording Children the opportunity to not only know the limits of their Own capabilities, but to extend upon them. Are the consequences of pain (physical, social and emotional) natural consequences that can hold a deeper meaning within the process of growth and development? And what is the risk of not allowing opportunities for these consequences to naturally develop.

To touch on the original thought, it is important for a child to be able to experience an ‘appropriate’ amount of pain and adversity so that they can build confidence through their ability to overcome it. What is appropriate for each child? Only the individual child can tell you that. So, let’s let them tell us through their manipulation of an environment and the complexity of their play. Let’s let them learn deeply through experiencing all the elements that life has to throw at us, not just the ones we as adults feel comfortable with facilitating. Pain and adversity are woven into our existence as human beings.... sheltering our children from this fact completely is developing unreal and unattainable expectations that will lead to a lack of true understanding and a lack of self-confidence.

Isaih Tueta

Order and Chaos

Over our time working with school aged children in a loose parts environment under a predominantly playwork philosophy we have found the study of chaos and order a really fascinating topic when considering children’s play. We often get remarks about how unappealing our play environment looks, how chaotic, and therefore, how dangerous it seems through the eyes of adults. However, we are more interested in how the children see and therefore interact with the space. One thing we have observed over and over again is that chaos is a key stimulus and motivation behind the construction and maintenance of order in a play space. We find it ironic and comforting to know that when children are left to their own devices children naturally seek to create order through their play.

This can be expressed either internally or externally. Internally, on a conceptual level: children create and maintain rules that govern how a play frame is to operate. These can be spoken or unspoken between the children but you can rest assured that there is always an underlying thread of order that holds play frames together – these can be seen through the role playing, the rules that govern a game of cops and robbers, or the unspoken agreement that we are not going to hurt each other while we wrestle.

Externally in the play environment around them: Children take a chaotic and unstructured environment, in this case a Loose Parts environment, and create structure and order within that environment (building bases, sorting or organising loose parts, combing the loose parts to make something that can hold some sort of structure or order in the child’s mind) so that there is a physical manifestation of that order that can aid in maintaining a play frame.

On the flip side, and we think anyone who has worked with school aged children could relate to this, we see that when children are held in an environment with too much order (e.g. indoor environment where each item has its own specific purpose and area), they tend to engage in activities that deconstruct order and stimulate chaos. In this way we can think of children as the natural keepers of ‘the balance between order and chaos’. You can only engage in CREATING order through the presence of chaos; therefore children are typically fully engaged in an environment that is safe and secure, but also presents unlimited opportunity for growth, construction and reconstruction. Furthermore, when we look at human societies or the culture we have developed over time, is it nothing more than pockets of order, created through both internal (morals, social norms, spirit and religion) and external means (infrastructure and physical comfort), within a chaotic, natural environment.

So the practice of creating order in a chaotic play space is the same process that humanity has been engaged in for tens of thousands of years. The process of creating structure and order in a chaotic and seemingly uncontrollable environment is at the core of what it means to be a functioning human within a societal or cultural context. We love our Loose Part area for many reason, but one is because it gives the children an opportunity to use the creativity and imagination in a way that stimulates and maintains order. They have the opportunity to sharpen their creative skills in a way that directly relates to their ability to be a productive member of society. The challenge of creating this order never has to end because the children will eventually intrinsically deconstruct their play frames or creations to make room for the next challenge.

Play: The ultimate evolutionary tool for establish and maintaining order

ORDER AND CHAOS

Photo credit: Kolle 37 Adventure Playground, Berlin